CVA Wolf or Optima V2 Muzzleloader??
- Thread starter livetohunt228
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Switch to BH, throw the 777 away. That crap leaves a crud ring that is hard to get cleaned and could be dangerous as it makes seating the projectile nearly impossible.
Lundy
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Pellets are convenient but that is all they have going for them. T7 is very dirty, pellets are very inconsistent, and it is pretty corrosive and leaves a ring of hard crusty burnt sugar at the ignition location that is really difficult to deal with in the field. Bunches and bunches of deer have been killed with T7, including 30+ by me and my son but that was the best option at the time, it just isn't today.
BH 209, more efficient burn, better energy performance per grain, very consistent, way less fouling, far less corrosive.. Costs more and isn't available in pellet form( that is a good thing).
If you don't have time to make the switch this year kill your deer with T7, it will do the job for sure, but do yourself and your gun a favor and switch for next year.
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I'm switching over myself. Glad to see it's a good move in your eyes. Probably purchase some Barnes sabots too per your recommendation. Time to tighten things up a little.
OO2
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the tips! That was one of the things I noticed, it took an extra push to get the projectile seated after one shot. Funny thing is that 777 was recommended as being cleaned than all the other pellets at the store. Oh well. I will look into getting BH 209.
For those that use the granular do you measure by volume or by weight?
For those that use the granular do you measure by volume or by weight?
Mine likes 120grn Blackhorn 209 and 250grn Tradition Smackdowns, and yes.. the 777 burns very dirty
Big_Holla
Senior Member
Catching up on your powder recommendations and I see Blackhorn 209 looks to be the best? Getting my son an Optima for Christmas and I had been planning to go with pellets for him (for simplicity's sake) but now I'm having second thoughts. I've always used granular Pyrodex but I'm just about out, so switching to another powder isn't out of the question. I just have to ask though, is there a pellet that does burn cleaner than 777??
Lundy
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Pyrodex pellets don't leave the hard crusty ring like T7 but is still very dirty and corrosive. I have not first hand experince with the white hots but they don't get rave reviews.
BH 209 has two very distinct adavantages over T7 or Pyrodex. It has better energy per grain weight then either of the other two. 120 gr by volume is the max load recommended. I frankly don't think you would ever need to max load and there is a good chance the max load won't be the most accurate load for your gun. Loose powder allows you to change load levels by 5 gr increments and really fine tune your load. I would start any gun at 90 and shoot 3 loads, then 95 and shoot 3, with ample cooling time for the barrel to cool and so on and so on. The gun will tell you what load you should shoot.
I can't stress the clean burning and less corrosive nature of this powder strongly enough. It is the closet black powder substitute to smokeless powder available.
BH 209 has two very distinct adavantages over T7 or Pyrodex. It has better energy per grain weight then either of the other two. 120 gr by volume is the max load recommended. I frankly don't think you would ever need to max load and there is a good chance the max load won't be the most accurate load for your gun. Loose powder allows you to change load levels by 5 gr increments and really fine tune your load. I would start any gun at 90 and shoot 3 loads, then 95 and shoot 3, with ample cooling time for the barrel to cool and so on and so on. The gun will tell you what load you should shoot.
I can't stress the clean burning and less corrosive nature of this powder strongly enough. It is the closet black powder substitute to smokeless powder available.
OO2
Well-Known Member
Great thank you for all your help. Sounds like I will be making a trip to the store. Now what to do with the rest of 777?
Thats what I did with mine and the 120gr produced the best results on paper. I'm shooting a Traditions Vortek Strikefire w/28" barrel, pretty sure the longer barrel helps.
Lundy
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That's great and a 28" barrel for sure helps with burn time and velocity. Some shorter barrels shooting max loads are not burning the entire powder load and would get the same velocity with loads 20% lighter.
By the way when I talk about fine tuning your load with small changes in the grain weight to achieve the maximum accuracy it really isn't necessary for killing a deer, deer have big kill zones and a gun shooting a 3-4" group at 100 yds will kill the deer just as fast as a sub MOA gun, but it does add to the you, the hunter, confidence in knowing exactly where that bullet is going to go when you pull the trigger. You spent hours and hours in the woods hunting for the few seconds of opportunity, why wouldn't anyone want to be as prepared as possible.
I hope to make it to the outing you guys have this year. I'll bring some smokeless MZ's and some straight wall guns for guys to shoot
Excellent input as always Lundy. I value your posts in all threads but these threads are some of the most informative and helpful for SO many people!
Wally World has already marked down their muzzle loaders and powders and accessories.
I just use good old hlack powder instead of grossly overpriced substitutes, and cast my own maxiballs.
I just use good old hlack powder instead of grossly overpriced substitutes, and cast my own maxiballs.
OO2
Well-Known Member
Right now I have Hornady XTP's, any experience with those?
This will probably sound like a dumb question but I'm curious how does one unload their muzzleloader after a hunt if they don't shoot it?
This will probably sound like a dumb question but I'm curious how does one unload their muzzleloader after a hunt if they don't shoot it?
Lundy
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The XTP's have a reputation of being a good bullet
They best way to unload it is to shoot it.
Another was is to remove the breech plug and push the load out through the breech. This can create some cleanup issues depending on your gun design. A break open style gun isn't too bad.
When I went to smokeless I would not remove the load the entire week of gun season, just remove the primer. At the end of the gun season week I would shoot it, not clean it and then reload it 5-6 weeks later for the MZ season. At the end of the MZ season I would clean the gun for the season.
With BH 209 I don't think there is a issue leaving it with the load in it for a week unless you have been out hunting in the rain but I'm sure guys that have used BH 209 more than me can tell you for sure.
They best way to unload it is to shoot it.
Another was is to remove the breech plug and push the load out through the breech. This can create some cleanup issues depending on your gun design. A break open style gun isn't too bad.
When I went to smokeless I would not remove the load the entire week of gun season, just remove the primer. At the end of the gun season week I would shoot it, not clean it and then reload it 5-6 weeks later for the MZ season. At the end of the MZ season I would clean the gun for the season.
With BH 209 I don't think there is a issue leaving it with the load in it for a week unless you have been out hunting in the rain but I'm sure guys that have used BH 209 more than me can tell you for sure.
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