new to muzzleloading , and so far im loveing it

[matthew_h]

im looking for some tips on cleaning , and mostly about what kind of oil to use in the barrel to prevent rust . my gun is a new cva buckhorn 209 , has been shot 7 times so far with 100 grains pyrodex and a 295 grain powerbelt hollow point . has been cleaned after the 2 shooting sesions i've had with it . a few of my friends hunt with muzzle loaders , 2 of them use them the entire deer firearm season . i have 2 other fire arms , a savage .22lr and a mossberg 12 gauge i use them for small game hunting . i plan to hunt deer season this year with only my muzzle loader , mostly because it should be much more accurate than my old smooth bore slug barrel ,and kicks way less than my sythetic stocked 12 gauge .any things i should know about , or should ask my friend who hunt with muzzle loaders ? one of them was there when i shot my ml for the first time , and he said it was a good gun for the price . also need tips for sighting in a scope on the muzzle loader , i have done it on my .22 and air rifle but usealy takes more rounds than id like , and with the muzzle loader will cost a lot . the scope is a bushnell 3-9x32 sharp shooter kit with see though rings form cva .

 

[Anonymous]

Matthew_h

First off I would like to WELCOME you to the FORUM you will find there are a lot of great guys here with alot of drive to help in any way we can and to give you and others the most accurate Info that we can. :yeah:

WARRNING Muzzleloading and this Forum is VERY VERY addicting artyman:

It is getting late :bored: so I will get to your Questions first thing Tomarrow

In the nean time please let us know what state you will be hunting and what your hunting sitchuation will be like ( IE ) Farthest shot expected - what type of teraine ( thick cover or open woods - fields ect. )

Lungbuster1

 

[matthew_h]

thanks for the warm welcome ! im hunting private land in michigan . it would be very unlikely for me to get over a 70 yard shot were im hunting .its thick and hilly were i am and i need to get some time to clear some shooting lanes , and soon season starts next thurs.i am trying to get ahold of my friend that hunts with cap locks , he has a 65 yard range with a dirt backstop , still need to at least sight in my open sights. i may get a chance to hunt out in a field that is owned by the same family im hunting , has some wooded area around it and lots of beding areas and deer sign . near the spot i hunted last year i found a fresh rub . when i was out squirrel hunting i kicked out a huge buck , one is suposed to be rumerd to live were i am hunting and now i belive it .the land im hunting is near the timber ridge ski area , to the side of it acrosed a abanded road that the county is going to alow mt friend to fix it up and use it for a private drive , so they can build a house .

 

[Anonymous]

GOOD MORNING

Any good Gun oil with a rust inhibitor will work just fine!
I like the KNIGHT oil W/Rust Inhib

AS FAR AS SIGHTING IN YOUR SCOPE THAT PROCESS IS EASY
FIRST MAKE SHURE ALL SCREWS ARE TIGHT
iF YOU DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO A BORE SIGHTER JUST START OFF AT 20 - 25YDS GET THE GUN HITTING 1" TO 2" HIGH AT THAT DISTANCE THEN MOVE BACK TO 50 OR 75YDS AND SEE WERE THAT PUTS YOU , TOO MANY PEPOLE TRY TO SIGHT THERE GUN IN AT THE RANGE THAT THEY WILL BE HUNTING AT AND THAT WASTE ALOT OF TIME AND BULLETS START OFF CLOSE THEN MOVE BACK IF YOU SET IT TO SHOOT 1" - 1.50" HIGH AT 50YDS YOU SHOULD BE PRETTY CLOSE TO ZERO AT 100YDS JUST INCASE YOU HUNT THE FIELDS.

I WILL ( PM ) YOU MY STEP BY STEP CLEANING AND SHOOTING

KEEP CHECKING YOUR PM MESSAGES

LB1

 

[Patrick White]

Welcome aboard.

I like Breakfree CLP. I've used a few oils and Breakfree is the best I've used.

 

[matthew_h]

thank you , how is hoppes lubrcating oil ?it says it prevents rust . its all i seem to have . my father may have something , but most likely cheapo oil that came with his cheap shotgun cleaning kit .

 

[Patrick White]

I don't know. I've never used it before. But if it says it prevents rust then it probably will work. I'd check your gun a few days after cleaning though.

 

[cayuga]

Hoppies will work just fine.

Your Buckhorn Magnum is a good rifle. Get some 240 grain or 300 grain T/C Mag Express XTP's at Wal Mart. load 80-90 grains of loose Pyrodex RS and I bet your rifle is right on.

I have a CVA Staghorn Magnum which is what the Buckhorn Magnum replaced. You have two locking lugs, I have one. First tip.. forget the magnum part of the rifle. They do not handle large loads as well as a 80-100 grain charge of your loose Pyrodex RS. You also need to swab the barrel between shots for the best accuracy on the range. When hunting, just make the first shot count and you do not have to worry about swabbing.

When I sight in a scope (like Patrick said) make sure the screws are tight and the scope is mounted true to the rifle. Before you crank that scope down, be sure to check the eye relief so when you bring that scope up, you see through that scope. I then like to take a cardboard box and cut some V's in it to rest the rifle in. I set that box up at 13 yards in the the house. With the breech plug removed look through the bore and pick out a spot on a door or something. Door knobs work great for this. When the look through the bore is dead on center, carefully adjust the cross hairs fo your scope to that exact spot. That will normally put you on paper outside.

Then like Patrick said, start at 25 yards and sight in there. Shoot until you have a very tight group. Normally it is a one hole group at that distance or close to it. Then back up and finally adjust the sights for the distance you want it set at.

Good luck. You have a great rifle. Be sure to breech plug grease that breech plug, they tend to stick. And keep us posted. Anything else we can help you with, just yell out or IM one of us...

And welcome to the forum and the sport.

 

[Patrick White]

When I sight in a scope (like Patrick said) make sure the screws are tight and the scope is mounted true to the rifle. Before you crank that scope down, be sure to check the eye relief so when you bring that scope up, you see through that scope. I then like to take a cardboard box and cut some V's in it to rest the rifle in. I set that box up at 13 yards in the the house. With the breech plug removed look through the bore and pick out a spot on a door or something. Door knobs work great for this. When the look through the bore is dead on center, carefully adjust the cross hairs fo your scope to that exact spot. That will normally put you on paper outside.

Then like Patrick said, start at 25 yards and sight in there. Shoot until you have a very tight group. Normally it is a one hole group at that distance or close to it. Then back up and finally adjust the sights for the distance you want it set at.

I think that was Lungbuster, unless his name is Patrick too. :wink: :lol:

 

[matthew_h]

i've heard of that bore sighting method before , why i didnt think to do it i dont know . thank you its looks like the open sights are right on , they seemed when we were shooting the bolling pins . i checked the scope it was high and right , so i ajusted it should be on paper at least and now can spend less time and ammo . i have some cva breech plug grease and have used it every cleaning . i've been useing powerbelts , are the T/C Mag Express XTP better ? also im not useing lose pyrodex im useing the 50/50 pellets . iv'e always used 2 never will have the need for 3 .

what knife do you guys use to filed dress deer ? i orderd a cutco but it came with the rong blade . its the double d serated , but i orderd a plain blade . it cost me $75 for a knife i cant even sharpen my self out in the field if i needed to . all i have besides that is a few cheap folders . any one know of a cheap knife that holds a good edge ? i prefer a fixed blade full tang . maybe i should sell the cutco and get something i can sharpen if i need to instead of mailing it back to cutco for them to sharpen .

also what can i do to protect my scope , when i shoot crap sprays allover the bottom of the scope . sorry for the long post guys .

 

[Anonymous]

mATTHEW_H

DID YOU RECEIVE MY PM ? LB1 CHECK YOUR MESSAGES
LUNGBUSTER1 ( NAME - RON GOLDMAN )

I DID NOT KNOW YOU WERE LOOKING TO MAYBE CHANGE BULLETS SO CLOSE TO THE SEASON BUT IMO I AM NOT A BIG POWERBELT FAN BUT IF THEY ARE SHOOTING GOOD FOR YOU THEY WILL DO YOU JUST FINE FOR THIS SEASON. YOU MAY NOT GET A BLOOD TRAIL OR VERY LITTLE BLOOD BUT IF YOU PUT IT IN THE BOILERROOM IT WILL KILLEM JUST AS DEAD AS ANY OTHER WILL.

BUT IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO CHANGE BULLETS THE 240GR OR 300GR HORNADY XTP NOT THE MAG BUT THE REG XTP OR TC 250GR OR 300GR SHOCKWAVE WOULD BE A BETTER CHOISE OF BULLET

THAT KNIFE LOOKS MITTY GOOD BUT IF YOU WANT A KNIFE THAT YOU CAN SHARPEN YOUR SELF TRY A GERBBER EASY TO SHARPEN AND NOT VERY EXPEN. AND HOLDS A GOOD EDGE. IT IS WHAT I HAVE USED FOR THE LAST 15YRS AND HAS NOT LET ME DOWN YET.

AFTER THE SEASON IF YOU WANT TO REALLY GET YOUR GUN SHOOTING TO IT'S FULL POTENCHUAL GET SOME LOOSE POWDER AND SOME SABOTED BULLETS AND WE CAN HELP YOU WORK UP SOME LOADS

MY PET LOAD IS 95GR OF 2FG TRIPLE 7 POWDER
BEHIND A 290GR KNIGHT SPITFIRE TMZ
SHOOTS 1" - 1.25" GROUPS AT 100YDS ALL DAY LONG
:yeah:

LUNGBUSTER1

 

[alleyyooper]

I use clear duc tape to protect the bottom of my scopes from blow back/by.

I like a little 4" folding knife for field dressing. I have a Gerber I've been useing for the last few years. I also have a buck folder but it is a little bigger.

Just send the cutco back if it isn't what you ordered. Look local for a good knife.

Al

 

[matthew_h]

well i have only shot a few of the powerbelts not for groups . i only have 9 of them left . i mgoing to try and sight is fri or sat and will get some of the sabots you have sugested , if there is no blood trail with the powerblets what good are they ? i need to beable to track it .thanks for leting me know that .my cheap floding knife i was refering to is a winchester but is made by gerber i got for $5 at wally mart .its my every day knife so it gets dull sorta fast , but if i put a good edge on it it holds it well , have cleaned a few squirrels with it before it needed any thing . i may take the cutco and my gerber and use the gerber for backup . yeah i got your pm ,i copied it to my computer so i can print it out , thank you .

 

[Les Staley]

be careful about changing bullets after sighting in..

Matthew: better to use all but a couple of bullets getting your rifle sighted in just right, and only have two or three to hunt with, than to change bullets or sabots at the last minute. Try to buy some more of the exact same bullet you use to sight in.. wait till after season to change when you have time to re-sight.. HTH.. Les

 

[matthew_h]

i have not sighted in yet , my plan is for me and my father to sight in sat . i will have to get more pyrodex and bullets to sight in no matter what i do , am going to get my permit fri and will get some more of the same bullets and more pyrodex . will let you guys know how it goes .

 

[Anonymous]

Matthew_h

Remember when shooting for groups and sighting in your scope you will want to damp patch and dry patch inbetween ea. shot .

after swabbing let barrle cool compl. before reloading if the barrle becomes to hot it will affect the sabots and your shots.

SIGHTING in your scope shoot a 3 shot group before you make any scope adjustments unless they are signif. ones

after you have it sighted in swab good let barrle cool load up and shoot , then try to load for a second shot as if you was in a hunting sit. and shoot a second time to see were your bullet hits with a dirty barrle , this will also tell you if you need to swab for a second shot even under hunting conditions.

report on your range time today with pics of your targets if poss.

LB1

 

[matthew_h]

wont get any range time today , but am trying to sat . if the power belts dont leave a blood trail i dont realy want to use them . were i hunt its think and i will not beable to see very well were the deer runs if it goes out of my shooting lanes .the only sighting in i've done is bore sighting with the striker and breech plug out and sighting it in down the barrel .i want to try a few dif saboted loads sat , i should have most of the day after 1 pm to sight in and play with loads . i have never tracked a deer before , so ii'm thinking i will need a blood trail .

 

[Anonymous]

IF YOU NEED A BLOOD TRAIL I WOULD GO WITH THE 300GR TC SHOCKWAVE OR THE 300 GR HORNADY XTP YOU WILL COME MORE LIKELY TO GET A COMPLEAT PASSTROUGH WITH THE HEAVYER BULLETS IF YOU CAN FIND THEM TRY THE 290 GR TMZ BY KNIGHT / BARNES THIS IS WHAT I USE AND HAVE NEVER HAD A DEER GO OVER 10YDS MOST OF THE TIME THEY ARE - DRT - TO NEVER TAKE ANOTHER STEP


LB1

 

[matthew_h]

thank you , will def try one of those loads .

 

[cayuga]

I was given a "Buck" folding 4" knife many years ago for Christmas. I have cleaned and butchered so many deer with that simple knife it shocks me. Although for field dressing, I personally like a very small knife. I used to use a small 2-1/2 inch "old timer" folding pocket knife. With a sharp blade I could open the cavity and get in there cutting the different things needed to release the packet, without cutting my fingers off.

I even field dressed a deer one time with a broadhead off an arrow. Someone forgot his knife back at home.