OK, I'll Come Clean - Bought Some Blackhorn
 

I guess most of you guys know I've never been a Blackhorn 209 fan. I bought a canister three years ago and didn't find it did anything I couldn't pretty much do as well with Triple Seven, Pyrodex or even GOEX.

Well, last weekend my brother in law showed up at the hunting lease with his first canister of BH, and shot some really nice groups with it in his Omega. I still had a little BH left in my three year old canister, so I decided to use it up in my X7 with 250 grain Deep Curls.

I took three shots with 100 grains. Recoil was "significant" with the little gun and the group was nothing special. Tried three with 90 grains and it was pretty much the same. I had just enough BH left for two 80 grain shots. Recoil was comfortable and those two hit the 100 yard target pretty close together.

Naturally, over the last week I got to wondering just how well that 80 grain load would do. So in a moment of weakness I stopped off at a local gun shop on my way to the lease Friday afternoon and dropped $30 plus tax for a canister of BH.

I shot twenty rounds this morning, ten with the 250 grain Deep Curls and ten with 300 grain SSTs. (forgot the 300 grains Deep Curls, which are what I really wanted to try.

Here are the targets.









Now I'm perfectly satisfied with those. But honestly, in this gun I can do just as well with any of the other powders. Though I have to admit not wiping between shots was a novelty and kind of nice.

Here's what the primers looked like (same as always, regardless of powder).



And here's what the breech looked like (again, same as always).



All in all, the remainder of my second canister of BH may last another three years. Of course, that could change if it really stacks the 300 grain Deep Curls when I get a chance to try them. (Or if they start putting 16 oz. of powder in that half full canister.) :s2:

Don't feel bad, I did it also. And I think I was the most negative of all about the Black Horn Powder. You really can teach an old dog new tricks. And I was very suprised how well it shot and kept my Knight LRH clean(way beyond any expectation). Tom.

By the way I saw the peep sight you made from a bolt that you posted on "The Muzzleloading Forum". That was pretty neat!! Tom.

As Chris 'Boomer' Berman would say on Monday Night Football: "Come on Man".....
First you go and scope your Renegades. Now you go and buy and shoot BH209!
But in as much as you confessed to doing it you may not be entirely lost.
And they are some pretty nice groups. So I guess I can forgive you. I mean, look at all the money you will save in patches - right?

Semi, try a 105 and 110 gr load with those bullets and see what happens.that gold dot especially like's being pushed..

I would like to buy a can of BH whenever I can justify it, but at the moment I have most of box of tripple seven pellets and a can of pyrodex to go through first.

semi, that looks good enough to hunt with.

I about half an container left of bh209. still have not gotten an taste for it. but I do have an test I like to do for it. when I get time.

Looks like some good shooting to me. And that would be nice not to swab when shooting sabots.

I did shoot three shots with 100 grains last weekend Builder. It gave me a 3.5" group. And a 90 grain load gave me a 3" group. But the main thing is that 100 grain load was just brutal in the little X7. I'm not at all recoil shy, but didn't enjoy shooting those loads.

I wouldn't hesitate to hunt with that load Sqezer. It has plenty of energy and is flat enough out to 150 yards so as to require no holdover estimation. The trajectory would look something like this.

I can't deny it Cayugad. It is nice.

Out of curiosity I just looked through the X7's target file to see if I had ever chronographed any loads with the 250 Deep Curl and T-7, Pyrodex, or GOEX. I had a good bit of chrono data with 300 grain bullets, but only one chronographed target with the 250 Deep Curl. It was shot at 50 yards with GOEX.

Semi,i shoot 110 gr loads of BH209 and 300 gr PT golds and deep curls. thank goodness for the nice recoil pad the triumph came with lol.

Builder, the X7 has an excellent LimbSaver recoil pad also. It weighs in at around seven pounds even with the scope.

Blackhorn seems to have a different recoil profile than the other subs. I shoot 300 grain bullets out of the X7 at 1670 fps with 105 grains of T7 and find the recoil perfectly acceptable. But the recoil with that 100 grain load of BH under the 250 grain bullet was really sharp and no fun at all.

You need to get you an Optima, BH209, 250 or 300gr Powerbelt Aerolites and then you'll love Blackhorns true accuracy offerings!

Dang Semi you crack me up.

I could not get the 300gr Deepcurl to group in my Omega until I hit 110gr BH209. With 110grs, the shots touch at 100 yards. You can't ask for more from a hunting load.

I do agree that the recoil is pretty sharp, but I can't wait to see how well this load performs in the field, where there is no such thing as recoil (I have no reason to shoot this load at paper, just to shoot). We're talking approx 2235 FPE at 50 yards. Bang. Flop.

True 7.62NATO. But the thing is, a 300 grain Deep Curl at 1600 fps does a bang/flop just as well and the trajectory is just fine out to 150 yards.

I got a five shot average of 1624 fps with the 300 grainer and 95 grains T7 FFG out of the X7, and it's a lot more pleasant to shoot.

if you like swabbing between shots i guess its a lot more pleasant! :D

You old timers need to get a good recoil pad or a gun that displaces recoil better. I personally feel that t7, pyrodex kick harder than blackhorn.

The Omega was the hardest kicking gun i've ever owned.

110 gr of BH was not fun.

I found out the secret of this powder and have used it now for the last couple of years. It will be in my gun this season. It is good stuff.

The fact of not having to clean the barrel between shots or multiple shots is nice for a ML'd. :wave: