Blackhorn 209 range report

[Jim Thompson]

well I am a believer after today. although I am not and have never claimed to be a great shot, this stuff is GREAT and is clean.

this is my original setup. I shot fine with it, but never had much consistency.

encore 50 cal
leupold vxiii 3.5x10x50
150 grains 777 (three pellets)
250 TC shockwave
winchester 209 primers

today I shot the same gun and scope and...
100-110 grains by volume of BH 209
250 grain TC shockwave
winchester 209 primers

shooting on bench with decent rest and 84 degrees

my first shot was at 25 yards with 100 gr powder to make sure I was at least still on paper after changing the powder and weights. I was dead center and about 3/4" high.

I then moved to 100 yards and shot my first 3 group and all three touched each other at about 3.50" high and 2" left. I didnt make any adjustments from here because I knew I was going to be playing with the powder volumes. but to say the least I was immediately pleased with the group. I would probably lower it a half inch and move the group to the right to be dead center. 3" high at 100 should put me about 4" low at 200.

ONLY look at the group. the others were experimenting with different powders...all the way down to 60 grains volume for Lela to shoot and a couple of flyers.

first group 100 yards 100 grs bh209

then I changed to 110 grains and although still good for a ML at 100 yards you can see that the group opened up considerably. only thing changed was the volume of powder. ONLY look at the top left group.

100 yards 110 grains bh209

ZERO swabbing between shots and ZERO issues getting the bullet in the barrel. ZERO misfires. to clean (if I do today) I will run a bore cleaner and clean it like a rifle.

 

[Slayer]

outstanding report...another blackhorn convert!!!!! wait till you add the short harvester sabot.....and you bring the groups into a clover leaf.....

100 yards and cutting holes...what else can you ask for???!!!

Great shooting!!! it actually puts some added fun back into using a smokepole!!!!

 

[Jim Thompson]

yep lela was shooting today too. I had her at 60 grains and although this was the very first time she had ever touched the gun, her shots would have killed deer inside of 100 yards.

best part was no work between shots. let the barrel cool and reload.

I will shoot again this weekend and will move the group over to where I want it hitting and will hopefully have the new sabots in.

 

[Davexx1]

Very impressive, good shooting.

All that I have read about BH 209 is good news, have not heard any negative info about it yet.

I contacted the company and was told you can leave the gun loaded with BH 209 for extended periods of time because the powder does not absorb moisture. That is good news as you don't have to empty the gun everyday after the last hunt and reload the gun again for the next days hunt. I would change the primer before each hunt, keep all dry, reload if you get it wet, etc. to be safe.

It is said the BH 209 powder is totally non-corrosive (just like modern smokeless rifle powder), has greater velocity and better trajectory, etc. than any of the black powder subsitutes, etc. but is legal during the muzzle loader seasons.

It seems this powder has the potential to or will make all others obsolete. The fact that this powder is non-corrosive and you don't have to clean the gun between shots, after each shooting session, etc. makes it very attractive.

I have one of the SS Savage 10ML-II "smokeless" rifles but have had to shoot the usual black powder substitues in it to be legal here in Florida. I will be changing over to BH 209 as soon as I can buy it and get the gun to a range to begin working up a good hunting load.

Good luck.

Dave1

 

[Marlin_444]

Cool! Good Shoot'n Jimbo...

Now what do I do with all that T7 I have...

Hmmmmm - Swap N Sell... Yeah!

 

[Jim Thompson]

dave you are correct...NOTHING negative about it out there.


bass pro sells it over the counter which is good for buying one or 2 tubs. you can order online but have to pay a hazmat fee of $20 I think. no problem if you order in bulk.

also I never unloaded my gun after a hunt unless it got soaked anyway

 

[Jim Thompson]

ready for the range again!

110's top and 100's bottom

 

[WTM45]

Now you are cookin' with gas!

 

[mr4shootin]

ready for the range again!

110's top and 100's bottom

What are those little tubes and where do you get them?Also where do you get the short harvester sabot mentioned?

 

[Jim Thompson]

What are those little tubes and where do you get them?Also where do you get the short harvester sabot mentioned?

midsouth has the harvesters http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=00072H5045SB and although mine shot good with the shockwave sabots the harvesters should be in any day and hopefully the groups will be even better. seems like a cheap upgrade. we will see. worst case I am out $10 including shipping.

the test tubes come from online science mall. they will hold 100 grains volume easily and 110 grains tightly but not overly so.

http://www.onlinesciencemall.com/Shop/Control/Product/fp/vpid/2020663/vpcsid/0/SFV/30852

only other thing I am waiting on is a lil pour spout that fits over the top of the powder canister so that I wont have to use the funnel I am using now

 

[WTM45]

only other thing I am waiting on is a lil pour spout that fits over the top of the powder canister so that I wont have to use the funnel I am using now

The red ones at WalMart work on BH209 bottles just like they do on Pyrodex and T7.

 

[ditchdoc24]

Very nice. I may have to look at BH209 once I finish shooting the pyrodex pellets I have now. Thanks for the report JT!

 

[Jim Thompson]

The red ones at WalMart work on BH209 bottles just like they do on Pyrodex and T7.

wish I could find a wally world with them. havent seen one yet. I hate ordering $5 stuff on the web

 

[pmcIntosh]

Hey Jim I was thinking about this blackhorn powder and was shy aaway when the guy at the gun store said it was better than black powder, With what I have seen from your targets I say that i will be buying a pound of it an shoot it in my new Kp1 from Knight 50 cal, Question : do you think that you would have to shot the knight bullets vs powerbelt ? I was at the range to day and felt that I was spinning my wheels with the prodex. Any help would be great. This is a new gun for me I shot an old remington ml for years and found i could not find parts so I up traded up in the Knight . Paul

 

[Slayer]

sketchy reports with powerbelts over the BH209...it appears that you dont get that good of a gas seal with the powerbelts...seems that only the heavier platinum 348's are the only ones that are getting good groups and expasion....

I used to be a big fan of the powerbelts, but after a few pass-thrus with minimal blood trails i opted for the hornady sst.....by the way...that is also the same bullet as the T/C shockwave (not the bonded shockwave)...

just to give ya an idea....shot again tuesday with my set-up

T/C encore
bh209 (75 grains by weight)
harvester short black sabot
hornady 250 gr SST

2.5 inches high at 100 yards
dead center bullseye at 150 yard

join this forum for everything you will need to know about modern muzzleloading

http://www.modernmuzzleloader.com

 

[Slayer]

some extra info on BH209...

on tuesday, my friend has his encore sighted in at 3 inches high at 100, but he was using 2 50 grain 777 pellets, under a 250 gr Hornady SST.....we then loaded his gun with 110 grains (by volume) of bh209.

IT SHOT 9 INCHES HIGHER WITH BH209!!!!!!!!!!

that tells me the BH209 has outstanding velocities compared to the 777 pellets......and he was able to bring his groups in from about 1.25 inches to about 3/4 of an inch....pretty much shoots clover-leafs now

 

[bevills1]

pmcIntosh, my TC Black Diamond shoots very well with sabots and 100 grains of fresh Pyrodex pellets which is powder that was tried first, but 1 year old Pyrodex pellets gives very erratic results. Last year I tried fresh Jim Shockey's Gold FFG powder with identical erratic results. Last week I tried the new Blackhorn 209 powder and got bullet holes touching size groups.

I suspect this is due to some black powder substitutes absorption of moisture thus causing inconsistent propellant charges. The new Blackhorn 209 does not absorb moisture and is more powerful as well as much easier to clean and may be cleaned just like guns firing smokeless powder loads. Note Blackhorn 209 is for use with 209 shotsehll primers and in inline guns only.

 

[Jim Thompson]

just a heads up that on saturday morning somehow or another I kicked my gun off the front porch and it hit pretty hard. I then shot it at the 100 yrd range we have and was not even hitting 8" round! glad I shot it! carried my bow all weekend.

went to the range on monday to see what was up. using a larger backstop, my first 2 shots were TOUCHING EACH OTHER but 9" to the right and about 2" low. cannot believe it knocked my scope off that much. very high quality scope and mounts. nothing was loose. just a freak of nature I guess.

so I made the adjustments and in the next couple of hours proceeded to shoot about 30 rounds through a small fist sized hole at right at 2" high without a single flyer caused by me or the gun

did I mention no swabbing between shots?

also my harvester smooth short sabots came in and I used them all day instead of the ones that came with my shockwaves and they shot great. not sure if they did any better than the standards, but they are cheap and I have them so I am using them.

TC encore 50
100 gr by volume BH209
winchester 209 primers
250 gr TC shockwaves
smooth short harvester sabots

 

[WTM45]

 

[banana-clip]

I need to invest into some of that Buckhorn powder. It sounds like some good stuff.