I have been shooting patch & round ball guns since 1977. Currently I have a 42" flintlock 50 cal I built myself. Couldn't get used to dragging a $1000.00 peice of wood and a gun I had almost 300 hrs in building up a tree where it could fall and break. I bought a CVA Accura II and went out to test it. I've only shot blackpowder until now. Got some 209 powder, CCI 209m primers, Hornady 45 cal 250gr XTP & black Hornady sabot. Loaded 77 weighed grs. (110 measured) 2 thumbs pressure on seat. First shot clocked 1974 fps, loaded again with out cleaning, second shot 1932 fps. impact was around 1 1/2 inches low & 3/8" right of first, loaded again without cleaning, 3rd shot 1913 fps. about 1" lower & 1/4" to the right of 2nd. Loaded again without cleaning 4th shot did not clock on chrony but fell about 3/4" lower than 3rd. I then cleaned barrel. Solvent, brush, solvent till patches were clean. Removed breech and totally cleaned. Loaded gun as normal & shot. Clocked 1971 fps and bled the 1st shot. If I totally clean gun between shots it will clover leaf at 100 yds. If I do my part. also found that if I will run 1 spit wet patch then 1 dry patch in between shots, it will also clover leaf. I was suprised to say the least. I knew that the flint guns liked consistancy in loading, but they don't shoot like that!!!
BH209 requires a HARD seat of the bullet to the propellant.
Two thumbs is very light and most likely to light. It will be much more consistent if you seat the bullet much harder. There are shooters who have learned this the hard way, buy having "poof" and wonder what happened. The light seating of the bullet can be a contributing factor to your extreme spread in velocity. You will find that a hard seat of the bullet will provide you much better results.
I've been shooting it exclusively since it became available in my area. Many are shooting it now and seating the bullet hard is a requirement. My bullet seating force measures 105# (+/-5#). This is done buy using a "T" handle bullet starter
Hunter Bullet Starter & Ramrod Extension-Information and two hands on the "T" handle and a solid THUMP on the propellant. I have precision tooling that is used to accurately measure these forces when I test.
Your first, second and third shots and the change in POI can be typical of many rifles. Shooters are realizing this all over the country, which is a primary reason for fouling prior to hunting, which is a necessity when there's a possibility of the first shot being at long range. My personal Pro Hunter will shoot 2.5" high and 1" right every time from a clean barrel. It will drop an inch or so on the second and also move left. The third shot and every consecutive shot after, will hit to the same zeroed POI. After two fouling shots, without swabbing between shots and shooting up to 30 to 50 rounds, the rifle never losses its zeroed POI. If I do my part, the rifle holds 3/4" at 150yds and 2" at 200yds. However, it is also a must to clean out the carbon from the primers inside the flash channel. I believe the CVA is a 3mm drill bit and the T/C and Traditions uses a 1/8"drill bit.. turned by hand.
This is also a necessity and not an option. When shooting target I clean the flash channel of carbon after every 6th shot.
One of my good friends has the Accura, not the V2 and has outstanding results with the rifle and accuracy. He can print 3/4" groups all day long with his rifle, without swabbing between shots but, he seats his bullet on the propellant hard also. Since his purchase of that rifle, he's taken every deer that he's shot at with it. It still loads hard, as he's not had the time or finances to shoot a couple hundred rounds through it yet. He shoots 75grs by weight of BH209, CCI209M primers and the Barnes 250gr TMZ bullet. He has been given the nickname of "Gutpile", which he's received from the results of what happens after hearing his rifle fire.
Yup, these new fangled rifles need consistency too..
