BH 209 ..Holy Crap!!!

My local shop irked me.He jacked the price up on 777 pellets just In time for ML season. They went up 6.00 from 39.00. Since he doesnt stock any thing else other than the white hots I figured i,d take a trip to the city and see if I could get the BH. Well I nearly fainted. 75.00 for a 10oz bottle, plus another 50.00 for the breach plug. I think NOT!!. I dont care how well It works I will never pay that price. I dont know how anyone could afford to sight their guns in at those prices.I ended up stocking up on 3 sizes of T7's. I got 30,50,60 grain pellets so I can fine tune my loads.I have enough to last quite a while. The only way I could ever see using BH is if I was able to smuggle some across the border..lol.

63.00 lb. at Williams Arms in Port Perry.

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Originally Posted by jim

63.00 lb. at Williams Arms in Port Perry.

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Seriously!! I didnt even think to try them because I didnt figure they would even have it. Thats a better price than 75.00 for 10 oz. The cost of all muzzleloader supplies is getting pretty steep.

I found the 10oz bottle adequate for zeroing the ML with enough powder left to last a few hunting seasons or 2-3 range sessions.

Yea I paid $65 in Brockville back in Jan....he special ordered it in, so I was kind of obligated.

But guys were saying it's magical and makes you shot much better, so I had to get it...Haha

Ya it seems to be the Must Have propellant. Aside from less cleaning I really dont see the need. I might be persuaded if I didnt need to spend another 50.00 on a breach plug and a re loader so I,m not spilling it all over the place when I,m hunting. At the end of the day it wont make a dead deer any more dead.

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Originally Posted by bcxextreme

At the end of the day it wont make a dead deer any more dead.

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So far I have tried the Goex, Pyrodex and T7 in the same gun, with the same bullets....no real difference in performance....the deer sure didn't notice.

I don't buy into product hype and not expecting miracles, going into it with an open mind.

T7 is still 39.99 before tax in Cabelas.

It's quite a drive for me. If I ever am Out that way I,d stop buy. They seem to have pretty decent prices. The prices for some of the cleaning stuff is just retarded too. I saw a set from TC with some cleaning patches and stuff it was 70.00. Thats just nuts. I am going to have to start saving my worn out underwear to make cleaning patches from.:ashamed:

I called williams arms in PP.They said BH 209 was 49.99. I drove all the way there and found that the price was 67.99/10oz. Naturally I was not impressed but when I spoke to the owner(I assume) and explained it, he said the guy had given me the old price.He knocked 7.00 off the price because i,d driven all the way just for that so I got two jugs. I will do the breech plug mod myself so I will be joining the BH bandwagon very soon. Two containers should last me several seasons and by then there will be something new:thumbup:

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Originally Posted by bcxextreme

I called williams arms in PP.They said BH 209 was 49.99. I drove all the way there and found that the price was 67.99/10oz. Naturally I was not impressed but when I spoke to the owner(I assume) and explained it, he said the guy had given me the old price.He knocked 7.00 off the price because i,d driven all the way just for that so I got two jugs. I will do the breech plug mod myself so I will be joining the BH bandwagon very soon. Two containers should last me several seasons and by then there will be something new:thumbup:

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The drive and price is worth it. Trust me.

CVA ought to offer the breech plug as a standard feature that is compatible with both pellets and loose powder.

OP - FYI, couple specific brands of 209 primers (CCI 209M and Federal 209A) are strongly recommended for use with BH209.

Don't worry too much - in my experience its not that great at any price; certainly not the holy grail of muzzle loader propellants in my opinion.

The trick is getting it to to ignite consistently for you. If you have the right ML to achieve that, then its great as it burns clean, if not its an exercise in frustration.

For me, I could not achieve this. I have a Thompson Center Bone Collector ML and I gave up on making it work with it. I tried all the primers including the "hot" CCI 209 Magnum. I clean and prep my ML spotless and follow all the instructions to a "T". I am not new at using a ML.

When I switched to BH209 2 years ago, I had a couple of misfires at the range with it. Should have taken the hint and stopped then.

I then used it for hunting and aimed at a nice buck and you guessed it - aim, pull the trigger (click), primer goes off, wait, wait, (WTF!), Bang!!! By that time I had moved the reticles off the buck and clean missed, watched the buck run away - Grrrrr, F&%K and a few other cuss words LOL!!

Since then, will not use that stuff any more - back to my dirty, dependable Triple 7 pellets.

Dam that really blows. I dont expect it to do anything magical lol. There is a well documented mod to the BP that isnt too hard to do.I also have a wolf and the plugs are the same so I can swap it out anytime I want to shoot pellets. I got a cple tubs of it now so I hope it doesnt turn out like that shoky,s gold crap.

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Originally Posted by sharps4570

CVA ought to offer the breech plug as a standard feature that is compatible with both pellets and loose powder.

OP - FYI, couple specific brands of 209 primers (CCI 209M and Federal 209A) are strongly recommended for use with BH209.

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I had just picked up some remington sts primers which are actual shot shell primers.If they dont work I will track down one of the suggested brands.

Ahuntr300,

It's unfortunate that you had negative experience with the BH209 product. I own the same rifle (TC Bone Collector) and haven't encountered any hang fire, FTF or any other issues so far with the powder.

I had tested both CCI and Federal primers as specified by the BH209 propellant manufacturer - no issues whatsoever. However, after 13 consecutive rounds, I needed to throughly clean the breech plug flashhole prior to proceeding again.

OP - suggest use the recommended primer(s) only for optimized performance and clean the ML (as necessary at the range) using oil based solvents only otherwise the fouled bore/flash hole can easily gum up if water based solvents are used.

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Originally Posted by bcxextreme

Ya it seems to be the Must Have propellant. Aside from less cleaning I really dont see the need. I might be persuaded if I didnt need to spend another 50.00 on a breach plug and a re loader so I,m not spilling it all over the place when I,m hunting. At the end of the day it wont make a dead deer any more dead.

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Well lets just consider this. How much are we really talking here. To me the $50 on a breech plug is a non event. What did your scope rings and bases cost ? (Actually afraid to ask that). If normal powder is going for around 50$. Ya the stuff I burn at least a can a week of I think if I get to where an extra 10-15$ bugs me for a powder it'll take me 10 years to shoot off then perhaps I'd be better with knitting needles. Just sayin

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Originally Posted by Ahuntr300

Don't worry too much - in my experience its not that great at any price; certainly not the holy grail of muzzle loader propellants in my opinion.

The trick is getting it to to ignite consistently for you. If you have the right ML to achieve that, then its great as it burns clean, if not its an exercise in frustration.

For me, I could not achieve this. I have a Thompson Center Bone Collector ML and I gave up on making it work with it. I tried all the primers including the "hot" CCI 209 Magnum. I clean and prep my ML spotless and follow all the instructions to a "T". I am not new at using a ML.

When I switched to BH209 2 years ago, I had a couple of misfires at the range with it. Should have taken the hint and stopped then.

I then used it for hunting and aimed at a nice buck and you guessed it - aim, pull the trigger (click), primer goes off, wait, wait, (WTF!), Bang!!! By that time I had moved the reticles off the buck and clean missed, watched the buck run away - Grrrrr, F&%K and a few other cuss words LOL!!

Since then, will not use that stuff any more - back to my dirty, dependable Triple 7 pellets.

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What bullet sabot combo were you using?

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Originally Posted by standup

Well lets just consider this. How much are we really talking here. To me the $50 on a breech plug is a non event. What did your scope rings and bases cost ? (Actually afraid to ask that). If normal powder is going for around 50$. Ya the stuff I burn at least a can a week of I think if I get to where an extra 10-15$ bugs me for a powder it'll take me 10 years to shoot off then perhaps I'd be better with knitting needles. Just sayin

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The scope rings and and base came with the gun, not really sure what that has to do with anything.Aside from that If I feel a product is over priced than To me it is.

Cheap at twice the price

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Originally Posted by standup

What bullet sabot combo were you using?

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Hornady SST 250 Grain with sabot sleeve. Get 1 inch groupings at 100 yards with these.

Sharps4570, thanks and I am glad it worked for you. Maybe I got a bad bottle/batch of BH209. Can't figure out what is wrong other than this. My "buck" delayed ignition shot happened in a perfectly clean, dry and prepped ML breech plug.

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Originally Posted by bcxextreme

I had just picked up some remington sts primers which are actual shot shell primers.If they dont work I will track down one of the suggested brands.

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I use those primers most of the time. Those ones are weaker than regular shotshell primers. They seems to be good for T7 but I've found Wincherster or CCI give better results with BH 209. I use BH breech plug for my CVA for BH 209 powder.

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Originally Posted by Ahuntr300

Hornady SST 250 Grain with sabot sleeve. Get 1 inch groupings at 100 yards with these.

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That is my favourite too.

So at the risk of sounding obtuse just who is having BH probs? I'm assuming NOT the guy w/ 1" groups

LOL! standup, go easy! Presently, BH209 may offer offer some advantages over other substitute types. But then again, nothing is perfect! Tomorrow, someone else will offer another propellant maybe in a pellet version with similar or better properties and BH209 will be quickly be forgotten. :)

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Originally Posted by standup

So at the risk of sounding obtuse just who is having BH probs? I'm assuming NOT the guy w/ 1" groups

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Thanks stand up; I guess I had that coming LOL.

I do get 1" groups with my ML, Hornady SST 250s, 2 pellets of triple 7 and Winchester primers - not with BH209 (when I got it to light that is LOL)

I too was surprised how accurate my ML is with this combo - guess I got a good one.

Still very accurate with the BH209 but not as, as for the same grains in propellant (100 gns) the BH209 produces quite a bit higher velocity.

My only problem with BH209 as I said before is consistency and reliability it will fire when you pull the trigger. Love it for how clean it burns but if I cant get it to ignite every time, its useless to me. For those of you that it works for you, that is great - enjoy!!

Cheers.

So does anyone know why the hang fires occur??

BH209 is great because its clean.
T7 is great because is easy.

If you swab, or brush your gun you should snap a primer before loading to clear flash hole. Also BH seems to do best when it's working. Although I have shot 250's I find it likes to push that 300 gr slug

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Originally Posted by standup

If you swab, or brush your gun you should snap a primer before loading to clear flash hole. Also BH seems to do best when it's working. Although I have shot 250's I find it likes to push that 300 gr slug

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Agree. Always do this. I also clean the breech spotless using this method: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GcLnxPsKLDE

I tried everything and am stumped. May be a bad bottle of BH209 as I said before, however, I am not the only one experiencing this. Lots of reviews say the same thing.

Your ingition problems likely have to do with a loose fitting sabot. BH209 is similar to smokeless powder in that it needs to be compressed to build pressure and burn. I shoot smokeless in my savage and can tell you those red sabots that come with SST are too slick. If we are all lucky we won't get any comments of my gun choice by a certain someone! Also a fouled bore with be your friend. My groups don't start coming around until 5 or 6 shots. And let that barrel cool (15min+) when at the range.