frustrated

[ingramjets]

ok fellow hunters i need some advice. i have a knight mountaineer 50 cal use bh209 felt wad no excuses 420 gr. i have an upgraded smokeless plug from bestill, i am hunting the wisconsin muzzleloader season. before loading i cleaned barrel with 2 patches hoppes/alchohol mixed 50/50 followed by 2 dry patches this is what i do on the range after every shot' i made sure the bp was clean and clear but blew out with compressor anyway.loaded rifle 80 gr by volume followed by wad then bullet sent it down with the ramrod. i have hunted with it for 8 days checking often that my bullet didnt walk off powder. i dont ever take it in the house after loading i leave it in garage in the case. this afternoon the first deer i have seen walked in i centerd the crosshairs pulled trigger and nothing i lifted the bolt and put back down then tried primer goes off i opened bolt put a new primer in and puff primer goes off deer is long gone by now. what am i doing wrong? after i upgraded the plug i thought i would have a little peace of mind noing it would shoot wrong please help thanks

 

[deermanok]

Just guessing here but maybe it's the breech plug itself? Or maybe your powder got wet somehow.

 

[ingramjets]

i store it in an air tight container, and i sure hope its not the plug that upgrade cost a pretty penny

 

[michiganmuzzy]

You should pull your breech plug and see for certain whether the powder is dry, wet, or oily. I think you didnt get all the oil or Hoppes cleaned out, but only pulling the BP will show what has gone wrong

 

[ingramjets]

im going to do that in the morning i know the patch came out clean and dry, should i be poping a couple of primers before i load i never have at the range???

 

[HC]

Secondary safety not fully backed off. Primer should have fired on the first trigger pull.

 

[52Bore]

I don’t pop caps anymore after popping a cap at the range - then loaded and it didn’t go off. Went home without firing as I didn’t have my socket - after pulling plug, it was visibly plugged from snapping.
No need anymore as long as it’s clear, clean & dry.

 

[deermanok]

Before I load any of my guns, sidehammer or my inline pistol, I always fire off a few caps to purge the breech of any oils that might be present.

 

[ingramjets]

thats the first thing i checked it was fully backed out when i lifted the bolt up i heard a click then i closed the bolt and primer went off but no bang. maybe when leaving it out i should dry fire it a couple of times to make sure everything is working properly .

 

[brownisdown]

Just a stab here but,did you perhaps not put the powder in?

 

[ingramjets]

positive i did the only thing i can think of is this charge was stored in one of those tubes you can get for bh 209 and then stored in a air tight container

 

[Widude]

I don’t pound at all, but B209 likes to be compressed firmly too, maybe an issue.

Another thing, I’d be leery of the ‘Hoppes & alcohol’ mix, any of that left in the wrong place could contribute. I’m a believer in an oil coat during storage, I also want it bone dry before the powder goes in.

 

[Widude]

I just read again. I tried conicals a while back, had worries about the bullet lifting off the powder, went back to saboted bullets. Even if the bullet was seated on the powder, could easily end up ‘lightly’ seated. If so, could affect powder burn.

 

[Usmc22]

positive i did the only thing i can think of is this charge was stored in one of those tubes you can get for bh 209 and then stored in a air tight container

genuinely curious how that would affect it?

 

[hawki]

Drop the cleaning jag with a patch down and pop a cap, if it doesn’t burn thru the patch your issue is between the patch and the primer. If it does, then it is the load, moisture or compression, most likely.

 

[Shorty]

What flavor of primer are you using? Pic?

 

[MrTom]

Curious.... Have you pulled the plug and tried to look thru it to see if daylight shows at the other end thru the small hole? If the plug is closed off, you can pop primers all day and you won't ignite the powder.

BH209 is a powder that doesn't suck up moisture like in humidity, but it will not work if it is visibly wet. I've hunted in some terrible wet conditions with rain and snow and have never had 209 not fire.

 

[eekjellander]

ok fellow hunters i need some advice. i have a knight mountaineer 50 cal use bh209 felt wad no excuses 420 gr. i have an upgraded smokeless plug from bestill, i am hunting the wisconsin muzzleloader season. before loading i cleaned barrel with 2 patches hoppes/alchohol mixed 50/50 followed by 2 dry patches this is what i do on the range after every shot' i made sure the bp was clean and clear but blew out with compressor anyway.loaded rifle 80 gr by volume followed by wad then bullet sent it down with the ramrod. i have hunted with it for 8 days checking often that my bullet didnt walk off powder. i dont ever take it in the house after loading i leave it in garage in the case. this afternoon the first deer i have seen walked in i centerd the crosshairs pulled trigger and nothing i lifted the bolt and put back down then tried primer goes off i opened bolt put a new primer in and puff primer goes off deer is long gone by now. what am i doing wrong? after i upgraded the plug i thought i would have a little peace of mind noing it would shoot wrong please help thanks

I think the felt wad is the problem ,I had the same issue ass the wad kept you from firmly seating ! Happened to me with felt and BH209 so I went to a poly wad I make (no more issue) and never was with OE 2or 3 F ./Ed

 

[LHR]

What flavor of primer are you using? Pic?

This may be your problem, if your using those 777 primers meant for pyro then this would cause a no fire situation. BH209 needs a full strength 209 and they recommend magnum primers.

Also, your new breech plug, I assume that you have used it at the range prior to this ?

 

[ENCORE50A]

I don’t pound at all, but B209 likes to be compressed firmly too, maybe an issue.

Another thing, I’d be leery of the ‘Hoppes & alcohol’ mix, any of that left in the wrong place could contribute. I’m a believer in an oil coat during storage, I also want it bone dry before the powder goes in.

The 50/50 Hoppe's and alcohol mixture is used by many, including myself, but it is NOT used for storage. Cleaning and swabbing. There are no issues with the OP's process unless, he was using saturated patches. They only need to be damp.
There's still the belief that BH needs to be compressed hard. That's not always the case and it can certainly depend on the, primer, breech plug style and/or the bullet loading force. BH will ignite with the proper breech plug and either wool or veggie wads, with only 9# of loading force.
If the OP isn't using magnum primers or a WIN209 and using designated muzzleloader primers, its most likely his issue.