I'm fairly new to muzzleloading and have a friend that shoots 150 gr. of 777. I was wondering if it was safe to load that much 777 or not I'm just not sure I've heard conflicting stories. Also is BH209 safe to load a 150 gr. charge. on their website the highest grain usage is 120 gr. hope you can help me out.

Read your manual for safe operation. Some people shoot that T7 load but many many ore shoot 100 or less grains. It seems some of these bullets perform better w/out the high load. Also the punishment you receive from that load IMO would not allow you to enjoy a long range session. I shoot 110 grain of BH209 oiut of my Pro Hunter, i have seen a couple guys state they shoot 120 but never more than taht. Again Many many giuys shoot 100 or less grains of BH209 and probably more are heading towards 90 grains. Go back through some of the posts and I am sure you will find charts outlining the speed factor and it is probably not worth loading 150 grains for the slight perforemance increas you will receive. The boys on this site I'm sure can give you better info.

Depends on what your rifle is rated for. Most rifles today are rated for 150 grains of pellets, but some are rated for only 100 grains of loose powder- doesn't completely make sense to me, but hey, it's their company. CVA's are only rated for 100 grains loose. TC & Knight are rated higher, but I don't know for sure if they are rated up to 150 grains loose powder. The max load I see most guys using is 120 - 130 grains loose powder or 150 grains worth of T7 or Pyrodex pellets.

Depending on the manufacturer of the rifle, and the age of the rifle, the recommended powder charges vary. In pellet form, many modern inline rifles can handle 150 grains. In loose form, that IS NOT THE CASE. Many of the manufacturer's recommendations for loose powder vary from 100-120 grains of powder. You then have to consider the grade of powder. Also on some rifles the weight of the projectile they shoot makes a difference.

What I recommend is that the person you are talking about be certain that the rifle they are shooting is ACCORDING TO MANUFACTURER SPECIFICATIONS, able to handle those powder charges. If they have any doubt or do not know the specifications of the rifle, then reduce those charges to no more then 100 grains until they can confirm with the gun maker the correct amounts.

After you find what the limit on your rifle is then you have to remember all powders are not of the same potential energy. Most limits are based on black powder by volume, and you have to understand the pressure relationship because FFF with burn faster andgenerate more pressure for the same amount of powder than FF for the same amount of powder but the potential energy is the same.
Remembering that I am stating this as my opinion, I will try to give you a kind of comparison.
Black powder FF pressure about the same per volume as RS Pyrodex so I use the same volume.
Black FFF is a bitweaker and generates a bitless pressure than P Pyrodex.
150 gr of black generates about the same pressure as 115 gr of 777
150 gr of black generates about the same pressure as 120 gr of Blackhorn 209.
Now remember two things about what I am saying here , I use GOEX black other brands may differ and I never mentioned velocity the relationship between velocity and pressure is NOT direct in the fact that how long the pressure is maintained is what controls velocity.
I hope this helps. Lee

Pressures using large charges of 777 orPyrodexcan approach or exceed 25,000 psi. This is in the lower end of centerfire rifle pressures and care must be taken. i used to use130-150 grain charges ofPyrodex RS and found that they were not needed. At charges of over 100 grains of Pyrodex RS one is working withthe law of diminishing returns where a lot of the powders energy is wasted because it burns outside the muzzle of the gun or not at all.

i willsometimesfire my CVA Stag Horn muzzleloader it at the end of the day in low light to check the zero. The target is always a rock. My load was alwaystwo 50 gr. Pyrodex pellets and the 240 grain XTP. There would be no visible fire or smoke from the muzzle, indicating that the charged burned completely in the 24" barrel ofthe gun. Killed acouple hogs with my CVA Mag Hunter late in the day using three 50 gr. Pyrodex pellets. There was 6-8 feet of flame from the 26" barrel, indicating that much of the charge burned outside the barrel.