Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Sighted in with Blackhorn....

Finally shot the CVA stainless Optima I bought a while back. Using 3 different weighed charges; 76gr, 80gr and 84gr(max). 250gr SST in Harvester short sabots with Winchester blue box 209s. Shot 4 or 5 rounds of the 76gr and cleaned the barrel with Montana Bore Cleaner. Did that a couple of times then started just running t-shirt patches down the bore to push out visable grime when loading got sticky. Residue was more than smokeless but less than another loose BP substitute I used in a side-hammer; that being my only experience so far with muzzle loaders. Had a slightly moist consistency and came out easily.

In the end I learned three things. 1) 84gr of Blackhorn209 behind a 250gr bullet in a lightweight rifle is LIVELY. Took me 2 shots (after a dozen or so of the lighter charges) to figure that much was not really fun with fun being the whole point of doing this. 2) Eye relief on the 3200 scope is short enough to bang the bridge of my nose when "letting the rifle surprise me". 3) This rifle likes the bore swabbed and not cleaned.

First went to a pistol pit to get dialed in. At 35yd yards the 76 and 80 loads each shot 3 holes touching. The max load made 2 holes touching. See above. In the end the 76gr load and 80gr load grouped about the same at 100yds. However there at the end I was getting a little recoil shy. Final round count for the afternoon was 12 rounds 76gr, 12 rounds 80gr and 2 rounds 84gr with just a short sleeved shirt between me and the recoil pad. Really focusing on the last 3 shots with 80gr loads, 2 bullets made an oblong hole with the 3d just cutting it about an inch above point of aim at 100 and I called it good. No pics, but it really did happen. Now it looks like it'll be Monday before it hits the woods. First muzzie whitetail can't be far away.

sorry but swabbing between shots is killing your accuracy. No need to swab! Let it cool down after a few shots, HEAT will kill your accuracy with BH209.

My stainless Optima likes 100 gr (volume) of BH209 and a 200 gr TC Shockwave. Shot a doe at around 100 yd in the PA early muzzleloader season.

70gr by weight is more than enough for any deer. It's enough for elk too.

+ 1

With my Omega accuracy seems to improve as it gets more fouled and the last groups of a shooting session are often the best. I haven't any problems with sabots being tougher to load but ...

I've polished the bore with JB Compound, then metal polish for a mirror finish, and applied Dyna Bore Coat. It does not load up or foul out.


*** Recoil does get stout with the loads you're describing. I installed a Limbsaver pad and it did help tame recoil. It also reduced muzzle jump when shooting off a bench.

That was my first outing with it and round count like I said is only 26. The difference in accuracy I was seeing was between using solvent to clean vs just a dry patch. The sabots are not the ribbed version and when I say they got a little difficult to load that was my judgement having no previous experience with sabots. And I did not swab between shots, only after 4 or 5 when loading became noticeably more difficult.

Never shot with a hot barrel. Didn't try to rush it. And there at the end I apparently had the right amount of fouling in the bore to make things work. For now it's very huntable and only had a dry patch run thru it after the range session. I have some bore coat I'll use after hunting is thru for the year and I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to just run more rounds thru it.

Thanks for the comments all, but tell me this. If fouling aids accuracy but can also lead to long term bore issues, what is the best approach to barrel cleaning at the end of a shooting session other than applying Bore Coat?

BH209 is easy to clean out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiMl4jkLcxw&list=UUeZck8LIRY1kV6raxImR_sg

part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wanHgz1I2XE&list=UUeZck8LIRY1kV6raxImR_sg

When I start out with a new setup, or scope, my 1st few shots are at reduced powder charges. That may be down towards 80 grains by volume. I also start off at 25 yards or so.

After just a few shots I am ready for longer range and hunting charge weights on the powder. If I really want to be frugal I'll start off with a lead pistol bullet held in a sabot.

No sense shooting everything with max charges, just mostly the final checks.

In my NEF Sidekick I load 200 grain 40 cal Dead Center bullets with sabot using 84 weighed grains of BH 209 and a Fed 209A primer while utilizing an aftermarket breech plug.

Recoil is somewhat stiff but accuracy at 100 yards is 3 bullets in a 2 inch orange sticky and at 200 yards about 3 inches as of late. I have a Cabelas leveraction rifle scope for the 35 Remington on the Sidekick and the 200 yard holdpoint works good at that range. I've shot two deer with this rifle and load when it had a different scope. This will be the first year with the scope with the holdpoints.

Don't really do much cleaning with BH209 just shooting and then after the season do a thorough cleaning.

Well my first muzzy hunt is in it's 4th day now with still a virgin bore. But today has been by far the most interesting. Saw 4 bucks including a 2 yr old 8 pt that almost overstayed his welcome. Trigger fingers get itchy and club rules get vague when an uninitiated rifle is in hand. But rut is in full swing and I have a day yet to hunt this week and probably 3 or 4 more next week. Also I'm tent camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Ashe County, NC. First time for such lodging in a very long time. As I type on my iPhone temp is in the 20's and it's snowing and sleeting. Tent reminds me somewhat of a flag in high winds. Supposed to be 15 to 20 mph NNW thru tommorrow with low tonight of 18 and high tomorrow of 30. Fortunately the campsite I'm in has electricity, water and a bath house. A tall air mattress covered with an electric blanket and a space heater make it bearable. But God Almighty has gifted me with the discovery of a well made and abandoned shooting house on 8 ft legs, insulated to a degree, on the edge of a 100 acre or so clear cut. If the weather allows I'll be in it tomorrow dressed in layers with plenty of snacks, a coffee thermos, and a couple of p-bottles. I wonder what the po- folks is doing. Wish you were here.

An electric blankee?

Geez.

You just lost your man card.

Yesterday morning at 8:30 when I was breaking camp temp was 18. Later just after lunch when I was headed out to hunt it had warmed up to 26. Wind forecast was WNW at 15 to 20 and it was every bit of that. Had you not already pulled my Man Card I would gladly have traded it for electric socks. If I had stubbed my toes on the way out after dark I would have just poured out a handful of icecickles when I took off my boots. All afternoon I longed for the warm companionship of my blankee. But I shall return. Looks like I'll head back up next Tuesday or Wednesday for the remainder of muzzy season and the first day of rifle. Temp on Tuesday night is supposed to be down in the 10 to 12 range. Bucks are definitely there though hunting the Blue Ridge Mountains is a little different than what this flatlander is used too. But I'm starting to figure it out and can still find sign. I'll post a pic of a rub I found in a few minutes.

My meager camp.



View from one property boundary.



Pic from a fixed stand about 25' up on the edge of a timbered stream bed. This is a neck of clearcut off the main body of 100 acres or so which is behind me. It runs about 150 yds long by 60 or so wide. Uphill is dense forest with a large area of white pine mixed with patches of oak, poplar, hickory, etc. At the far end is a property line. There the timber slopes up to a ridge top to the left. Just inside the timber are several trails running into the clearing along the top of a very steep drop to the right. Nice funnel. Deer are coming into the clearcut to feed and also to travel downhill to a creek crossing where the steep drop levels off. There are tracks here that look like a 3 year old heifer made them. Very deery spot.



Here's a pretty nice rub. It's about 75 yds from the junction of 3 ridges at about 3100 feet with a bunch of smaller rubs scattered about everywhere in the area. The ridge it's on is very steep on one side with a nice slope with hardwoods on the other. The ridge itself tapers down to very thick timber. On one adjoining ridge that runs up to the view pic is a nice scrape line that was still being worked on Wednesday. While scouting late that morning I came up on several of the scrapes that had been worked earlier that day. He'd hooked limbs, pawed the dirt, then shat right in the middle of the biggest. The remaining ridge runs down to a small paved road which is my entry point. I hung a stand just off the apex of the ridges with surrounding though limited visibility. Any westerly influenced wind will work to my advantage. I'll hunt this the first morning I'm back.




It's always rewarding to scout out new hunting areas. Most of this stuff I studied on GoogleEarth before ever leaving a boot track. But it never comes together completely until I go there. Then comes evaluating the surrounding land, vegetation and particular characteristics that don't show even on good photos. Familiarity brings confidence. Next trip draws blood.

Nice pics, nice camp, and nice hunting territory.

I got to admit that the electric blanket sounds good. I tent camp too and the one issue in really cold weather is crawling in a sleeping bag that's as cold as it is outside. Brrrrr.

A couple of years ago I bought a small Coleman heater for the tent and that really helps. No more below freezing sleeping bag when you first crawl in.

Good luck huntin'.

Not much of anything worse than warming up a freezing sleeping bag with your own body heat. Even with the blanket and heater I'll be on the lookout for an affordable travel trailer for next year. You shot anything yet??

I got my buck and I'm done for this year.

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/9226288/1

I'm sticking with my tent. I travel out of state to hunt and I like not not having to tow a trailer. I've got the tent thing dialed in to where it's not a problem ... in any weather.

I learned many "valuable" lessons about tent camping and how to stay warm during the fourteen years I lived in Alaska.

Nice vittles on that buck. I was fortunate enough to hunt Utah back in 1971 when you still had milk on your lips. Got a mule deer pretty much like yours with my old Groves recurve and a Bear Razorhead and [bleep] just barely over the back of another. Fond memories.

So why would "shot" be bleeped out?? Has my auto complete developed Tourette's ??