Trouble with CVA Squirrel Rifle

[Ultona]

Hello all, I am new to the forum, but recently bought a CVA 32 Squirrel rifle and wondered if anyone can help me out. I have been shooting a .311 Lee ball with Wal-mart pillow ticking patches of .018 with FFFG Goex. I have tried loads from 20 to 35gr and lubed the patches with Hoppe's 9 Black powder Plus and bore butter. Nothing I try seems to give good accuracy. What am I doing wrong? I had a crockett that would shoot great with 20gr FFFG and the same ball and patch, but maybe the CVA would like a thinner patch? Any suggestions? My bore seems fine, looks shiney and feels smooth so I don't think it is the problem.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

Good question. Have you recovered any fired patches? That might tell you something. Might try a wad or filler of some sort over powder.

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

You mentioned trying a thinner patch... Did you have trouble loading the combination that you had used that worked well in the Crockett .32 rifle?

Did you check downrange for any of the patches that were fired from the CVA gun? Many times that will give you more a good clue as to what is happening.

You may need to try a different patch, or maybe another lube (what lube are you using?) Do you swab after every shot to wipe the fouling down? Did you do this in your Crockett?

Just as the CVA .32 Squirrel Rifle is a much different looking rifle than the Crockett .32 Rifle, they may NOT work well with the same load and components. It is very possible that you may have to juggle some components to get a load that works well in the CVA. That doesn't mean that it is a bad rifle or the Crockett is better... they are just different guns. Even two seemingly identical Crockett rifles may have a different load that works best in them. That's just a part of the "mystery of muzzleloading".

I'm sure you'll get some more replies, but the load you mention works just fine in the CVA Squirrel rifle that my son owns... and if a muzzleloader won't shoot well--then, he doesn't keep them...

Regards, and shoot safely,
WV_Hillbilly

PS I would be greatly surprised if you had a "bad" rifle, but there is that very small possibility. Did you buy it at a very low cost, or have a reason to think it might be bad other than the load problem?

 

[Slamfire]

Hoppe's No. 9+ AND bore butter? Surely not at the smae time. There are mony lube formulas. The cheapest one I know of is saliva. As for the Lee balls, are you casting them yourself? Have you tried segregating them by weight? There are still lots of things to try. :winking:

 

[Russianblood]

If the rifling is shallow, it may prefer a .315 ball and a .010 patch. That and 30grs 3f is what I shoot out of my Country Boy .32 mule ear.

 

[boar]

Mine shoots good with what you are using, I use the lee mold .311 and 20grs 3fff and pillow ticking. I lube with deer tallow, and spit clean after each shot. Look up the moosemilk forumla here and do your patches with it, I soak them twice. Try them with your lube on them and see if it helps. Dilly

 

[2172]

I think Russian Blood has the right idea...my .32 CVA Squirrel rifle was a really loose fit with a .31 ball and my usual patching...I had to go up in patch size, a lot...I found this out the first time I went into the woods and found that the patched ball had rolled out while I was climbing the ridge...the squirrel laughed itself to death...Hank (I haven't shot the gun in years, but recall I had good results with 30 gr of FFFG)

 

[Rat Trapper]

You might try some Speer or Hornady round balls and see if that helps any. If you are casting your own, make sure you are using pure lead. As not doing so will cause problems also.

 

[patch knife]

I use a .315 swaged Hornady ball with a .010 patch over 35 grns. of 3f Goex black powder , in my CVA .32 .

 

[Ultona]

Thanks for the tips guys, I appreciate it. I may have figured it out! I tried .313 cast balls and .015 patches and accuracy greatly improved over the .311 balls and .018 patches. I am nearly happy with it, got some 4 shot ragged hole groups at 50 feet, but I am going to try the .315 balls and .010 patches to see if that won't be even better. Seems a big ball with thin patch might be the answer. I was using 30gr of FFFG which the gun seems to like. I was using the Hoppe's 9 Plus patch lube, but might try borebutter later (not at the same time, in response to one poster's question :winking: ) Again, thanks for all the help guys, this is a great forum for those of us still into the old style muzzleloaders.

 

[howdydoit]

i use hornady 311 balls and walmart blue pillow ticking with NL and 30 grs goex. its a little tight but to me thats good. Very nice litte rifle and fun for the kids too.

 

[John Wasmuth]

Our CVA .32 shoots fantastic with .310 hornady's, a .015 wonderlube patch, and 35 grains of Goex FFg. Good luck!

 

[Shifty]

My Crockett 32 shoots real good with Hornady.310 rbs and .019 denim & 20grn fff even a little better with .315 balls but harder to load.