CVA Black Powder Double Barrel 12 ga.

msille · January 29, 2009, 07:03 PM

I have one of these. Anyone know how much powder I should use in it? Doesn't say in the manual.
Also, can I shoot 3 or 3 1/2 loads in it?

Cagedodger · January 29, 2009, 07:13 PM

Not the same shotgun, but it may answer your question.

Click here.

Scroll down on the page.

Cage

mykeal · January 29, 2009, 08:17 PM

Good link with good advice.

I use 80 gr ffg real black powder and the same volume of shot in mine:

Fingers McGee · January 30, 2009, 12:13 AM

60 to 100 grains works, depending on what you are going to use it for. I always used an adjustable powder/shot measure loading same volume of each. Powder, then 1/8 inch over powder card, lubed 3/4 inch fiber wad (Blue & Gray), shot, then over shot card.

kirpi97 · January 30, 2009, 01:47 AM

Am I not getting the whole picture? Am I missing msille's picture. I see a an info sheet for an in-line followed by a double barrel percussion cap shotgun. What are we really discussing here?

I have a 14 gauge double barrel percussion. My typical load is 70 gains measured. Using the same measurer for the shot. I use 70 grains because it gives me 100 loads (50 firings) from a can. It has nothing to do with what the gun can take. I am cheap. Oh, I might have forgotten to say that my shotgun was manufactured around the 1870s. So I am a little cautious with it.

I concur with Fingers and mykeal.

My confusion came by way of the in-line data and the reference to 3 or 3 1/2 loads. It started to sound like a modern shotgun. Wish I understood the real picture.:

Hawg · January 30, 2009, 05:10 AM

If you want a tighter pattern use less powder than shot. If you want to open a pattern up use more powder than shot.

mykeal · January 30, 2009, 06:23 AM

Quote:

My confusion came by way of the in-line data and the reference to 3 or 3 1/2 loads. It started to sound like a modern shotgun. Wish I understood the real picture.

The OP requested information about CVA's double barrel side by side configuration 12 gauge shotgun; that gun is a sidelock percussion gun.

I interpret his reference to 3 and 3 1/2 as drams, which is often the unit referenced when talking bp shotgunning, especially in the UK. 1 dram is 27.344 grains by weight, so 3 drams is 82 grains by weight; 3 1/2 drams is 102 grains by weight. I have a lead shot measure and a shot flask/pouch with a calibrated spout for shotgunning; both are marked in drams.

The only manual CVA ever published for a percussion shotgun is for their current inline model, but the basic loading information is the same; the shot and powder don't care how many barrels there are or where they're located, nor where the ignition flash comes from. So, the link provided by Fingers is appropriate, even for the old sidelock configuration.

Does that help?

kirpi97 · January 30, 2009, 11:45 AM

Quote:

I interpret his reference to 3 and 3 1/2 as drams,

I had completely spaced out any reference to drams. Been reading too many of those gun enthusiasts blogs.

Quote:

The only manual CVA ever published for a percussion shotgun is for their current inline model

You learn something new every day. I'm still scratching my head that CVA would sell any gun without an instruction manual for it given these days of law suits and liabilities.

Thanks for the heads up and the clarification.

mykeal · January 30, 2009, 11:51 AM

The db sxs shotgun was sold over 20 years ago; I built mine in 1983. There was a very rudimentary pamphlet that came with the gun that did give some basic instructions, but most people back then relied on one of Sam Fadala's books. CVA collaborated with him on those. I probably have that pamphlet somewhere but it's a whole lot easier to download the generic one that's on the web site.

msille · February 11, 2009, 08:04 PM

I shoot a Knight TK2000. I load it with 3 1/2" plastic hulls used for reloading. Am I not supposed to use these with the old shotgun?

arcticap · February 12, 2009, 02:19 AM

If you mean modern plastic shotshell wads, then those can work well.
But only if the plastic wad will fit past the constriction of the choked muzzle, if any.
Some folks use an over powder wad to avoid melting the plastic base if using real BP, but OP wads may not be absolutely necessary.
Wadded up newspaper will also work as an over powder wad, with or without the plastic wad.

darkgael · February 12, 2009, 05:32 AM

+1 about the dram conversion and the shot column described above.
I use a 3 dram charge (82 grs. +/-) of FFg and an equal volume of shot, plus OP wad, cushion, etc.
There is a school of thought led by the legendary V.M. Starr ("The Muzzle Loading Shotgun; its care and use.") that dispenses with the nitro card and cushion wad and uses only thin cardboard wads - OS cards, instead.
Pete

January 29, 2009, 07:03 PM	#1
msille Junior Member Join Date: January 5, 2009 Posts: 13	CVA Black Powder Double Barrel 12 ga. I have one of these. Anyone know how much powder I should use in it? Doesn't say in the manual. Also, can I shoot 3 or 3 1/2 loads in it?

January 30, 2009, 12:13 AM	#4
Fingers McGee Senior Member Join Date: March 19, 2008 Location: High & Dry in Missouri Ozarks Posts: 2,113	60 to 100 grains works, depending on what you are going to use it for. I always used an adjustable powder/shot measure loading same volume of each. Powder, then 1/8 inch over powder card, lubed 3/4 inch fiber wad (Blue & Gray), shot, then over shot card. __________________ Fingers (Show Me MO smoke) McGee - AKA Man of Many Colts - Alter ego of Diabolical Ken; SASS Regulator 28564-L-TG; Rangemaster and stage writer extraordinaire; Frontiersman, Pistoleer, NRA Endowment Life, NMLRA, SAF, CCRKBA, STORM 327, SV115; Charter member, Central Ozarks Western Shooters Cynic: A blackguard whose faulty vision see things as they are, not as they should be. Ambrose Bierce

January 30, 2009, 01:47 AM	#5
kirpi97 Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2008 Location: Oregon Posts: 236	Am I not getting the whole picture? Am I missing msille's picture. I see a an info sheet for an in-line followed by a double barrel percussion cap shotgun. What are we really discussing here? I have a 14 gauge double barrel percussion. My typical load is 70 gains measured. Using the same measurer for the shot. I use 70 grains because it gives me 100 loads (50 firings) from a can. It has nothing to do with what the gun can take. I am cheap. Oh, I might have forgotten to say that my shotgun was manufactured around the 1870s. So I am a little cautious with it. I concur with Fingers and mykeal. My confusion came by way of the in-line data and the reference to 3 or 3 1/2 loads. It started to sound like a modern shotgun. Wish I understood the real picture.: __________________ The parting shot... "Those who hammer their guns into plows, will plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson Last edited by kirpi97; January 30, 2009 at 01:52 AM.

February 12, 2009, 02:19 AM	#11
arcticap Senior Member Join Date: March 15, 2005 Location: Central Connecticut Posts: 3,166	If you mean modern plastic shotshell wads, then those can work well. But only if the plastic wad will fit past the constriction of the choked muzzle, if any. Some folks use an over powder wad to avoid melting the plastic base if using real BP, but OP wads may not be absolutely necessary. Wadded up newspaper will also work as an over powder wad, with or without the plastic wad. Last edited by arcticap; February 12, 2009 at 02:25 AM.

February 12, 2009, 05:32 AM	#12
darkgael Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2006 Location: Homes in Brooklyn, NY and in Pennsylvania. Posts: 5,473	+1 about the dram conversion and the shot column described above. I use a 3 dram charge (82 grs. +/-) of FFg and an equal volume of shot, plus OP wad, cushion, etc. There is a school of thought led by the legendary V.M. Starr ("The Muzzle Loading Shotgun; its care and use.") that dispenses with the nitro card and cushion wad and uses only thin cardboard wads - OS cards, instead. Pete __________________ “Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports ... all others are games.” Ernest Hemingway ... NRA Life Member

January 29, 2009, 07:13 PM	#2
Cagedodger Junior Member Join Date: February 19, 2007 Location: Republic of Texas Posts: 6	Not the same shotgun, but it may answer your question. Click here. Scroll down on the page. Cage

January 29, 2009, 08:17 PM	#3
mykeal Senior Member Join Date: October 8, 2006 Location: Northern Michigan Posts: 2,772	Good link with good advice. I use 80 gr ffg real black powder and the same volume of shot in mine:

January 30, 2009, 05:10 AM	#6
Hawg Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2007 Location: Mississippi Posts: 16,188	If you want a tighter pattern use less powder than shot. If you want to open a pattern up use more powder than shot.

January 30, 2009, 11:51 AM	#9
mykeal Senior Member Join Date: October 8, 2006 Location: Northern Michigan Posts: 2,772	The db sxs shotgun was sold over 20 years ago; I built mine in 1983. There was a very rudimentary pamphlet that came with the gun that did give some basic instructions, but most people back then relied on one of Sam Fadala's books. CVA collaborated with him on those. I probably have that pamphlet somewhere but it's a whole lot easier to download the generic one that's on the web site.

February 11, 2009, 08:04 PM	#10
msille Junior Member Join Date: January 5, 2009 Posts: 13	I shoot a Knight TK2000. I load it with 3 1/2" plastic hulls used for reloading. Am I not supposed to use these with the old shotgun?

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