Hey blackpowder folks am new to game. I have a Cva wolf inline I cleaned and sighted in. Fired four4 shots to check zero. Now do I clean and fire fouling shot or not. Plan on using in two geeks

you should clean black-powder is very corrosive

I always fire a fouling shot before going afield to hunt. My point of impact is very different with a clean bore. This can vary from gun to gun, and type of powder as well as projectile all have an affect.

+1 tis just a guess. if using GOEX powder, loading the 4th shot was a little tougher than the first. once find load that your comfurtable with. whin seating, mmark on ramrod with perminant marker. it weres off over the years. last hog took, wasnt paying attention, used measure for pistal. fired few rounds. cleaned. next day, dry fired, loaded using same measure. took hog, one shot. using load for pistal. it had sat for years, was using .270 for deer hunts. whin pudding up muzzy, light oil. best wishes on up coming hunt. keep your head held high & your powder dry

in-line ya more than likely using more modern powder. would clean, light oil, day before hunt. dry fire, point barrel at blade of grass, bust cap or two. give second or two, no sparks. powder, lead, tis not considered loaded till cap is on. i have cheap posts

Dear Piney....that fouling shot thing. That's what you do at a shooting range in a competitive match. In some rifles (NOT ALL)- a clean bore might shoot to a different spot. I have rifles where it makes no difference.
In any event in a match you fire a "fouling" shot and then shoot the match with the fouled bore. The match lasts an hour or two and you clean the bore.
As stated, black powder is corrosive, you don't want a fouled bore for 12 hours or a day or two while hunting.
So, I'd go with the clean bore. When you sight in, take a shot with the clean bore and then swab and clean a bit and then load- until you sight in with a clean bore. Don't worry about a quick follow up shot, not really a muzzle loader thing.

Thanks members got CVA wolf for Christmas want to take proper care of her and get best results on upcoming muzzle loading deer season we have here in east Texas.
May be just a starter rifle but am glad to have it. And Dave point of impact did not seem much different. With fouled or clean bore . Took spike with my cousins 50 cal few years back. Wanted my own ever since now I can tune rifle to me.

went out and gave CVA a good cleaning, seems am heading back to another sight in session, while I was cleaning it discovered lose scope mounts, surprised I got groups I did it was a package gun that was supposed to be bore sighted , seems they did not snug mounts very well or recoil losined them anyway I put my fat wrench on them on way back to shooting table one evening this week, really makes me mad having to go shoot ha. think am going to enjoy muzzloading

also am using triple seven 50 grain pellets shooting 150 grains with a 209 primier if that will help in yalls advice

Piney.. if you live by this you will never be wrong when it comes to black powder... If you load it you shoot it to unload it.. you clean it. If you leave that burned powder in your barrel it will rust and it don't take long. You can leave a powder charge in your gun up to 3 days while out hunting. Then unload swab reload. The powder loses it's potency after that time. Do Not bring it inside at night tho because the barrel will sweat and get your powder wet and then it will not fire then you got a mess. So if that's a problem put in your truck at night. uncapped of course. When sighting in.. swab the barrel after each shot to make sure your accrete. Now if your out hunting and reload you'll be ok for the next shot.. but swab the barrel after the 2nd time of firing. I always carry patches with me just for that reason. I've been doing this a long time and had a great guy teach me years and years ago. Hope this helps you out

Black powder muzzy rifles need to be cleaned and oiled between shooting sessions...period.
Black powder is corrosive and the residue attracts moisture which will rust a cold steel bore.
As for a fouling shot, that depends on the user. There's different arguments for shooting
from a clean bore versus a fouled bore. Personally, I prefer a clean bore and will swab a
wet patch between shots in a practice shooting session. However, on deer & elk hunts, in the heat
of the moment I've been known to reload my muzzy in a fouled scenario. The point of impact for
my muzzy will change after 3 shots with an unclean barrel. JMHO....

Thanks for the info guys really helps. Would hate toblone good animal. Over simple mistake like bringing gun inside

What range do yal sight in at. Am shooting 295 grain powerbelt. Bullets. 150 grains triple 7

The usual 100 yards is what I sight in at. Be advised that your shooting
a magnum load with 150grs. Powerbelt bullets are accurate bullets but
the lead alloy is much softer than other bullets and it is known to fracture
upon impact with a magnum load. It has been suggested to use 100grs with
powerbelts in order to prevent the bullet from breaking apart after impact.
I've personally noted the bullet break into several pieces on game I have shot.

Piney,

I would suggest you go to this link: http://www.hodgdon.com/loading.html. Here's what Hodgdon says about T7:

Triple Seven is a high energy product designed to provide the muzzleloading hunter with higher velocities when used in the same VOLUME as blackpowder. To duplicate a blackpowder load velocity using Triple Seven, you must decrease the powder charge by 15%. *See WARNING below.

I interpret it to say to reduce the max load by 15% which is 127.5. Not trying to be bossy, it's a safety issue. The increase in bullet performance is minimal with powder by volume loads over 120 grains. You'll enjoy less recoil and save $'s on powder.

Have fun with your new rifle and welcome to muzzleloading.

Paul
[color:#CC0000][/color]

Piney- there's a guy up in Colorado that did a lot of testing on the power belts. This guy loves them because they are a full bore projectile whereas a sabot used a projectile that is less than full bore.
In any event this guy started his testing because some folks were not getting good accuracy with the power belts. He found that they were using too much powder, around 90 grains gave the best accuracy. The next question was whether dropping down to 90 grains lessened the effectiveness of the bullet. Test revealed that the power belt expanded BETTER with the 90 grain load, in short- using more powder was a worthless move that didn't improve effectiveness and also could reduce accuracy.
I was using around 120 gr with my power belts- I dropped down to 90 and accuracy did improve (CVA 209 Buckhorn Magnum Rifle). I shot up most my power belts and some guy put me on to Shock Waves, more expensive but I could bump up the powder and I was getting 1 1/2" groups at 100 yards- as good as my modern bolt action rifle.
and...on that 90 grain. I use loose Pyrodex. Not too much trouble, as easy as the pellets- use use a speed loader.

some great info. figured u shooting the pellets & 209 primers. tis not an expert, my muzzy tis side lock, use the GOEX back in 70's tried the purodex. liked the smoke so went back ta GOEX. stuff got tis older than dirt. still took hog with the pistal charge. tried ta find fresh can at Gander Mnt. & Acadomy. settled with tripple se7en had.ta get out the ol black powder book. it for muzzle loader, difference is powder. it takes less for side lock. as huntnfool stated, big difference. my side lock use measure, tripple se7en is vol. with over charge, wast of powder, more kick, no benifit. might even loosen scope. been doing some practice shooting with the new powder, with light loads using New Orleans Ace. it got some smoke, alot cleaner shooting than GOOEX. stay SAFE i got cheap posts

My son killed a very nice 11 point a couple years back with his 50 caliber T/C Black Mountain Magnum...3 50 grain Pyrodex Pellets, 240 grain sabot bullet and CCI musket cap. He was using open sights and killed the buck with one shot from about 115 yards...DRT...he has left this rife loaded for over a year without rust problems or misfires...I have a 50 caliber T/C White Mountain Carbine...I load 70 grain of Goex FFG and a tight patched .490" round ball...I have left this rife loaded for as much as 18 months without rust problems or misfires...I do use T/C patch lube and we both keep the nipple hole covered with a piece of thin leather...good luck sir...

rick

Barcelona Rick, I assume you are talking about rifles that were loaded on a fully clean bore. Not one that had a fouling shot before loading.

I leave rifles with loads in them for weeks or months at a time with no problems at all, so long as the loads were in a fully clean bore. If the load was in a fouled bore I would not even consider leaving it like that for more than a day or two.

Piney,

First off..get rid of the PowerBelt bullets if you are going to hunt...they load easy and may be accurate but are horrible on game particularly if you hit a shoulder.

If you are using 3 pellets of triple 7 I'd recommend a good Sabot ...Barnes or Hornady (Hornady makes Thompsons muzzleloading bullets). Use a premium bullet in a sabot.

Sight in for 100 yards..you'll be about 4" low at 150 yards with either a 250 or a 290 gr Barnes bullet. Swab the barrel with a patch after each shot when you sight in...... before you go hunting you can shoot a primer through the gun if you like or if you are sure the breech plug is clean you don't have to do anything.

BayouGuy that is correct sir...

rick

Guys,
I would add one thing to that. When hunting in cold weather..really cold temps....and you bring a gun into the house the warmth of the house can cause condensation inside the barrel and can (not always) effect things. When at an outfitter I always leave my loaded muzzleloader in the screened porch or garage so the temperature variation is not drastic. If the temperatures are mild I agree you can leave it loaded with no adverse effects.

Anything that encourages moisture is a potential problem.

very good point. not certan, tis thinking the barrels on the in-lines are made of littlr better quality of material than side locks. some made with stainless steel.

On the bullets, if I were to simply say "use that" I'd probably go with loose Pyrodex just because I can fine tailor the load and I'd go with shockwaves, cost aside. I'd sight in with a clean bore and load that way. I too leave loaded for the season- to insure everyone knows the muzzle loader is loaded I put the ramrod in the bore and then in the gun case- helps in case you or someone else forgets there is a charge in the bore.
You can put a pad of leather over the flash hole if you are storing a week or two- to keep the charge from soaking up humidity- I never bother but some do it.

Always flag a loaded muzzleloader so others will have no doubt it's loaded.

Family members and friends with no muzzleloader experience may not know how to check if a gun is loaded (or even think to do so), and you never know when you may unexpectedly be called to the happy hunting grounds.

I use trail marking tape tied to the trigger guard.