Testing the Lehigh Generation II Knight Plug...
 

I did get out Sunday to run another test on the new Gen II plug. This time I took the Extreme MHC 50 cal out for the test run run the new plug.

My goal again was to observe cleanliness and the ability to shoot BH consistently with a variety of primers....

It is my belief the the Lehigh Vent Liner is one of the single most biggest advances to a breech plug in years.... Not just because it can be replaced at some some point in the future without buying a whole new breech plug, but the abilty that it give you ignite powders with a variety of primers.

Western Powders and Lehigh continue to suggest that you should use a hot primer to ignite BH, either a Federal 209A or a CCI-209M. It is my belief you can use most any primer you want to ignite BH if you have the vent liner in the BP.

OK - I should say that I am not saying that other BP's will not work with different primers but i think the vent liner adds reliabilty and extended use...

Sunday i shot 15 shots of 110 grains of BH with different primers and got instant ignition with all. Also comparable velocities and and comparable accuracy, especially for me shooting through a chronograph as I spend more time focused on it than I do the target. The other factor was I was on a time limit so I was shooting one shot right after another.

Cleanliness.... the Lehigh BP was installed in the gun with the longest measured breech area, so i was concerned the primer(s) might leak a little blow back as not all primers used toched the primer shelf in the primer pocket.

I really was not dissappointed... It was great. There was a minimal amount of blow back dust - but everything just wipped off. I really believe I could have continued to shoot the rest of the day without cleaning or disassembly of anything. Not only that the 'flash channel' showed very little sign of 'clogging up'. I do not think it would have...

Here is a set of pictures after the shooting trip...



In two of the other DISC's I have I would have had a tighter fit and even less dusting....

Here is the target with the different velocities for all 15 shots with the different primers... Hot ones and cold ones.....

All loads were volume loads thrown at the shooting site....



Do not get to critical of the grouping - i was in a hurry and i know I had a couple of OOPs!!! along the way...

All-in-all I think Lehigh Dave has a winner product....

My Gen II arrived today
 

My replacement Gen II arrived today at NO CHARGE. I even told him when i got the Gen I refund that mine worked as needed in my GMB54.

OUTSTANDING customer service and the Gen II is beautifully machined like the first one. I showed it to a CAD customer who knows of the company and i told him about their GRADE A customer service. We just repaired his PC and saved some valuable data.

Lehigh Designs will continue to get more of my business.

Thank you Dave, this country needs more businesses and people like you.

He currently has my rifle (Knight LRH) to see what the difference is on this model vs the extremes. Hopefully there can be something worked out so I can get one that works too cause I want one!

Post script: I just received a Gen II in the mail today as well, minus the vent liner and at no charge. I think that was a computer glitch to even send me one, since currently they are not designed for a LRH. So I will check with them and see.

AND, the attached letter states: "This kit is guranteed to shoot one-hole groups at 1000 yards, gut your game on impact, drag it back to the truck, and pay your taxidermy bill. I am so confident in the gurantee I will refund you full purchase price if you are not satisfied."

LOLOL. Since this was sent free of charge, I guess it is a safe gurantee!!

Got my Gen II today also. Thanks to some modifications by sabotloader my Gen I is working fine too. Now I only need 1 more for Elite #3. :rock:

I e-mailed Dave that I don't want a refund for Gen I, but he processed it anyway. So, I spent the extra $40 on some 185gr DOA bullets, which are shooting great in the .45 Elite. Looks like the 185's are the "go to" bullet for this deer season. A win-win situation on this one.

Dave's a class act... I'll be back for more.

The only problem i have is NOW i will need to take a day off work so i can go to the range. :happy0157:

On the weekends its too crowded at the public range and the private range is only open on weekends. :wink:

new breech plug
 

Got my gen 11 in today and still cant close the bolt whats up i guess
my knight will not work with the new updated breech plug.....

First "fit test" Extreme 50 with 9xxx serial #---tight but if its like the Gen I it will loosen a tiny bit.

Win209 primer (longest) drops in and comes out correctly. Pulling back on the bolt is tight but primer falls out of the adapter.

Fired primer---spotless and LOUD

Cheddite 209 is a tiny bit easier.

Fired primer--slight residue near the bottom. None made it passed half way up the primer side. Much quieter compared to Win209.

Both removed fairly easy after firing. IMO tight but a good tight. No residue in the breach and only a slight amount in the primer pocket. I just cleaned the Extreme and the breach/bolt face was and still is spotless with just 2 primers fired.


Elite 45 next with 1xxx serial #.

Guys one thing I fogget to mention because I never use the Knight BP tool....

One thing that I keep forgetting to mention.... If you try to install a Lehigh plug with a regular Knight breech plug tool, it will probably bottom out before the plug is seated. I really would recommend that you use a 7/16" deep socket. You will probably need to use a 1/4" drive socket so the walls of the socket are not are not to thick.

Cleaned the slight residue from primer pocket first.

Bolt closes easier with and without Win209 primer. In the Gen I this gun was the loosest and dirtiest of my 3 DISC based rifles.

Win209 primer inserts, extracts and falls out of the NFPJ adapter very nicely. The Win209 does go all the way in the primer pocket with just finger pressure. The Cheddite appears to have a bit larger OD but it is shorter.

Fired Win209---Spotless and appear near perfect head spacing. Even the bottom of the primer is almost spotless and flawless extraction. :woot:

Fired Cheddite--Same as Extreme 50. Some residue on the sides of the primer and flawless extraction. :woot:

Im not going to test any other primers for now. I mainly wanted to make sure it worked with the longest primer Win209 (my favorite) and the least expensive primer i can get locally.

Conclusion for now....this is MUCH better than the Gen I in my Elite 45 and better than the Extreme 50 also.

BTW i am using a PR vent liner but i doubt this test makes any difference. The breach and bolt face in both look great after only 2 primers. The Gen I works fine in my GMB54 wiht Win209s so im not going to test it for now.

Thank you Dave and Sabotloader for your efforts :party0007:

Small update in low serial # Elite 45

All primers inserted and extracted flawlessly including firing.

Fired WinT7 primer---Primer is nearly spotless and much louder than in other guns and breach plugs ive tested.---Conclusion...they will probably work great even with BH209.

Fed209A- not bad at all. Only light soot on the sides near the bottom and a little carbon on the bottom.

CCI209M-- also not bad. Just a bit dirtier than the Fed209A with just a bit more carbon near the bottom and sides.

Rem STS--its still only average in terms of blowby but still reasonable. No hard carbon residue past the bottom edges.

CCI209 standard---these are still one of the dirtiest primers ive tried. Soot and carbon almost all the way upto the "rim" of the primer.

Fired 2 more Win209s at the end to see if they were cleaner since they were first in a clean plug.

Nope still spotless...and i meen spotless. You can hardly see any carbon on the bottom of the primer and none on the sides. It appears that 99% is going down the channel.

The Gen II looks very promising and in my Elite 45 it functions about as good as possible without having it custom head spaced. The WinT7s really surprised me compared to other plugs including my CVAs. They are much louder, even louder than the Rem STS. Plus very very clean.

After roughly 12 primers the breach and bolt face only have a very light soot and IMO if i would have only used Win209s it would like like it had just been cleaned. The bolt face cleaned up with just a dry Qtip.

This weekend i will try and really test the 3 best primers in my Elite 45.
1) Win209
2) WinT7
3 Fed209A

All three looked great and should cover all of my shooting needs. If WinT7s ignite BH209 without an issue, i think that would be a real accomplishment IMO.

It sure appears that they will now.