Blackhorn 209 Powder question

Freedivr2 · Jul 9, 2020

I'm giving this stuff a whirl this year for elk. Shot some at the range yesterday and it shoots incredibly clean, never had to swab the barrel once (only took a dozen shots but hey...). Was using loose 777 powder prior to this. QUESTION for you guys who have used this stuff...I just noticed that it requires SOLVENT to clean the residue out of the barrel, vs. water and soap or blackpowder commercial cleaner. So that's fine, but my question is; Should you oil the barrel for storage with a light coat of regular gun oil or should you use something like bore butter instead? I have a stainless T/C Omega if that makes any diff. Thanks!!

Blank · Jul 9, 2020

This will help with a lot of your questions, and getting the proper performance out of your BH209.

Western Powderï¿½s BLACKHORN 209

buckhorn · Jul 9, 2020

With blackhorn powder I clean my stainless steel muzzleloader barrel the same way I do my centerfire rifle barrel. I use Butches bore shine. If you want to add a light coat of oil for storage that is fine.

DH56 · Jul 9, 2020

I clean my Stainless Steel Muzzle loader that uses BH 109 the same way I clean all of my guns. I do use a light coating of oil as well.

BH 209 has been great. I have used it for almost 10 years. It's consistent, reliable and clean.

txhunter58 · Jul 9, 2020

+3 I clean and then use a light coat of Montana extreme oil.

Don’t forget to clean the breechplug with a drill bit!! By hand, not with a drill. Otherwise you will have hangfires/ misfires after a few shooting sessions.

DesertRanch · Jul 9, 2020

I like to clean my breech plug with a welding tip cleaning kit. They have multiple sizes and works great.

kalielkslayer · Jul 19, 2020

Not to steal the thread but since you mentioned cleaning the breech plug, I've soaked mine overnight in solvent, then used a pipe cleaner.

Is a proper sized drill bit, it welding tip cleaner better?

I was so concerned about it I just bought a replacement breech plug, just in case.

DesertRanch · Jul 19, 2020

Welding tip cleaners are like a steel version of cheap pipe cleaners. They come in about 20 different diameters in each kit. Handy as heck for keeping a breech plug good as new

txhunter58 · Jul 20, 2020

Never used a welding tip. That said, the buildup from BH 209 is almost rock hard. Soaking it won’t get rid of it. The drill bit I use just barely fits. Not sure how the tips could clean off the hard debree as well as the drill bit. If you read the cleaning procedure in the Blackhorn website it explains the process very well

sjhgraysage · Jul 20, 2020

I have used Birchwood Casey "Barricade" between shooting sessions for bore protection in my muzzleloaders.

The "Flash Channel" is where a drill bit works to clean out the hard carbon. On my Knight breech plugs it takes a 5/32" bit. I beleive that CVA plugs might take a 1/8" bit, but not sure because I don't / haven't owned one.

The tiny hole in the plug is the "Flash Hole" and if it gets to be over .035 inch in diameter you will probably notice accuracy fall off and a dirtier breech. With Blackhorn 209 powder my flash holes always seem to be clear. You don't want to be sticking abrasive stuff through the flash hole if you don't have to, as to not wear it out prematurely. Using shotgun primers and stiff loads like 100 grains by volume and higher of Blackhorn powder it is possible to wear out a flash hole in 100 shots or so. This is why some shooters have modified breech plugs to take a replaceable "vent liner" so that when the flash hole gets larger than .035 - .036, you replace the vent liner for about $7 or $8, instead of the entire breech plug.

Vent Liner for Savage MLII and all Lehigh Breech Plugs

Direct replacement vent liner for the Savage MLII muzzleloader and all Lehigh breech plugs. The domed head and computer modeled internal design improve combusion efficiency and consistency resulting in reduced velocity variation and less ignition fouling. Vent liners are produced from a MIL-spec...

www.lehighbullets.com