Well, so much for the excitement!

[Smokeshooter]

So, I was so excited to start muzzleloader hunting but made a terrible mistake. My peer at work talked me into looking at the CVA Accura LR-X .45 as that is the caliber he shoots with his LR custom muzzleloader. Since I could not afford a custom like he has, I decided to purchase it.
Now I have my gun and can't even shoot it because I can't find Blackhorn 209 powder or the 209A primers that CVA recommends for this gun. I really don't want to go with the 777 since all my readings, people hate it due to the fact it is so dirty.
Since I am new to this sport, does anyone know if Blackhorn is even going to be produced anymore since Hodgon puchased them?
Should I send my Accura .45 back and exchange it for a .50 caliber so I can shoot the whitehot pellets that CVA recommends?
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[03mossy]

Just shoot 777 out of it. You’ll have to swab between shots but it’s no big deal cause you have to let your barrel cool between shots.

 

[TNKnoxville]

Triple 7 shoots fine. Just swab every couple of shots!

 

[PineBrook413]

Black horn is available here and there, but can be tricky to find.

 

[ElDiablito]

Bh209, as stated above, is available here and there (and it’s my choice) but 777 will serve you just fine.

 

[FrontierGander]

Whitehots are barely cleaner than triple 7

 

[MallardSX2]

I sighted in my kids cva wolf the other day with some old pyrodex pellets I had and to be honest, I didn’t think it was that much dirtier than blackhorn 209…

Blackhorn 209 isn’t the unicorn that people seem to think it is. It certainly cleaner but not 3x cleaner burning imho.

Great powder but no way in hell am I spending 160$/pound on it. Lol

 

[Wrench]

I can fire 7x without cleaning when shooting 777 in my knight.

I've since moved to swiss because it's the easiest powder I've found to light.

 

[Timberline001]

I’ve found 777 to be very slightly more dirty than bighorn and I only lose 80 FPS. I’ve switched to it exclusively.

 

[Southernfried]

I dont what to derail this thread, but since we are talking CVA and I just bought one (Optima), and also got a bunch of 777 pellets, Ive been thinking of giving it to my son and getting me one of their new Crossfires which uses the Federal firestick. ( we can use it in TN) Have any of you used the firestick in either the CVA Crossfire or Traditions Nitrofire (i think)? Seems like an easy system to use. Thanks.

 

[204_ruger]

Hodgdon did have it in stock online. Local Walmart has some of there muzzle loader supplies in. No blackhorn yet. They will soon keep checking if your store sale ml supplies. Bass pro and sportsman warehouse stores like that should get some anytime. I bought 4 10 oz cans of blackhorn powder last week. Guy wanted 80.00 for all 4. Arkansas passed it where straight wall cartridge . Can be used during muzzle loader season. I bought the blackhorn to stick back. I am fixing to order a Ruger American Gen 2 450 bushmaster.

 

[rmarshall]

I wouldn't count out 777, I use the 3FFF version and my son uses 2FF. I went to blackhorn for a year a 2, but honestly for me I wasn't impressed with my 2 guns. I tried several bullets, and several charge weights even different primers and it still never gave me the accuracy of 777. I shot and then usually run a spit patch down the barrel before the next shot. Then after 10-15 shots I'll clean it better. They claim you clean less with Blackhorn but It still was dirty but less so than 777. This is just my experience, everyone else has a different one. I have BP hunted for 25+ plus years and 777 has never let me down. The cost of BH is a joke. That was one complaint I had back when I shot it and it's double-triple what it was now. Just my thoughts, my own experiences.

 

[RockAndSage]

OP, any time you're trying to source a hard to find powder (or ammo, or components, etc), start with ammoseek.com, which crawls online retailers - and if you don't find it there, go to gunbroker.com. Ammoseek will get you the best price if it's available at all, while gunbroker is where you go if you just have to have it and are willing to pay what the market will bear.

I didn't find Blackhorn on Ammoseek, but I did find a little here.

 

[Smokeshooter]

I’ve found 777 to be very slightly more dirty than bighorn and I only lose 80 FPS. I’ve switched to it exclusively.

Timberline, what primer have you found that works best and burns good with 777?

 

[Timberline001]

Timberline, what primer have you found that works best and burns good with 777?

CCI shotgun primers. It also worked great with my musket caps when I use it for Idaho. With the CCIs I can shoot it 8 shots with a 300 gr SST before scrubbing the bore. 3 with the musket caps but I’m also shooting a 485 grain chunk of lead in that scenario.

 

[WCB]

I use BH209 (92gr by volume) and 777 fffg. (95gr by volume) in my experience the 777 is not noticeably dirtier than the BH209. I could really care less about velocities as I'm shooting out to max 250yds. I can get the same accuracy with them. I have also shot both with 209A and the Federal 209MZ primer which is a CCI 209M. Not quite as hot as the 209A but I have noticed zero difference in those two primers with the two above loads.

 

[bjwiech]

Agreed with other posters. 777 will be just fine. If you are out on an extended day if shooting bring dune patches and a bore brush. I get a little build up after multiple shots, but a pass or two with the brush or bore snake and about two patches cleans the barrel up good as new.