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Guys, there's a new ML powder coming out in 08' called Blackhorn 209.
It's supposed to be on the shelves after it's introduced at the SHOT Show in February. After reading this test report, you can bet I'll be trying it...
All New Muzzleloader Propellant Will Change Muzzleloading One More Time!
Blackhorn 209
Western Powders, of Miles City, MT is about to take modern in-line muzzleloader performance to yet another new level. At the 2008 SHOT Show in Las Vegas this coming February, the company will unveil an all new muzzleloader propellant that has been specifically developed to produce optimum velocities and energy levels with today's popular No. 209 primer ignition in-line rifle models. And it does it with lower peak pressure levels than produced by today's widely used 150-grain black powder substitute pellet charges.
The company's new Blackhorn 209 is definitely not just another black powder substitute. First of all, this propellant is a short-cut, extruded powder. And there is a small hole running through the center of each granule. This is not a nitro-cellulose based powder, but then again its not just another concoction of the same old ingredients of the very similar materisl found in other non-smokeless black powder substitutes. As the powder comes to market, those who want to know will learn more about its chemical make up. Right now, let's just establish that it is non-corrosive...and different.
So, other than how it is granulated and what it is made from, what makes this new powder so special, so different?
Like all other modern muzzleloader powders, Blackhorn 209 is bulkier than real black powder. In fact, a 100-grain volume measured charge of this powder actually weighs in at just under 70 grains. However, due to the exceptional uniformity of the granules, this is easily the best measuring muzzleloader propellant that has ever been available. And largely due to the uniformity of the charges, accuracy is exceptional.
Blackhorn 209 has been formulated to produce top end velocities. In my testing, a 110-grain charge of the powder gets a saboted 250-grain poly-tipped Barnes Spit-Fire TMZ spire-point bullet out of the muzzle of a .50 caliber 26-inch barreled Knight DISC Extreme at 2,053 f.p.s. Shooting the slightly heavier 260-grain Harvester Muzzleloading Scorpion PT Gold ahead of the same amount of powder, velocity is still 2,039 f.p.s. And both of these loads have proven very capable of punching sub 1-inch groups at 100 yards - very consistently!
During my first two range sessions with Blackhorn 209, I ran a lightly dampened patch down the bore between shots...turned it over and ran it down again. I was impressed with how little fouling was on the patch. Early on, the engineers who developed the powder repeatedly shared with me how well Blackhorn 209 performed without wiping the bore between shots. So, during my third range session with the powder, I shot all morning without taking time to run a single patch down the bore. In all, I put more than 40 rounds through a .50 caliber Knight "Long Range Hunter" - and every group printed inside of 1 1/2 inches. My two best were a three-shot 1/2-inch center-to-center group with the Harvester Muzzleloading 300-grain Scorpion PT Gold...and a 3/4" center-to-center five-shot group with the 250-grain Barnes "Spit-Fire TMZ". Both of these groups were fired after the rifle had been shot somewhere between 30 and 40 shots - without once wiping the bore.
At the end of the day, that in-line rifle was broken down and the bore cleaned spotless with just two Hoppe's No. 9 saturated cleaning patches! A few dry ones...a lightly oiled final patch...and the bore was ready to put away. Even with the usual attention to clean primer fouling from the face of the bolt, cleaning the breech plug, and wiping out the receiver, the rifle was cleaned in far less time than when I had shot it with ANY OTHER black powder substitute. And I, for one, really like the idea of not using a soapy water solution to clean my favorite tack-driving modern in-line rifles.
During one five-day hunt this fall, I shot my Knight "Long Range Hunter" a dozen times the day before the hunt to verify that the Leatherwood Hi-Lux HPML (High Performance Muzzleloading) scope was still dead on at a hundred yards - not once wiping the bore between shots. Again, every group stayed pretty much inside of 1 1/2 inches. Then, the rifle was loaded without being cleaned or the bore wiped, and carried the next day on the hunt. That morning, I filled my buck tag - dropping the whitetail at 110 yards. The next day, I took a doe at 65 yards (still the bore had not been wiped). And the day after the hunt, I went to empty the rifle in order to give it a good cleaning. A big dog coyote made the mistake of easing out into an opening of a grown up pasture. I took a rest, centered the crosshairs on its shoulder and sent one of the 300 grain Scorpion PT Gold bullets dead on at 180 yards - out of a "dirty" bore that had been left un-cleaned for four days...with some 14 or 15 shots fired through it. Later that day, when I went to clean the rifle, the breech plug popped right out...as if the rifle hadn't even been shot.
I don't recommend not cleaning your rifle. This was just a test to see how much flexibility Blackhorn 209 gives when it comes to how its fouling affects accuracy or how quickly a rifle must be cleaned after being shot.
In addition to several Knight DISC Extreme models, I've also shot the powder out of a variety of other No. 209 primer ignited .50 caliber in-line rifles (T/C
Omega, MDM Quick Shooter, Traditions Pursuit, Knight Rolling Block, H&R Huntsman). Ignition has been spontaneous...and accuracy very good. The only rifle I ran into a little problem with was the .52 caliber Knight DISC Extreme - and only with the stemmed breech plug that squeezes a little more velocity out of Triple Seven loads. Igniting the Blackhorn 209 loads from near the front of the charge resulted in very noticeable lag time. When the rifle was fitted with a standard non-stemmed breech plug, ignition was spontaneous. With 120-grains of FFFg Triple Seven, and the stemmed plug, this rifle gives me 1,938 f.p.s. with Knight's big 375-grain saboted all-copper spitzer. With the standard DISC Extreme breech plug and 120-grains of Blackhorn 209, the load is good for 1,929 f.p.s. - and 3,099 f.p.e. One nice 140 class buck, taken at 120 yards, went down n the spot.
Blackhorn 209 also gives shorter barreled in-line rifles, like the 20-inch barreled Green Mountain .54-120 Limited Edition, a little more oomph as well. With a full 120-grain charge of FFFg Triple Seven, this .54 carbine length close-cover rifle gets a saboted 325-grain Barnes Expander MZ on its way at 1,821 f.p.s. The same volume measured amount of Blackhorn 209 ups velocity to 1,855 f.p.s..
As with anything that's new, shooters will have to learn a few things necessary for getting optimum performance with Blackhorn 209. One of the most important with this powder is to accept that IT IS A NO. 209 PRIMER ignition ONLY powder.
I tried the powder in an in-line ignition rifle that allowed me to use No. 11 percussion caps or, by swtiching nipples, winged musket caps for ignition. I could not get the powder to ignite with No. 11 caps, and there was a very noticeable hesitation when using the hotter winged musket caps. However, when the same rifle was fitted with a No. 209 primer breech plug and proper hammer face, ignition was extremely spontaneous - when using standard Winchester No. 209A primers. When the special Winchester No. 209
Triple Seven Primer was used, ignition was about the same as with the winged musket caps - with very noticeable hesitation in firing nearly 80-percent of the time. But then, standard Winchester No. 209A primers sell for about half the cost of the special muzzleloader primers, so I couldn't find any down side to that.
Also, this powder does require very consistent compression for consistent velocities. During one very warm weather early fall range session, I discovered that snug fitting sabot and bullet combinations are important. When I played around with some of the newer "easy loading" sabots (most of which are basically just undersized), velocities dropped as much as 100 f.p.s. when compared to shooting the same charge and bullet loaded with a normal fitting sabot. For instance, on that day with temperatures around 80 degrees, when shooting the Harvester Muzzleloading "Scorpion PT Gold" bullets, swtiching from the standard "Crush Rib" sabot to the tighter fitting red-color High Compression Sabot (developed for the smokeless Savage 10ML II), velocities were higher and more consistent.
The more I shoot with Blackhorn 209, the more impressed I am. Here, at last, is a muzzleloader powder that truly permits the muzzleloading hunter to spend an entire day in the field, or week in hunting camp, without having to wipe the bore, whether the rifle was shot once or several dozen times. And on the performance side, the powder shoots with very consistent accuracy and impressive velocities. According to Western Powders, Blackhorn 209 produces those bullet speeds with a lower peak pressure than equivalent loads of Triple Seven. - Toby Bridges, NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING
Five shots through one ragged elongated hole at 100 yards - and from a bore that had been shot at least 30 times without being wiped.
(Birchwood Casey "Big Burst" target.)
The 250-grain Barnes "Spit-Fire TMZ" has been one of the better shooting bullets with Blackhorn No. 209 powder. A 110 gr. charge gets it out fo the Knight DISC Extreme at 2,053 f.p.s.
This three-shot hundred yard group measures just 1/2" center-to-center - shot with 110-grains of Blackhorn 209 and the Harvester 260-grain "Scorpion PT Gold". (Birchwood Casey "Big Burst" target.)
For his fall hunts with a .50 caliber Knight DISC Extreme, Toby Bridges used the heavier 300-grain "Scorpion PT Gold". As this was written, he had taken one buck and three does with the bullet and Blackhorn 209 powder - all went down within 10 yards of where they were standing when hit.
Bridges took this big dog coyote at the end of a five-day hunt, making the 180 yard shot with a rifle that had been shot 14 or 15 times during that period - without having the bore wiped once.
Shooting 120-grains of Blackhorn 209 and Knight's big 375-grain .475 "Red Hot" bullet, Bridges literally dropped this buck in its tracks at 120 yards with his .52 DISC Extreme.
The hotter performance of Blackhorn 209 squeezes a bit more velocity out of shorter barreled primer-ignition in-line rifles, like the Green Mountain "Limited Edition" .54-120.
Published 12-06-07
It's supposed to be on the shelves after it's introduced at the SHOT Show in February. After reading this test report, you can bet I'll be trying it...
All New Muzzleloader Propellant Will Change Muzzleloading One More Time!
Blackhorn 209
Western Powders, of Miles City, MT is about to take modern in-line muzzleloader performance to yet another new level. At the 2008 SHOT Show in Las Vegas this coming February, the company will unveil an all new muzzleloader propellant that has been specifically developed to produce optimum velocities and energy levels with today's popular No. 209 primer ignition in-line rifle models. And it does it with lower peak pressure levels than produced by today's widely used 150-grain black powder substitute pellet charges.
The company's new Blackhorn 209 is definitely not just another black powder substitute. First of all, this propellant is a short-cut, extruded powder. And there is a small hole running through the center of each granule. This is not a nitro-cellulose based powder, but then again its not just another concoction of the same old ingredients of the very similar materisl found in other non-smokeless black powder substitutes. As the powder comes to market, those who want to know will learn more about its chemical make up. Right now, let's just establish that it is non-corrosive...and different.
So, other than how it is granulated and what it is made from, what makes this new powder so special, so different?
Like all other modern muzzleloader powders, Blackhorn 209 is bulkier than real black powder. In fact, a 100-grain volume measured charge of this powder actually weighs in at just under 70 grains. However, due to the exceptional uniformity of the granules, this is easily the best measuring muzzleloader propellant that has ever been available. And largely due to the uniformity of the charges, accuracy is exceptional.
Blackhorn 209 has been formulated to produce top end velocities. In my testing, a 110-grain charge of the powder gets a saboted 250-grain poly-tipped Barnes Spit-Fire TMZ spire-point bullet out of the muzzle of a .50 caliber 26-inch barreled Knight DISC Extreme at 2,053 f.p.s. Shooting the slightly heavier 260-grain Harvester Muzzleloading Scorpion PT Gold ahead of the same amount of powder, velocity is still 2,039 f.p.s. And both of these loads have proven very capable of punching sub 1-inch groups at 100 yards - very consistently!
During my first two range sessions with Blackhorn 209, I ran a lightly dampened patch down the bore between shots...turned it over and ran it down again. I was impressed with how little fouling was on the patch. Early on, the engineers who developed the powder repeatedly shared with me how well Blackhorn 209 performed without wiping the bore between shots. So, during my third range session with the powder, I shot all morning without taking time to run a single patch down the bore. In all, I put more than 40 rounds through a .50 caliber Knight "Long Range Hunter" - and every group printed inside of 1 1/2 inches. My two best were a three-shot 1/2-inch center-to-center group with the Harvester Muzzleloading 300-grain Scorpion PT Gold...and a 3/4" center-to-center five-shot group with the 250-grain Barnes "Spit-Fire TMZ". Both of these groups were fired after the rifle had been shot somewhere between 30 and 40 shots - without once wiping the bore.
At the end of the day, that in-line rifle was broken down and the bore cleaned spotless with just two Hoppe's No. 9 saturated cleaning patches! A few dry ones...a lightly oiled final patch...and the bore was ready to put away. Even with the usual attention to clean primer fouling from the face of the bolt, cleaning the breech plug, and wiping out the receiver, the rifle was cleaned in far less time than when I had shot it with ANY OTHER black powder substitute. And I, for one, really like the idea of not using a soapy water solution to clean my favorite tack-driving modern in-line rifles.
During one five-day hunt this fall, I shot my Knight "Long Range Hunter" a dozen times the day before the hunt to verify that the Leatherwood Hi-Lux HPML (High Performance Muzzleloading) scope was still dead on at a hundred yards - not once wiping the bore between shots. Again, every group stayed pretty much inside of 1 1/2 inches. Then, the rifle was loaded without being cleaned or the bore wiped, and carried the next day on the hunt. That morning, I filled my buck tag - dropping the whitetail at 110 yards. The next day, I took a doe at 65 yards (still the bore had not been wiped). And the day after the hunt, I went to empty the rifle in order to give it a good cleaning. A big dog coyote made the mistake of easing out into an opening of a grown up pasture. I took a rest, centered the crosshairs on its shoulder and sent one of the 300 grain Scorpion PT Gold bullets dead on at 180 yards - out of a "dirty" bore that had been left un-cleaned for four days...with some 14 or 15 shots fired through it. Later that day, when I went to clean the rifle, the breech plug popped right out...as if the rifle hadn't even been shot.
I don't recommend not cleaning your rifle. This was just a test to see how much flexibility Blackhorn 209 gives when it comes to how its fouling affects accuracy or how quickly a rifle must be cleaned after being shot.
In addition to several Knight DISC Extreme models, I've also shot the powder out of a variety of other No. 209 primer ignited .50 caliber in-line rifles (T/C
Omega, MDM Quick Shooter, Traditions Pursuit, Knight Rolling Block, H&R Huntsman). Ignition has been spontaneous...and accuracy very good. The only rifle I ran into a little problem with was the .52 caliber Knight DISC Extreme - and only with the stemmed breech plug that squeezes a little more velocity out of Triple Seven loads. Igniting the Blackhorn 209 loads from near the front of the charge resulted in very noticeable lag time. When the rifle was fitted with a standard non-stemmed breech plug, ignition was spontaneous. With 120-grains of FFFg Triple Seven, and the stemmed plug, this rifle gives me 1,938 f.p.s. with Knight's big 375-grain saboted all-copper spitzer. With the standard DISC Extreme breech plug and 120-grains of Blackhorn 209, the load is good for 1,929 f.p.s. - and 3,099 f.p.e. One nice 140 class buck, taken at 120 yards, went down n the spot.
Blackhorn 209 also gives shorter barreled in-line rifles, like the 20-inch barreled Green Mountain .54-120 Limited Edition, a little more oomph as well. With a full 120-grain charge of FFFg Triple Seven, this .54 carbine length close-cover rifle gets a saboted 325-grain Barnes Expander MZ on its way at 1,821 f.p.s. The same volume measured amount of Blackhorn 209 ups velocity to 1,855 f.p.s..
As with anything that's new, shooters will have to learn a few things necessary for getting optimum performance with Blackhorn 209. One of the most important with this powder is to accept that IT IS A NO. 209 PRIMER ignition ONLY powder.
I tried the powder in an in-line ignition rifle that allowed me to use No. 11 percussion caps or, by swtiching nipples, winged musket caps for ignition. I could not get the powder to ignite with No. 11 caps, and there was a very noticeable hesitation when using the hotter winged musket caps. However, when the same rifle was fitted with a No. 209 primer breech plug and proper hammer face, ignition was extremely spontaneous - when using standard Winchester No. 209A primers. When the special Winchester No. 209
Triple Seven Primer was used, ignition was about the same as with the winged musket caps - with very noticeable hesitation in firing nearly 80-percent of the time. But then, standard Winchester No. 209A primers sell for about half the cost of the special muzzleloader primers, so I couldn't find any down side to that.
Also, this powder does require very consistent compression for consistent velocities. During one very warm weather early fall range session, I discovered that snug fitting sabot and bullet combinations are important. When I played around with some of the newer "easy loading" sabots (most of which are basically just undersized), velocities dropped as much as 100 f.p.s. when compared to shooting the same charge and bullet loaded with a normal fitting sabot. For instance, on that day with temperatures around 80 degrees, when shooting the Harvester Muzzleloading "Scorpion PT Gold" bullets, swtiching from the standard "Crush Rib" sabot to the tighter fitting red-color High Compression Sabot (developed for the smokeless Savage 10ML II), velocities were higher and more consistent.
The more I shoot with Blackhorn 209, the more impressed I am. Here, at last, is a muzzleloader powder that truly permits the muzzleloading hunter to spend an entire day in the field, or week in hunting camp, without having to wipe the bore, whether the rifle was shot once or several dozen times. And on the performance side, the powder shoots with very consistent accuracy and impressive velocities. According to Western Powders, Blackhorn 209 produces those bullet speeds with a lower peak pressure than equivalent loads of Triple Seven. - Toby Bridges, NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING
Five shots through one ragged elongated hole at 100 yards - and from a bore that had been shot at least 30 times without being wiped.
(Birchwood Casey "Big Burst" target.)
The 250-grain Barnes "Spit-Fire TMZ" has been one of the better shooting bullets with Blackhorn No. 209 powder. A 110 gr. charge gets it out fo the Knight DISC Extreme at 2,053 f.p.s.
This three-shot hundred yard group measures just 1/2" center-to-center - shot with 110-grains of Blackhorn 209 and the Harvester 260-grain "Scorpion PT Gold". (Birchwood Casey "Big Burst" target.)
For his fall hunts with a .50 caliber Knight DISC Extreme, Toby Bridges used the heavier 300-grain "Scorpion PT Gold". As this was written, he had taken one buck and three does with the bullet and Blackhorn 209 powder - all went down within 10 yards of where they were standing when hit.
Bridges took this big dog coyote at the end of a five-day hunt, making the 180 yard shot with a rifle that had been shot 14 or 15 times during that period - without having the bore wiped once.
Shooting 120-grains of Blackhorn 209 and Knight's big 375-grain .475 "Red Hot" bullet, Bridges literally dropped this buck in its tracks at 120 yards with his .52 DISC Extreme.
The hotter performance of Blackhorn 209 squeezes a bit more velocity out of shorter barreled primer-ignition in-line rifles, like the Green Mountain "Limited Edition" .54-120.
Published 12-06-07
Don't take a rocket cadet to figure out it is MONEY, DOLLARS in the pocket of the MFG. 10 oz at $23.00 is a lot more than the $20.00 my local gun store sells T 7 for at a pound. Yup I use T7 as real black in this area is like hens teeth.
