Hey All Question

Bought a CVA Accura Mountain Rifle this year. Shooting 75grns of Blackhorn 209 and 250grn Hornady SST bullets. Also using the correct 209 breech plug with CCI magnum primers.

I am lucky if I can get a softball sized group at 100 yards. I have shot 40 rounds now of roughly that same load and have been weighing each load out on a digital scale.

I’m stumped. Looking for advise.

Thanks

Carl

Are you cleaning the barrel between each shot?

I think I read buckhorn groups better around 100 gr. But that's just going from memory about something I read.

I alway shoot ffg black powder and mmp short sabits with a 250gr .45 hornady xtp. I buy the pistol bullets and sabits separately it's much cheaper. They group well out 1.6 or less out of all 3 of my smoke poles.

In my experience muzzle loaders really don't start shooting well until you get 100 or so shots thru them unless you lap the bore. Also if I remember correctly 67 grains by weight is the equivalent of 100 grains by volume of black. So your 75 gr of Blackhorn is on the high side for a start load. I settled on 70 in my Knight rifle. Going higher definitely didn't do me any good or a couple friends that shoot Encores. I really like the Blackhorn because it's non-hydroscopic so you can just weigh it out on a scale. Weigh out 100 grains of black today and it won't weigh 100 grains tomorrow or the next day. That's why black is done by volume only and you don't care what it weighs because it changes with humidity. And Blachorn is virtually non corrosive. Another thing to be aware of is until you get the bore really slicked up (lap it) you will get a significant amount of plastic fouling. Lots of bronze brushing and elbow grease to get that out. It's really tenacious stuff.

I shoot the same bullet w/triple 7 powder 100gr and nailed a big doe at 175 yards Monday in PA. The CVA is a tack driver.

The 250gn sst is my favorite bullet in my encore. The most consistent and accurate primer in my gun all other things being equal was the Federal Champion 209A. I would definitely vary the powder charge both up and down to see how it does. My sweet spot was 110 gns FFFG equivalent triple seven. If I do my part it will clover leaf 3 sst’s at 100 yards. Seat the bullet with one consistent push don’t tamp the heck out of it.

Cva accura and optimas have a sweet spot of around 85 - 90 grains by volume with bh 209. 90 grains volume 63 grain weighed with a 300 grain 45 cal non mag xtp ,harvester crush rib sabot and cci mag 209 primer out of my optima give s me 1.5 inch groups . Plus with bh 209 for me no swabbing between shots I shot mine 15 times just to see if the accuracy would fall off or difficult to load. Num 15 loaded as easy as num 1 and a ragged 1.5 to 2 inch hole. Uncle in law runs a accura ver 1 same powder charge but barnes 290 grain tez bullet and sabot about same size group.
J

I also shoot the CVA Accura. Great shooting gun, just dialed mine in. 100 grains White Hots ( 2 pellets ) and a 250 gr Powerbelt AeroLite. 1” high at 100 yards, 7” low at 200, tight groups. Good luck!

John

PAFOX i’ve been shooting that exact rifle for 4 or 5 years now, i wouldn’t doubt it one bit if it was the bullet. I tried several different bullet/sabot combos including hornady 240gr XTP’s which are known to shoot really well out of muzzleloaders and they were terrible. I’m also shooting 75 grains by weight which i’m sure you know is right about 110 by volume with the 260gr harvester pt golds. It is an absolute tack driver, i use fiocci shotgun primers, i dump the whole box and measure them with calipers, it’s amazing how much variance primers have. I just use the size i have the most of out of the pack. I also shimmed the little plate that surrounds the firing pin, i’m not sure what you call it. I shimmed it just enough so i get the slightest crush fit on the primer. When it’s clean i foul the barrel with a couple primers and then i swab with patches in between shots. That rifle should hold under 1”, is it possible you have scope or mounting issues? If you didn’t mount the scope yourself i would take everything down, lap the rings and remount it. I never trust a scope that’s mounted from the factory. Hope this helps.

It was a tedious process when I purchased my Encore Prohunter. Picked up a lot the the Blackhorn and several different sabots to work up the optimal load...every gun is different.
I started at 85 grains and shot 3 rounds (clean after each since you will be hunting with a clean barrrel) with each different sabot. Then moved up to 90 grains and fired three rounds of each bullet type again. Then moved up to 95....you get the point. I did this in 5 grain increments all the way up to 120 grains which is the max amount for Blackhorn. I will add that I did this over several evenings because after about 12 rounds I knew I was starting to flinch a little and I did not want that to negatively affect the results. I did this for all the Hornady rounds, the TC sabots and several Barnes Sabots of different weights. After several evenings and a lot of powder, I found what worked best for my individual muzzleloader. There may be a better and easier way of doing it, but that was my method.
My TC will cloverleaf at 100 yards with 110 grains of Blackhorn and Barnes TEZ 250 or the Barnes spitzer 245 grain. The Hornady 250 grain are a close third.

I think you need to check and tighten all screws, ensure your scope and mounts are tight and then start working up different loads...youll find one that it likes eventually . ..

Yes you are correct with black powder, pyrodex, triple 7 by volume only you don't want to make a pipe bomb. But with BH 209 you can, go to there web sight FAQ Can I weigh my charges ? you can convert the volume load recommendations into weighed grains by multiplying the volume load by 0.7. Example: 100 units by volume x 0.7 = 70 grains by weight. 110 volume charge x 0.7 = 77 grains by weight.
I believe i have been through 3 different lot numbers through the years and they have been spot on. I average the weight of 10 loads of 90 grains by volume when ever I had a new lot number. Their granules remind me of a hollow h322 or imr 4198 smoke less powder very uniform in size
J

2- 50 gr pyordex pellets and you will stop tinkering with loads. That gun with that bullet will drive tacks at 100 yards if you can shoot it !!! . Don't have to clean it every shot !!! In fact the 2nd and 3 rd shot are the most accurate with this load. Trust me try the pellets. Less to worry with . Get it close after 5 shots run a cleaning patch down it , Finish sighting it in . CLEAN IT TOTALLY . Then shoot it. Only thing cleaning after every shot will do is make it easier to load with a sabot. Big reason I switched to 245 gr power belts. WAY easier to load....
Plus if it is shooting that bad why keep using the same load?????

My Optima with 100 grains of 777 will make one ragged hole at 100 yards and be MOA at 250. Something ain't right with your rig.

I have set up and developed loads for several CVA late models and can tell you they are shooters when you find the combination so dont get discouraged. Blackhorn powder is excellent and very consistent. If you are dead set on using the Hornady sst that you have already tried you need to adjust your powder load. I would definitely shoot a group with 70 grains by weight and maybe another at 67 by weight if 70 dont tighten it up. Primers can also make a difference so dont rule that out, Federal primers might be a good choice as several guys i know get the best performance from them. Using the blackhorn breechplug dont forget to use a 1/8 bit to clean it out but use it by hand, not a drill for heavens sake. You can load sabots pretty easy shot after shot with blackhorn but the breechplug is the key to consistent powder ignition and burn. Harvestor crush rib sabots are another option you can pair with the hornadys instead of the factory sabot, they work extremely well in most guns. With all that mumbo jumbo to muddy the water I would try a different bullet. From a deer hunting perspective, none of my 6 hunting partners that hunt with muzzys use the hornadys anymore, not because of accuracy issues but bullet performance. My current setup is a CVA Accura V2 nitride Bergera barrel, 76 grains by weight of buckhorn, remington primer and Barnes 290gr TEZ flat base bullet. It shoots at 1952fps.

I am going to have to work on things. I appreciate all of your input. I have another box of 20 of these Hornady bullets so ill probably start tinkering with the amount of powder more and see what happens. I have 2lbs of Blackhorn 209 so I'm bound and determined to make it shoot but I might have to try some other pellets just to see how they do.

Im still open to all suggestions if you all are willing to share thanks again!

I would definitely change bullets before powder.

If you still are having troubles even with different bullets. I would start suspecting scope mount ,rings or the scope itself. I use blue locktite on just about everything from scopes, archery and even on my outboard. Friend just bought a stevens rifle 22-250 would clover leaf then a flyer here and there. Rings were ok but the rear base on the receiver the screws had back out a touch. You could barely feel/see it. Its a tackdriver now with his handloads.
J