Can not sight in new accura Mr-x (advice needed)

[TonySkyline]

Hello all, I am in a pinch and need some suggestions. I started shooting a new cva accura Mr-x 3 weeks ago. I am starting with imr white hots & triple 7 pellets for powder, cheddite & Winchester primers and for bullets I’ve used the Thor practice bullets 250G. I also have Hornady boredrivers 290G and 1 pack of Federal borelock 270G. Weather has been absolute trash here with rain, wind, & snow so I just got around to pushing it back to 100 yards and got it on paper. First shot I was way left, like 10” which I thought was crazy because I was on at 50 yards last week. I adjust 16 clicks to the right. Second shot today I decided to try out the triple 7 powder (so far I’ve only used white hots). And I’m hitting bullseye at 100. Now I decide to use the real bullets and load up a boredriver. I hit over a foot low! Dead center but a foot low! I take a fourth shot with IMRs and I’m completely off the paper now and not even hitting the box behind the target hardly at this point I’m not adjusting anything. Next shot I try the federal ammo and I’m back on the box but hitting way low and to the right… I am using a lead sled and I feel like the entire time I’ve been chasing. I’d adjust and it starts to come together then a complete stray shot and I start over. Makes zero sense. The first week it felt like I was on track and I haven’t changed anything. But, I did drop the breech plug and it made a dent on the inside that the powder touches. Do yall think that’s what’s causing this nightmare? I’m going to tighten down and level the scope again but i mounted it myself and used loc tite originally so doubt that’s it. So frustrating considering I’ve missed 5 days of a 7 day season already and ready to throw in the towel with muzzleloading if they are seriously this inaccurate but I know something has got to be wrong here. I am a good shot with a rifle and have no problem taking deer out to 500 yards with my 7 rem mag. I’ll include pics. Do I need a new breechplug? I still have the black horn one that came with it (came with both plugs) but not sure if I can use that for pellets and idk if I wanna get into black horn my first year with it honestly.

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[TonySkyline]

I should add that I have cleaned between every shot so far and try to do the same thing every time. 1 swipe with bore snake. 4 swipes with wet patch and 4 dry. I also clean breechplug & make sure I can light through it. End of each session I let the plug and firing pin/spring all soak and really clean it up good and make sure it’s 100%. I also adjusted the fore end to ensure it’s not super loose. Idk what else to do at this point. I’m at about 20 shots and it’s all over the damn place. Using a Nikon prostaff 3-9x50 scope for reference (it’s actually awesome for a muzzleloader so I hope it ain’t that).


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[SwampDonkey55]

I’m fairly new to (serious) muzzleloading so I’m no expert but I do know that they’re super finicky shooting a mismatch of powders/sabots. I would pick one type of powder and one type of sabot (especially same weight) to shoot consistently with to get zero and go hunting for your muzzleloader season

Also when I sighted mine in a few weeks ago I had sabots flying all over the place and I wasted a bunch of powder before I realized I wasn’t pushing the sabot down far enough so make sure when you’re seating the sabot tight against the powder but you’re using pellets so it would be easier to tell when it’s fully seated against the pellets I would think


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[Chad E]

I don't think the dent in the breech plug is the issue unless it's alowings blowback through but if it gives you confidence the blackhorn one will work with what your using. I'll be honest I'm betting on scope and mounting being the issue along with too many variables including bullet and powder switches ( based on your top post) being your issue. Keep things consistent and try to isolate the issue.

 

[KChunter71]

I think your powder or breech plug hole is getting wet from all the cleaning. The gun is firing but it’s changing speed and point of impact on you. Are your primers 209 magnums? My dad, uncle, and buddy shoot Accura’s, 777 100gr volume, hornady 250gr sst sabot, cci mag primers. Only clean if it’s hard to load. 777 will be sooner than the blackhorn 209 I use. If you have cleaned it (wet) fire a couple 209’s from it. Something is remaining wet and changing your velocity/point of impact shift. Don’t worry about the zero. Just see if you can get it to group.

 

[TonySkyline]

She looks pretty level still as far as the scope goes. I’m going to go ahead and tighten down as well as the rings to the base just to rule it out. The bell is pretty dang close to the barrel on this (large 50mm). You can definitely fit paper between it but I can’t get a cap on the front. Using medium vortex pro rings . Hoping the recoil isn’t throwing the scope off. Also wondered about it being in the lead sled. I’ve read somewhere that you shouldn’t tighten it down and shoot out a sled. I’ve used the sled and a tripod with same results from both. I do not tighten the strap down when it’s in the sled.

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[Jmort1754]

My mrx shoots everything well.

I do shoot blackhorn in it but it does shoot white hots great as well.

No reason to clean every shot,
Pick one powder and one bullet and go from there see if it will group or if its all over.

Tear the scope down and remount it, just because it's level doesn't mean its tight.

Throw the sled in the trash

 

[dsotm]

Ditch the lead sled, stop cleaning every shot. Either your getting the powder wet, scope is loose, scope is damaged.

 

[ElDiablito]

Agree with most of the comments. Welcome to muzzleloading. Little things make big differences. Consistency is key.

Ditch the sled (you’ll wreck your scope with that thing if you haven’t already)
Pick a combo and stop switching back and forth.
Zero reason to clean between shots.
The sealing surface of your plug may very well be compromised by that damage (use the BH209 plug)
Seat your bullets on the pellets but not too hard or you can crush them which will dramatically alter their combustion.
That’s a pretty low end scope - I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s trashed already.

 

[TonySkyline]

I was only using the Thor practice bullets for the first 2 weeks with it with white hots, granted I only got maybe 20 shots in that timeframe due to limited sun and weather in the northeast. What does a sled do to scopes? I went through everything last night and it was still recommended 18” lbs and 30” lbs. I agree it’s not a high end scope but I didn’t think I’d need one for 200 yard shots. I typically go for good glass as I’ve been spoiled by it so it’s hard to look through and use cheaper stuff but honestly this Nikon is not bad at all. Definitely better than the Athlon Helios 2-12 I just got for a 6ARC build. That thing had rave reviews and to me, it’s like looking through a paper towel roll. But glass and durability are two different things. I’ll stick with white hots & boredrivers on a tripod and see how it plays out today/tomorrow and check back in. Best case scenario I get to hunt last day before season ends for a few weeks but we opened a holiday hunt from 26th-1st and that’s what I’m really wanting to hunt as I’ll have that week off. I’ll also bring my target in to about 50 and start there. I have about 200 yards in my back yard to work with. Thanks for the honest feedback guys. I do plan on going to BH next year but idk if my scale I have now is accurate enough for it so that’ll be on my list for 2025. Maybe a new scope for it also, if so what is a good muzzy scope? I gravitate towards leupolds as I love my vx5-hd


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[dsotm]

Sleds transfer all the recoil back to the gun like a hammer, hard on the scope, mounts, and stock. Take the scope off, re torque everything, try shooting of a front and rear bag. Try a different scope if you’re still getting wild groups.

 

[ElDiablito]

But glass and durability are two different things.

Amen!

Maybe a new scope for it also, if so what is a good muzzy scope? I gravitate towards leupolds as I love my vx5-hd

Muzzys can be hard on scopes (especially in a sled).

I’d check out the scope field evals before buying a scope. I’d go Trijicon, NF or SWFA if you want something durable. (And the best glass and features are meaningless if it won’t hold zero!).

 

[waspocrew]

If you’re really looking for a solid zero, shoot off a bench with bags. I wouldn’t try to trouble shoot this off a tripod.

Lead sleds suck.

My CVA optima was very easy to get to shoot well. I cleaned it every few shots, but it was just a quick wet patch followed by a dry patch or two.

 

[OXN939]

What does a sled do to scopes?

Prevents them from moving through their natural recoil impulse. Imagine if, instead of shock absorbers, your truck had fixed steel rods installed before a day of offroading. That's similar to what happens to a scope on a rifle in a lead sled, though the effect is physically more similar to a giant tuning fork getting hit with a sledgehammer. Agreed that's the most likely issue by far

 

[TonySkyline]

Thanks. I took a few shots today before getting sidetracked by someone on the side of the road looking for drones (lol, we’ve seen em up here before). First shot was low, I adjusted up and hit 2 moa high and 1 moa right. Didn’t get to shoot after that but if the next few shots group I’ll be happy.


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[OXN939]

Thanks. I took a few shots today before getting sidetracked by someone on the side of the road looking for drones (lol, we’ve seen em up here before). First shot was low, I adjusted up and hit 2 moa high and 1 moa right. Didn’t get to shoot after that but if the next few shots group I’ll be happy.


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An MRX should do better than that with a decent load if everything is put together correctly. Barnes T-EZs are the easy button, put them over 85 grains by volume (or two pellets) of 777 and you'll almost certainly have MOA groups if you do your part. Most importantly, terminal performance is excpetional.

Lot of advice about not cleaning every shot. I've been sending one wet and then one dry patch after every round for the last decade and find that to be by far the most reliable and repeatable way to do business. It's not the fastest way to rip out groups, but the entire point of blackpowder hunting is to make one single shot count. Also, even the newer blackpowder subs are still corrosive and will absolutely pit your bore, depending on the level of ambient moisture where you live.

Hope the rest of your season works out for ya!

 

[TonySkyline]

Yeah, i read a lot about muzzleloaders before I purchased one and I read somewhere to clean between shots at least while you are first breaking it in? It said first 40-50 shots. Idk why, but I’ve also read with BH 209 it’s more like every 3-5 shots. I’ve noticed the imr white hots are a bit cleaner than the triple 7 pellets so I’m going to try those first then 100% switching to BH 209for next year, likely get a few jugs right after x mas. I was using the tripod today but I might break out the shooting mat if it drys up a bit more. I don’t have any bags so I’d probably toss on a bipod or use a pack to shoot off of. It blows my mind about the lead sled thing. Yall have no idea the troubles I’ve had these last 3 years trying to get rifles sighted in, including a pricey custom tikka I used for elk. Not to mention I used to actually use the strap on it! Stopped doing that last year after reading that it’s horrible for the rifle but I didn’t know the entire sled was. This actually gives me hope for my sons Remington 700 mountain ss I’ve had a hard time with. This makes sense now, looking back I never used a sled until I moved here 5 years ago and have a range in my back yard. All the rifles I sighted in before that are perfect in terms of accuracy. All my newer rifles I had a hard time with or still trying to get sighted in. I will surely be putting in lots of range time this next week and will pick up some bags at bass pro or something!


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[ElDiablito]

Yeah, i read a lot about muzzleloaders before I purchased one and I read somewhere to clean between shots at least while you are first breaking it in? It said first 40-50 shots. Idk why, but I’ve also read with BH 209 it’s more like every 3-5 shots.

That’s interesting - there is zero truth to the idea of cleaning between shots with a muzzy during the first 40-50 shots, IMO. And with Bh209, no reason to clean at all till the end of the season.

With the dirty subs like 777, you may need to swab (not clean) between shots for consistency. Nothing is required with Bh209. I hunt with a fouled barrel with most of my 30+ muzzies. Very few rifles/loads will shoot to the same poi fouled and clean. With Bh209, I have no concerns about corrosion or failure-to-fires. I’ve left rifles loaded with it for up to a year. No issues. But I live and hunt in dry climates.