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Thread: Muzzleloader - BH209

  1. #1
    Join Date
    04-23-02
    Location
    SW Colorado
    Posts
    4,959

    Muzzleloader - BH209

    Ok, here's a fyi range report for this black powder substitute.

    As background, I think muzzloaders are nasty and I strongly dislike cleaning them. I do like hunting in September though, and so here we are.

    There is a "powder" out there for several years now that I finally decided to try called Blackhorn 209. Its supposed to be cleaner than Triple 7, which was cleaner than Pyrodex. I suppose the next powder will clean your gun for you. Oh, and you use regular cleaning solvent to clean the bore, just like a regular rifle.

    Anyway, I switched to Thor 300 copper solids (by Barnes) and decided to switch powders also. BH209 is a little hotter too, so it was pretty much back to the drawing board. I only tried a couple of loads, 90 and 95 grains by volume, and stopped because I was just wasting expensive powder ($45 for a 10 oz jug). And the smell was about to choke me out.

    I put a couple on paper to chase the bull, and ended with the 95 gr (71.5 ish by weight) load grouping at about 2". Thats with open sights which is required here in Colorado. And bifocals.

    I shot 10 shots and never ran a patch down the bore. I have no doubt I could have put 10 more down the pipe. Mission accomplished, I'm a fangirl now.

    I did have one quality control issue with the slugs. There is a simple process to custom size your bore, and order slugs swaged accordingly. Of the 10 EXPENSIVE hunks of copper I sent downrange, one was slightly undersized (felt like .501 instead of the .502 that fits my bore). I was concerned that it wouldn't be tight enough to create the gas seal, but no problem. However, I would have dumped that load if I was in the field out of concern that the slug might work its way loose and leading to a squib load.

    https://www.thorbullets.com/
    "Back after 5 years. I thought you had died.

    don"


    Splitting my time between the montane and the mesas

    The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    10-21-01
    Location
    San Antonio, Tx.
    Posts
    18,387
    Back many decades ago, when I was a yoot, may 10 years-old or so, I decided to make my own gun powder, after all, it was said that only three ingredients go into it, sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate. The Chinese made it 3000years ago, so how hard could that be, and me and the guys needed to blow some sh!t up! We thought it very unfair that fire crackers were only sold at Christmas/NewYears & 7/4, when we could harvest powder from the fire crackers. So, got out the trusty chemistry set and started mixing...no internet then to kindly teach explosives manufacture to the masses. I think I got the ratios correct, but merely grinding and mixing will not work, I’m here to tell you despite that Star Trek episode where Capt. Kirk is stuck on a planet with an evil alien trying kill him and he grinds up some random sulfur, charcoal and salt peter he so conveniently finds, makes gun powder and shoots the monster.

    I tried a few experiments, such as wetting the stuff and letting it dry in a cake...but no go. I could never even get a fizz. So much for my chemistry capabilities. The neighborhood was lucky.
    ...............
    “You can vote your way into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out.” — Too fundamental to have an attribution


  3. #3
    Join Date
    11-22-03
    Location
    In the Village...
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    43,954
    Quote Originally Posted by wacojoe View Post
    The neighborhood was lucky.
    The jurist profession, maybe not so much......Ben
    The future is forged on the anvil of history...The interpreter of history wields the hammer... - Unknown author...

  4. #4
    Join Date
    10-21-01
    Location
    San Antonio, Tx.
    Posts
    18,387
    I made a few bombs there too.
    ...............
    “You can vote your way into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out.” — Too fundamental to have an attribution


  5. #5
    Join Date
    10-22-01
    Location
    All Over
    Posts
    38,198
    Very good review Curt, thanks

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