777 is garbage

Woodrow88 · 12-22-2008, 07:23 AM

Had a misfire in my TC Pro hunter last night. It went off but was very delayed and just didn't sound or feel right. Missed a crippled button buck I was going to put down. Went to reload for a second shot and I cant even seat a second shot. Not even close to getting it down to the powder. I'm done with 777, I'll probably go back to pyredex since I like pellets but that Blackhorn 209 is looking good.

Buck Hunter 1 · 12-22-2008, 07:36 AM

I used to shoot the T7 pellets and then loose out of my Pro Hunter. I had to swab between evry shot for just the reason of getting another load into the barrel. It did not make shooting very fun. I am now shooting BH209 and having fun. I can shoot 20-30 times w.out swabbing and am very pleased w/ performance not to mention the clean up ease! Some on here have had good luck w/ T7, but I will not go back ever since i have been shooting BH209. I do not care what it costs!

SWThomas · 12-22-2008, 07:42 AM

This is the main reason I'll be shooting BH209.

MOEncore · 12-22-2008, 07:59 AM

I shoot 777 loose powder and have always liked it with my Encore. I swab between shots when at the range but when in the field deer hunting I dont and have not had any trouble getting a 2nd or even a 3rd shot to seat. One time at the range I had a couple of none fires and/or delayed shots... then I figured out it was ME that was to blame and not the powder. The patches I was swabbing with were way too wet and the dry patch couldnt get it dry enough. I dont think anyone makes a powder that would have worked for me that day. I unscrewed the breech plug and pushed the load out and I could see the powder was soaked... wow... MY BAD. Lesson learned for me that day.

Not sure how many pounds of 777 I have used but its been enough to log very close to 900 shots through my Encore now. I use the .25acp instead of the 209 shot shell primer and for me its been a world of difference in keeping the gun and breech clean. Seems like the only time myself or people I shoot with have trouble is when the gun isnt clean. Breech plugs especially when shooting the 209 shot primers need to be extra clean. Also I feel like its a MUST to fire off a couple of primers prior to loading for a hunt just to make sure everything is DRY. When you clean and lube your barrel, a lot of that will get trapped in behind the load and in the breech plug. Thats another mistake learned long ago. My standard is to fire off 3 primers just to insure its dry then load the gun as normal. I have had 100% NOW fires since doing that.

j2000 · 12-22-2008, 08:00 AM

Yes,bh 209 will take care of that problem.if it had a crunch feeling on the second load she was dirty allready.sounds like old powder going on too.

spaniel · 12-22-2008, 08:11 AM

What you experienced likely had more to due with operator error than the powder. Many of us shoot 777 all the time and have no issues at all with misfires or hangfires. Old powder, too much oil in the gun when you loaded it, left it loaded too long, there are numerous possibilities. I had a lot of hangfires with pyrodex when I started MLing and it made me furious but in retrospect most of them were my fault.

Personally I run a spit patch between loadings with 777 anyways, not that I couldn't load 2-3 shots without doing do. A few times I've loaded a follow-up with no cleaning in the field and done fine, you must have a real tight load to begin with if you can't get a second load seated.

Beware BH209 is not a cure-all. It is dependent upon a good solid seal to ignite reliably. Lots of posts of people having ignition problems with it. Not that it's bad either, just that it is different and it's good to know that going in. Every powder is different, knowing each's eccentricities is part of the game!

oldsmellhound · 12-22-2008, 08:15 AM

Sorry for your bad experience- that really does suck. However, I've never had any issues with 777 other than the "dreaded crud ring". I swab between shots- this takes care of the crud ring, however, I have shot up to 5 or 6 times without swabbing and it still worked okay. Only misfires I've had were when I didn't bother clearing the breech plug hole by popping a primer or two- I noticed it gets clogged up easily, so you need to make sure it's clear every time before you load.

lemoyne · 12-22-2008, 08:17 AM

Woodrow88
Well at least I am not alone in disliking that stuff. I to have gone to Blackhorn for the inlines and Pyrodex for the traditional and pistols. Lee

falcon · 12-22-2008, 08:31 AM

Never had any problems with 777 going bang when it was supposed to. 777 is a very good and consistent powder. However, i got tired of the crud ring, got tired of having to very thoroughly swab the barrelbetween shots and got tired of putting the barrel in a vise in order to remove the breech plug.My 777 went away and i do not miss it.

Woodrow88 · 12-22-2008, 08:44 AM

I shot it the other day so I cleaned it thoroughly. It may have been some stuff in breech plug who knows?? I ran a dry patch down it before I loaded it and went hunting the day before this happened. I left gun in my truck loaded and went hunting yesterday when this happened. It could have had some condensationdevelop?? Never happened to me before but to not be able to seat another sabot for a follow up shot is not good. I use TC shockwave superglides.