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I have a CVA mountain rifle 54/58 that I got from a member here and I love the rifle but I am having ignition problems with Pyrodex. I leave it outside so not to get condensation but sometimes it just doesn't go off. I am pretty green to these weapons and I welcome all suggestions. Some guys locally have told me to go to regular black powder rather than Pyrodex. Thank you

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Are you running #11's or Musket nipple/cap? I switched to the Musket nipple/cap and should have started that way as I knew better.


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Originally Posted by chain
I have a CVA mountain rifle 54/58 that I got from a member here and I love the rifle but I am having ignition problems with Pyrodex. I leave it outside so not to get condensation but sometimes it just doesn't go off. I am pretty green to these weapons and I welcome all suggestions. Some guys locally have told me to go to regular black powder rather than Pyrodex. Thank you


Pyrodex is just one of those "black powder substitutes" that some think requires less care than black powder. BOTH absorb moisture. When I shot my BP guns, I would NEVER think of starting the next day with yesterday's load. Each and EVERY day I would shoot the gun and give it a complete cleaning. Next morning I would go through the drying out proceedure and start the day with a fresh charge. If it was an extremely moist day or light rain, I would put my cap on and then drip candle wax over the cap and nipple to attempt to keep things dry. If you do this and start every day with a dry fresh charge I think your problem would be solved.


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I've tried all the tricks I've read over the years on my mountain rifle and never did get completely reliable ignition with Pyrodex. Pretty good but not perfect except for nipple charging with black powder which is a PITA and has its own problems. Possibly I could have worked it out but I decided to stop beating myself over the head and went back to black powder which fires every time. Saved the Pyrodex for weapons where it works more reliably. I don't think it has to do with leaving it loaded. Rather the breech geometry and that Pyrodex has to get hotter to ignite.


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Keping it dry is th esecret. There are small rubber or plastic cap covers you can buy to skip down over the nipple and cap, or use some wax or duct seal,which also works.Tape the end of you barrel with electricians tape ,just as you would a center fire rifle. Seal that barrel as well as you can.
If the humidity is high or raining.I pull the load every evening (I don't shoot it) and run a pacth or two with methanol down the barrel to absorb any moisture.Then I give it a light coating of Bore butter, swab withadry patch and reload.

I have always used standard #11 percussion caps and don't remember any ignition problems. I stopped using Pydodex years ago when 777 came out,but I have gone back to black powder.My inline,I use 209 primers.



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Keping it dry is th esecret.


True that but I also think that getting a side lock dry in the first place is harder than for an inline. Even using very hot water and firing some caps, it seemed to me there was some moisture present that should not have been. I don't use a side lock any more but if I did, I would look into maybe using some type of air flow through the system after cleaning. miles


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Originally Posted by milespatton
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Keping it dry is th esecret.


True that but I also think that getting a side lock dry in the first place is harder than for an inline. Even using very hot water and firing some caps, it seemed to me there was some moisture present that should not have been. I don't use a side lock any more but if I did, I would look into maybe using some type of air flow through the system after cleaning. miles


Go to Home Depot and buy a gallon of methanol( alcohol) after cleaning with water or solvent, purge the whole system with methanol.( with the nipple out) The methanol is hydroscopic and will combine with any moisture present and then dries it out.You only have to take a pint or so to hunting camp to do this.

Let it set a few minutes and then fire a cap. Guaranteed ,you won't have any moisture in it.

I learned this years ago when we were building ultra clean stainless steel system. Wo would degrease with acetone or other degreaser in anultra sonic, bath in distilled water to flush off the degreaser and then bath in alcohol in another ultra sonic cleaner. In that method we used Ethanol ( grain alcohol) as it left no residue. A bottle fo 180 Ethanol from aliquor store will work just as good and you can always drink what you don't use of the ethanol.


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Originally Posted by chain
I have a CVA mountain rifle 54/58 that I got from a member here and I love the rifle but I am having ignition problems with Pyrodex. I leave it outside so not to get condensation but sometimes it just doesn't go off. I am pretty green to these weapons and I welcome all suggestions. Some guys locally have told me to go to regular black powder rather than Pyrodex. Thank you
Pyrodex, Triple 7, and other black powder substitutes SUCK in sidelock muzzleloaders for hunting purposes. They require a higher ignition temperature than black and seem to be more susceptible to exposure to ambient conditions. Pyrodex really kicks ass in range sessions; you're typically loading and shooting right away when the weather is nice, vice hunting when the weather might be below 50 F and 90%+ humidity and you carry the gun for three or four hours before taking a shot.

I shoot a T/C Renegade, while my dad alternates between a mid-'70s vintage T/C Hawken and a T/C White Mountain Carbine. All are well-maintained and shot throughout the year on a regular basis. We use Hot Shot nipples and Knight Red Hot nipples and have even tried musket nipples with musket caps. We load fresh charges each morning, thoroughly clean the guns every night, and clear the flash channel with caps each morning. For the past five years, in particular, we have each experienced a consistently maddening string of hangfires. (This leads me to believe that the current formulation of these substitutes has been tailored to high volume, 209-primed inlines.)

I went back to black powder for hunting purposes, but use substitutes for range purposes where I'm likely to shoot a greater amount.


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I have been using #11 caps. I think I will try Black powder. What is the story on the other nipples ? Thank you. The weather here in Northern Michigan isn't the driest in early December when we hunt with ML's but I do try to keep everything dry. Thanks again.

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cabelas sells a hollow base spitfire nipple, great thing to use.

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Originally Posted by chain
I have been using #11 caps. I think I will try Black powder. What is the story on the other nipples ? Thank you. The weather here in Northern Michigan isn't the driest in early December when we hunt with ML's but I do try to keep everything dry. Thanks again.
The Hot Shot, Knight Red Hot, and Spitfire nipples all provide an alleged advantage in ignition over standard nipples through flame pattern, flash chamber shape, volume, etc. I don't know how much of that is hype and how much is real. I do know they will more securely hold your cap than most factory supplied nipples on the Italian muzzleloaders (which your CVA is).

The only ones currently available for your gun are the MSMs (MSM = Mountain States Muzzleloading = Spitfire) and the AMPCO variety. (I believe you'll need a 6mm x 1mm.) Get a couple of those and a pound of FFG and you'll be set.


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Originally Posted by Fireball2
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I use Hot Shot nipples with good results. I liked the theory at the time but I don't know how much is real either. Plain AMPCO nipples in various other firearms have worked well too,

Quote
but I also think that getting a side lock dry in the first place is harder than for an inline

With the CVA mountain rifle a lot can hide in the drum part of the breech and affect both ignition and the charge. You need to take out the cleanout screw and work a couple Q-Tips through it.

I finish with water displacing oil and patch until dry. Then pull an impressive amount of oil and some water with a swab through the cleanout hole. Probably wouldn't do much for reliability when left loaded, which I've done with no problems.


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Thanks guys. Bricktop, I love Pinedale, I was there elk hunting in Sept. My favorite place.

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Originally Posted by chain
Thanks guys. Bricktop, I love Pinedale, I was there elk hunting in Sept. My favorite place.
Next time I go, I'll tell the chamber of commerce. smirk


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I have a CVA Bobcat that had ignition problems with Pyro. I tried a Musket cap, but did not have enough clearance to use it. Switched to 777, and that solved the problem.

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Originally Posted by benchman
I have a CVA Bobcat that had ignition problems with Pyro. I tried a Musket cap, but did not have enough clearance to use it. Switched to 777, and that solved the problem.
That's nothing more than a placebo effect. Black powder has an ignition temperature of approximately 570 F (I've seen claims of a temperature as low as 450 F); Pyrodex and Triple 7 both have an ignition temperature of approximately 750 F. If for some reason you've led yourself into believing Pyrodex is harder to ignite than Triple 7 or vice-versa, you likely have other factors at work. At any rate, I've shot enough of all three mentioned powders in my T/C and my various Lymans to know better than to believe any claim that Triple 7 is easier to ignite than anything beyond simple dirt.


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Originally Posted by safariman
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Originally Posted by Fireball2
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Originally Posted by chain
I have a CVA mountain rifle 54/58 that I got from a member here and I love the rifle but I am having ignition problems with Pyrodex. I leave it outside so not to get condensation but sometimes it just doesn't go off. I am pretty green to these weapons and I welcome all suggestions. Some guys locally have told me to go to regular black powder rather than Pyrodex. Thank you


go to 3F Triple Seven and this will solve your problems if you keep the rifle halve way clean


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Originally Posted by bea175
Originally Posted by chain
I have a CVA mountain rifle 54/58 that I got from a member here and I love the rifle but I am having ignition problems with Pyrodex. I leave it outside so not to get condensation but sometimes it just doesn't go off. I am pretty green to these weapons and I welcome all suggestions. Some guys locally have told me to go to regular black powder rather than Pyrodex. Thank you
go to 3F Triple Seven and this will solve your problems if you keep the rifle halve way clean
Uh, no.


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Originally Posted by safariman
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Originally Posted by Fireball2
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If this is an original CVA mountain rifle , then it was made for the most part in the US . Later models are Spanish made starting early on Jukar and then Adesa.
The later guns also will be metric to include the neck of the nipple

Either way I don�t believe it will mater if your using T7 or Pyro . The reason is that your running into an issue of ignition temperatures, as brick top mentioned .
Combined with a flash channel design that�s long and takes 2, 90 deg turns.

Through the years CVA used 3 different bolsters . Their very early drum bolsters were short necked bolsters . By the late 1970�s they went to a medium neck and then a long necked bolster .
What also changed was the flash hole exited from the booster to the main charge .
For some reason some of these long necked bolsters only contain a small slit for the flash to go through . While others have a larger flash channel size hole . Either way your flash is traveling right around � of an inch before it reaches the main charge.

Put the modern powders aside and get you some BP .

Last edited by captchee; 11/15/12.

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I don't understand the two 90's now that you mention it. I will get some BP. Thanks Guys

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