Well I wanted to do more testing with another inline. I decided to try and see if the Black Diamond XR would shoot BlackHorn 209. My concern was the design of the breech plug. That being the breech plug and the 209 primer nipple are separate pieces. The Black Diamond XR has a 1.5-4.5x32mm Bushnell Dusk to Dawn scope. I had the scope set on 4.5 for all shooting.
I had moved the target up to the 50 yard station as earlier I was shooting a flintlock with some roundball. I shot off about twenty ball, and was going to stop for the day, then decided to shoot the Black Diamond XR. Since accuracy was not the issue, but the ability of the rifle to handle the powder, the actual distance I decided was not that important. Plus the bugs were pretty good back in the woods. It was 80 degrees out, and calm.
My Black Diamond XR has a favorite loads. It loves Shockwaves in 250 grain and it also likes the Speer GDHP 250 grain in a MMP HPH-12 sabot. The Speer are a tight fitting load. Normally I shoot 90 grains of Triple Se7en 2f with these loads. But I have shot them with as much as 120 grains of powder. So I decided to shoot 100 grains of the BlackHorn 209 powder.
The first 6 shot group I shot was the center black duct tape. I was shooting 100 grains of BlackHorn 209 and the 250 grain Speer Gold Dots. While I knew the rifle could do better, this was not a test of accuracy.Normally this load is just a big hole from this rifle.
The Black Diamond XR handled this BlackHorn 209 powder with no problem. Ignition was instantaneous. I was using Winchester W209 primers.
I then put a small sticker from a Birchwood Casey shoot and See (we are talking 3/4 of an inch, maybe smaller. I drew a circle to indicate the size I was shooting at.) above the main group I had made. This time I loaded 100 grains of BlackHorn 209 and 250 grain Shockwaves. I never checked the target except the one time I knew I had a different feeling on the shot. That was caused by the last shot because I finished off the box of Shockwaves and was a sabot short. So I loaded that last Shockwave in a Nosler sabot. It loaded a lot harder then the Shockwave sabots. Why the group ran a string I would guess is the powder charge was just not right. I am sure with some tinkering, I could make this BD shoot a very tight group with BlackHorn 209.
Now I sat there thinking.. I know the rifle shoots better. Maybe I was having a bad day. So I swabbed the bore clean and went to the house and got a jug of Triple Se7en 2f powder. I decided to shoot for the center target.
This time I loaded 90 grains of Triple Se7en 2f, a Nosler sabot, and the 250 grain GDHP. I did swab between each shot, taking my time to let the barrel cool a little. And I had a fantastic group going. I think that main hole is six shots. Then that one muzzleloader God,
Damitifliched showed up and blew the whole thing for me with the last shot.
Cleaning the rifle was not all that bad. I swabbed the bore with some Butch's Bore Shine, then had to scrub out the Breech Plug of some nasty black fowling with Q-tips and patches dipped in Butch's Bore Shine. After knowing the barrel was clean, I waterbath scrubbed the breech threads in the rifle. That cleaned them up real fast.
This BlackHorn 209 powder is an amazing powder. No swabbing, no stink, nice smoke, and good power. I think with a little work, I could tune this up to the Black Diamond XR easy. Although this Black Diamond XR with Triple Se7en 2f is a very good shooting rifle. As I have said before, it is kind of a boring rifle as it always shoots good. If I had a better scope with more magnification I think this would be a easy long range rifle. Perhaps I will consider this as some good scopes are on sale right now.
Blackhorn 209 in a Black Diamond XR
