bowbender6

Had hangfires after some shots (details previous post) so last night I cleaned the barrel, not sure this was an issue but the 200SW was easier to load but still fairly hard. I drilled out the breech plug from both ends. I had only drilled out the barrel end (.035”) the night before. There wasn’t a lot of carbon from the primer end but the 1/8” drill took out a small amount of carbon. Fired three shots, no hangfires. Temp last night was 36 vs. 22 the night before. First shot on a clean barrel was 1” left and the next two shots touched at 90 yards. I also ran a dry patch and flipped over and ran it again between shots. Not real sure if the problem is fixed but no hangfires last night. Here is the procedure I am now going to try. I still need more testing in colder weather like 20 degrees.

Dry patch between shots.

Drill out breech plug very range session or five shots when hunting.

cayugad

maybe you solved the problem.. good luck and thanks for the great testing you've done.

Semisane

I've seen this solution mentioned on other forums. I know it doesn't apply to everyone, but why trade the chore of wiping between everyshot with T7 for the chore of pulling and drillingthe breech plug every few shots with BH?

bowbender6

I am starting to question that too, but there is a lot less change of POI from clean to dirty (if any) with BH209. Makes it better for the first shot for hunting.

Underclocked

Someone needs to invent something here... a breech plug cleaning primer. Maybe a little Cream of Wheat sitting on the priming material?

blkdiamond45

Just my experience with BH 209, not sure it will help any. I read a post some time ago by Cayuga that metioned he had a few hangfires and even had a primer blow up that hit him with the TC Blk Diamond. I believe that was the post by him, I apologize if it was not. I was a little apprehensive about trying the powder, so I called TC and they initially did not know. A gunsmith from TC called me back an hour later and said it was safe to use. I thencalled Western and got a call back within 20 minutes from a gentleman who said it was safe as well in that system but thought that it would hangfire and had talked with individuals who had experienced hangfires. In fact, if you look at their brochure it has an image of the breech plugs they recommend and one that they do not. The one that they do not recommend is the exact or very similar Blk Diamond breech plug. So after purchasinga bottle of BH209 for $26.50 I tried the Blk Diamond for two consecutive days with Federal 209A primers. Within the two days I shot 16 total shots. I did not swab the barrel once and never touched the breech plug within that time. I shot 80 grains with a 200gr dead center .40/45 cal bullet and then used a Hornady .40/45 cal sst. I never experienced one hangfire for the two days. The only variable that is different from being discussed here is it was between 55 and 60 degrees. I also shot BH209 with my encore but did not experience any hangires but really did not expect any because of the closed breech system.

Incidentally, I am a very average shot but I shot the best group ever with the BLKDiamond using the BH209 that day when I switched to a Hornady SST .40/45 cal bullet. It was the first time I have ever shot that particular bullet/sabot and was quite impressed with the accuracy at 100 yards. Does anyone how well this particular bullet would work on whitetails?

As for the BH209, I'm not sure what to think because of all thedifferentvariables that come into play for each breech system and muzzleloaders. I'm certainly not trying to be imply anything but I'm not real sure Western knows exactly what will work in eachbreech system or they are being very careful as to not create too many high expectations. With that said, in the little time I have used it it seems to be an excellent product. I have already bought another jug. I plan on shooting in a couple of days and the temperature will be in the low thirties so I'll see what happens. I'm also going to try some different primers just to check for differences.

lemoyne

Underclocked
some people, its not a problem, a flashlight battery screw driver from Walmart that comes with a 1/8 drill cleans the carbon out very neatly with all most no effort. I clean mine every 15 to 20 shots and have never had a misfire. I did the same thing with 777 and win 777 primers had to or it would eventually plug up. Lee

bowbender6

I have shot at least 4 jars of BH209 in 6 guns for my family, with different breech plugs and brands. I have found combos in all guns that would work with no hangfires. I have not cleaned like you would with T7 because I wanted to see how they would shoot dirty. I am still a rookie (I think most of us are) to BH209 but from other posts I think the breech plug is the key. I am going to build a rod with an 1/8" drill on end and a .035" drill on the other. Then I can drill out the plug without having to remove it from the gun.

Underclocked

Yes Lee, but we could create a new market.

cayugad

blkdiamond45.. yes that was me. And while I only had a couple hangfires and that incident where the primer blew out and hit me, that was some great powder. And since that powder was not technically made for that rifle, I thought it did great.

In my Knight Disc the stuff worked perfect...