Lately I have been busy shooting smokeless. This weekend I get to clean Cosmo out of a Serbian carbine I bought recently - that should be fun!

I have been shooting in the afternoons with many different rifles when I have the energy. Only out to 100 yards, and most times (open sights) even less then that. It has been a real pleasure shooting my custom flintlock. That is an amazing rifle. Fast lock, very accurate, and for a 42 inch barrel, the balance is outstanding. But I was also shooting my .451 White. That has to be one of the best rifles ever made. It is what I label a boring rifle. Because if you do your part, it does its. I should send that rifle and some conicals to one of you long range devil shooters and see what you can make it do. It would be very interesting.

Other then that, I have been on the wood pile, still cutting firewood in the mornings. I have it all cut finally. (three years worth) and now I have to split and stack all of it.



This is what that pile is supposed to look like. But I found my axe swinging abilities have suffered with age. I get tuckered out much faster then when I was younger. So I have a wood splitter now. And that will help.

Dave, you may be getting older, but your a lot wiser in getting that log splitter and saving your body for other things. Plus you won't be as sore. LOL

Dave, at my age, I don't split wood, the dang stuff splits me! I used to love splitting hardwood. Was a hell of a good workout. Not to mention if the wife was around, she kinda liked it when I was all sweaty and pumped up. Got a "workout" later. Oh lawdy the memories!

Anywho, just got back from the Cabela's. Did a little burn rate test on that 209. Seems to burn very clean and the burn rate is closer to smokeless speeds than I would have thought. Might just take it to the range here in a few instead of tomorrow. Beautiful day outside.

Ah nuts! I wanted to be different, and use Pyrodex while everybody else used BH 209.

I'm weak, and I just ordered some BH, Western BP, and hot primers.

Now i'm using an Accura MR nitride, Barnes bullets, and BH 209. How ordinary can I get.

Well, i'm not wearing camo!!!!

Okay Muley, I have officially been converted. Just a prelim. but this stuff really does shoot 10 times cleaner than T7. But damn was Triple Se7en spot on about the carbon buildup in the flash hole. 1/8" drill bit took care of that quick and pretty though. I swabbed after every 3rd shot. Groups of 6 stepping up to my max charge of 82 grains (scale weight not volume). Used 300gr Hornady SST's with their provided sabots, Barnes 300gr T-EZ with my Orange MMP sabots, and some 300 grain Scorpion PT Golds I had laying around also with the orange MMP sabots.

Accuracy wise, the Hornady nudged out the Scorpions by about .03" in the group but all 3 shot well within 1" group at 100 yards when I reached the 75gr powder mark. from there the Hornady's fell off a little bit to just outside 1". The scorpions and the barnes both clover leafed at 80 grains.

Now, I had tried all three of these bullets with T7 as well as pyrodex and none of them performed this well. The TC Shockwaves, accuracy wise, clover leafed about the same as the Barnes/Scorpions. But as I said earlier, I just don't trust them anymore. 1 blowup on a shoulder I could dissmiss as a fluke, but 2 nope, nadda, not fooling around with that anymore.

Now for a question, I have hit a few animals with the scorpions and I know they hit like a Mack Truck but these Barnes T-EZ's are fairly new, at least to me anyway. Anyone have any ON ANIMAL experience with them? I'm going to pick between the Scorpions and the Barne's. The Hornady's are okay but I am not a huge fan of the SST bullet. It tends to fragment at close range and that is exactly what I am trying to get away from.

If you want a bullet that retains almost all of it's weight, and penetrates. The Barnes is your bullet.

It's the only 250gr bullet i'll use on bear and elk.

I muzzleload Elk very rarely. I pretty much only Archery hunt them anymore with an occasional rifle hunt for quick cow meat thrown in the mix I pull out the ML barrel primarily here in IL for Whitetail and sometimes for hog when not on an elimination/extermination hunt. So yes I want a bullet that retains it's weight but I don't want one that requires a solid shoulder hit to open it up or one that requires definite fluid dynamics to open it up. I know picky picky

Barnes ML bullets open up easily.

It's the CF Barnes that need a lot of speed to open.

The black powder forums seem to be really slow due to the departure of a lot of the regular long time posters.

As to BH209? The only thing that could possibly be better is if they come out with BH209 pellets or lower the price significantly.