CVA Slick Load Sabots

Slick Load Sabots

I received an order of these new SlickLoad Sabots from CVA a bit ago and these have already interested me since i saw them in a Cabelas Catalog. In Colorado we are not allowed to use sabots, but just across the boarder, My brother in law and my nephew can use them in New Mexico during the Muzzleloading season. I figured to get enough packages to try out in the main rifles they'll be used in " Two CVA Wolfs" and to start working up loads with an assortment of Loose powder and even Pellet powder.

First off, these Sabots are made of Pure Lead... This is Soft lead, so keep that in mind if you are shooting reasonably close range and using a Magnum 150gr Pellet load. I love the fact that they are soft lead as over the years, i have seen many posts about other sabots failing to open up due to the fact they are hard lead encased in a thick copper jacket. Soft lead will mushroom easily and after testing these SlickLoads, they open nicely with even small charges. A great thing, especially if you have a young hunter that can not take a shoulder thumping load.

When i first started shooting these, the very first one that went down my CVA Accura's bore went super easy.... Easier than a Powerbelt! I thought " Oh no, this can not be good" I had started with 100gr Blackhorn209 and a CCI 209M primer and got the rifle dialed in at 50 and later moved out to 100 yards. Despite the easy loading sabot, they are Super Accurate! I find it unbelievable that an easy fitting sabot is giving me under 1 1/2" groups @ 100 yards on a HOT day.... It basically left me speechless to be honest.

After getting my Accura all set up, i got my nephew to get out on the range with his New CVA Wolf .50cal and 80gr Blackhorn209. I honestly wasn't expecting him to shoot all that great as this is his first muzzleloader. His Wolf sports a Bushnell 3-9x40 scope that's nestled into the Durasight QR rings. I really like this set up due to the fact that if he ever is able to hunt in Colorado with me, all we'll have to do is remove the scope to use the open sights and then just slap it back on after hes done hunting. Saves time and money by not having to re-zero the scope!

Well, getting back to my nephew shooting his Wolf, We took a few shots at 100 yards and got the scope dialed in and hitting close to where we want it. I was pretty amazed...... No..... Down right shocked and somewhat jealous after he had finished shooting. He had been shooting of my Caldwell CFX Lead Sled and he really likes it, but i had to make sure he knew that shooting off that rest VS shooting off hand or off of shooting sticks, is entire new ball game and that hes going to have to practice off the sticks and off hand so he can be prepared for his November Mule Deer Youth hunt coming up in New Mexico. Bobby " my Nephew" ended up with am amazing group @ 100 yards. He was pretty proud, as was I. These SlickLoads are just down right Accurate!


There are quite a few good idea's in this set up that i like very much. Whats the most annoying thing about the other typical sabots? Well, One, they often load Hard. Two, You have to change sabots from one to the other so it will fit your bore and give you accuracy, Three and the most annoying for me, The bullets always fall out of the sabot and into your possibles pouch.

Now if you will notice the picture of the Bullet-Sabot on the Left, you can clearly see the "Ribs" on the sabot. Those are what makes the SlickLoads, just that! They work somewhat like a conical, those rings cut into the rifling allowing for smooth easy loading and hold it firmly in the barrel. On the inside of that Sabot there is One more Rib in there. That Rib seats into the Crimped section on the bullet and Locks the bullet inside of the sabot so it does not fall out! That really made my day when i found that out. A very good Design that many shooters out there i am sure, Will Enjoy.



The Sabot.... If you find yours down range, Expect it to be up range 40 to 6 0 yards, these things do fly out a lot farther than the other sabots i have shot in the past and here's the reason why. The Pedals on the Sabot sheer off at about 15 feet and all that's left is something that looks like a gas seal on a powerbelt. This is completely normal. So if you see the Sabot and its missing all pedals or maybe still has One or Two attached, Don't worry about it! Completely normal and does not effect accuracy at all.

Are you a Pellet Shooter? If so, I can highly suggest 100gr or 150gr of the IMR White Hots. The Accuracy i've gotten from both loads has been excellent. I will be testing the Magnum loads to make sure the 250gr SlickLoad can handle it at 50 - 65 yards and will do a report on Max loads for certain distances.

Range reports with American Pioneer, Jim Shockeys Gold, Triple 7 Magnum Pellets, will be updated as soon as i get that info available.

Overall, I truly am impressed with this SlickLoad Sabot. Very user friendly and there is no having to mess around by swapping out sabots that fit your barrel. A great Sabot if you're shooting a CVA Muzzle loader.