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What size for patches for a .50 muzzleloader

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woodsman1031:

--- Quote from: stickbender on October 11, 2010, 01:37:17 am ---
    CVA had very accurate barrels.  The later ones, around the seventies, and eighties, the locks weren't so too pretty good. ;) Those that had a fly in the lock were good ones.  A friend of mine got one for Christmas from his wife.  I shot well, but the lock was not a good one.  It was two piece stock kit, in .45 .  I have a CVA Kentucky pistol, which was a kit, in .45, and again the barrel was very accurate, but the lock was not the best, and the nipple didn't line up right for the hammer contact.
But you should have a good shooter, and patch configuration isn't important, square, vs. round.  Just do like grunt said, or just get some commercial patches.  Do like Hillbilly said, and try different loads, starting off at about 75 grains, and working up, and clean in between each shot, just run a brush and then a patch down the bore, and find which load the gun likes, and try a Maxie.  Did you get the hawken?  It sounds like it.  If so try a maxi ball also, at various loads.  See which one it likes, and which one you like. (kick) Either maxi ball, or round ball will drop a deer, or hog.  Years ago, a Friend of mine I was hunting with, shot a deer with a maxi ball, at about fifty yd.s and it just fell over, never kicked, or moved. Just died instantly.  But the round ball will drop it also.  Remember you are using pure soft lead, and it deforms nicely on deer, and just about anything else.  Enjoy ;)

  I have that same kentucky pistol. I bought it as a new/old kit last year and the lock is terrible. The trigger rattles and the hammer dont liine up so good with the nipple.  I havent shot it yet, but I will soon when I get some bullets. I bought this .45 pistol to hunt rabbits. The lock on this rifle is WAY better than the one on my pistol. I thought maybe whoever built this one used a different lock than what came  in the kit. What is a fly in the lock?


  Thanks for all of the help guys!



--- End quote ---

JW_Halverson:
I have one of those CVA's that had the poorer quality lock.  A little fiddling around with a drill and some files, I made a tumbler-to-sear bridle to hold things in place better.  Without the bridle, the only bearing surface for the tumbler is the lock plate.  With just a little bit of shooting, the lock plate starts to wear out and the tumbler now rocks back and forth.  It was easy enough to do, and the lock mortise had plenty of room so I didn't even have to inlet the extra space for the bridle.

Mind you, the barrel was more accurate than the shooter could take advantage of....bench shooting from a vice made some amazing looking groups on targets.

kinkfeather:
for the size of the round ball is most inportant.the best i have shot is 49.5.the more room in the riflings the less accurate.the patch is a sealer to keep the gas pressure behind the ball.i use dennium but you have to wash it 2 times before use .08 thickness lubed on one side with tc borebutter.@ 50 yards it shoots 5 shot 1.2 inch group open sights off the bench.as far as conicals i never had luck with them not accurate enought for me.i reccomend fff black powder.the most accurate load is 70 grains of fff black powder.i lube my patches with tc borebutter an i clean with it too between each that is the most important thing to do for accuracy.do not get a too tight of patich because when your push the ball down the barrel you might deform the ball. that tc bore butter will season your bore as good as anything.i never wash the bore i always use tc bore butter.if you take care of your gun you will never ware it out.i have shot at least 1000 rounds in my hawkens over the past 35 years an have killed 13 does with it.kink

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