I know, we've had this issue ever since our options expanded beyond Pyrodex. I know you have the electronics to test your guns, but most of us don't have that option. So I was going by the most commonly used limits I've heard of for mass produced guns....there are guns rated for 200gr loads of 777 after all (Ultimate Firearms Inc).

What I would like to see is a test of BH209 and 777 with 200, 250 and 300 gr bullets in several different guns to see where they hit the max safe pressure. My guess is that, especially for heavier bullets, you'll see a longer pressure curve for BH209 and therefore get higher velocity at the same peak pressure. But I have not seen such data produced.

Then there is the issue of defining what your max safe pressure is in a ML. Centerfires have SAAMI guidelines to refer to. What is the max safe pressure in an Omega vs an Accura vs a Disc Elite???


As a postscript, let me point out that it is a myth that you reach a limit in velocity with 777 once you reach a certain charge and just blow powder out the barrel. Not only have I not observed a limit going all the way up to max recommended charge (135gr loose) with bullets 200-325gr, but I recently met someone at work with one of these Ultimate Firearms rifles that shoots 4 777 pellets with a 300gr bullet and a 26" barrel and while I don't recall the exact velocity off the top of my head it was certainly higher than anything anyone here has generated....2,300 fps rings a bell but I'd have to email him to tell for sure.

Perhaps whenever I finally get a plug for my smokeless ML I could generate some interesting numbers for you guys, I could safely stuff way more 777/BH209 in that thing than is possible in guns being discussed here. This would allow us to answer some interesting questions without putting anyone at risk of pushing the limits too far in a normal ML rifle.