CVA WOLF opinions and load recommendations?

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DeerSlayer267

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Hi, Im a college student who fell in love with hunting at 12 years old. I come from a non hunting family and got into it all by myself. Ive come to understanding about archery and regular centerfire rifles, but muzzleloaders are new to me and something i would like to get into. Being somewhat poor ( college :( ) I have a limited supply of money to purchase things. one gun i was looking at is the CVA wolf, and i would just appreciate some recommendations on loads and such. I totally understand that the best way to get the right load is to try a bunch of things, but i cant afford that right now so if i could get a few opinions just to point me in a certain direction that would be GREAT. Also wondering, scope or iron sights?

I was looking at hornady SSTs and blackhorn 209 powder because it is clean burning, although a bit more money. The pellets look easy to handle and learn, but can i change the charge as much? if i want 90 grains can i put 3 30 grain pellets in? or is the max two pellets?

TIA :D
 
Welcome to the forum. Most new production inline ml rifles will shoot up to 150 grains equivalent of pellets. Follow the manufactures instructions.


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DeerSlayer267 said:
......... Also wondering, scope or iron sights?....... if i want 90 grains can i put 3 30 grain pellets in?.........

Iron sights are included with rifle, thus cost less than scope, and with your young eyes may work very fine. Yes you can shoot three 30 grain pellets.
 
CVA Wolf would be my choice for a reasonably priced rifle just starting out. BlackHorn 209 powder is a good choice but you will need to purchase a BH209 breech plug for consistent ignition. Don't use water to clean up BH209, use regular solvents like any centerfire. I would start at 80 grains of powder and see how it shoots.

I would use a Barnes bullet for hunting, most CVA rifles like TEZ bullets in 250 or 290 grains with the supplied blue sabot or a Harvester smooth black sabot. The SST's should shoot good, I use them for target practice because they seem to shoot the same as the TEZs but some reviews state poor performance on game with the SSTs. Just starting off, Hornady XTPs in 250 or 300 grain usually shoot good and are usually the cheapest, many also use them for hunting with good results.

I would use a Winchester 209 primer. It seems to seal the best in CVA rifles without adding shims. Federal 209A and CCIM primers are the hottest but sometimes leak a little (blow back) and will leave soot in the action. The blow back can be fixed with any primer but starting off and keeping it simple, Winchester primers (don't get 777 primers for BH209) would be where I would start.
 
I have a CVA Wolf that my son has been useing for the last 5-6yrs. The CVA Wolf is actually a nice little gun for the money. My boy shot 2 50gr pellets 100grs total of 777 and a 200gr shockwave bullet and it shot great.
 
Good choice in purchasing a Wolf, I own the Optima V2. Even though it states you can use 150 grains, I never found the need to use more than 110 -120 grains. I have shot .430 240 grain XTP, .430 265 FTX, 250 grain SST. They are all accurate, I have only harvested deer with the XTP. I am using 110 grains of Blackhorn 209 and the FTX's this season. Good luck.
 
First off...Dont punish yourself with the higher end loads. Start with something simple and cheap yet still a viable deer load.

45cal 250gr XTP....under $30/100....or the Speer 45cal 260gr...under $12/50 at Grafs.
Harvester EZ-Load 50x45 sabots (NOT the Crushribs but those might work too)....under $6/50 at Grafs...You want the ones listed for (upto 300gr bullets)
Around 90gr of BH209 to start but you could start at 80gr if you wish.

So total you will be at well under $30 for 50 shots including shipping. Plus the cost of the powder of course.
Price for 50 shots (Speer 260gr)shipped Subtotal: $25.63
Price for 100 shots shipped
Fixed-Rate Shipping: $7.95
Subtotal: $43.31

IIRC you get close to 60 max BH209 loads from a bottle but you wont need to be shooting max loads. 90gr of BH209 should give you slightly more fps than 2 pellets. 100gr is easily faster. Compare the cost of a 2 pellet load to the cost of a BH209 load that has about the same fps.....You might be surprised which one cost more to shoot.
 
Im puzzled why the reference to certain guns as good beginner guns or for just starting out. My Wolf will shoot 100 loose grains of 777 with a MMP sabot and 305 grain lead bullets and WW209 for about $.80 a shot powder and all all day long into 1.25 inches at 120 yards. What else do I need from my gun? I have 23 long guns for hunting groundhogs to elk. I reload ever cartridge I shoot and Ive been doing it for 50 years. If im fortunate enough to wear out this Wolf I will buy another. I do a lot of shooting and frankly figure I kill more deer than most with my beginner gun.
 
Just depends on what you want. I think they are beginner guns because they are relatively cheap and if someone doesn’t like muzzleloading, they are not out of a lot of money. Sometimes beginners forget to clean their rifles or don’t know the proper way and there again, not out of a lot of money if the gun gets ruined. I love muzzleloaders and have spent $1000+ on several but I know what I want. I still have my 1st muzzleloader that my wife bought me for around $100, it still shoots good.
 
hey guys! i kind of went dormant for a while, but here i am one year later and i just purchased an optima v2 that was on sale. it has the stainless barrel and fiber optic sights. im really stoked about it. i picked up some sabots and primers at fleet farm and im going to be deciding on a powder really soon!
 
hey guys! i kind of went dormant for a while, but here i am one year later and i just purchased an optima v2 that was on sale. it has the stainless barrel and fiber optic sights. im really stoked about it. i picked up some sabots and primers at fleet farm and im going to be deciding on a powder really soon!

Awesome deal! Congrats on your new Gun!! :lewis:
 

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