Longevity of Lehigh Knight bare primer vent liners

[hockeyref]

Title says it all.....So how many shots should I expect to get out of the Lehigh bare primer vent liners in a Knight .50 with a load of say ~90 gr 777 or real black?

 

[hockeyref]

Good info in this thread from a year ago:

https://www.modernmuzzleloader.com/threads/vent-liner-question.38187/

 

[CGhost]

I've Always been told 100 shots or so, I think a lot might go into account, using different loads and powders. Hotter loads would probably open it up a lot quicker. I have about 10 here at the house for when I need to change them out. The tell-tell sign is groups starting to open up. Maybe wasteful but depending on how much you shoot, could change after every season or 2. I don't target shoot enough to change out often.

 

[MrTom]

The quality of the steel used in the liner is one factor to longevity. How hot the loads are and what powders are used are other factors along with cleaning habits.

The heaviest load I use behind any of the Badger Ridge liners I use is 77 weighed grains of BH209 and a 250 grain bullet in an Accura V2. I change the liners in this gun at about 150 shots need it or not, but I have yet to see the need. I use granular T7 at the range to save on BH, but it's burning characteristics and pressures are almost identical to BH and I see no difference in hole erosion between the two powders. Using the same two powders and basically identical charges of 63 weighed grains, my Optima pistol and Kodiak .45 see slightly higher shot counts before replacement becomes a maybe. The Optima pistol gets the highest shot counts out of the Badger vent liners, because, I believe, the shorter barrel gets rid of corrosive gasses and heat faster than the rifle barrels. When cleaning my guns, regardless if BH or T7 has been used, I pop the liners out and give them and the plug without the liner a very good bath and scubbing. Its amazing how much crap stacks up behind the end of the liner in the plug's flash channel. This also assures that the liner can be easily removed when it comes time to replace it.

When reaming the flash channel on plugs that have liners, leave the liner in when doing so. The threads in the liner hole may get dinged up is the liner is removed and make getting it seated again hard or impossible.

I keep very good notes on each gun regarding the loads and shot counts as well as whether accuracy is diminishing with higher shot counts. And as mentioned, I replace the liners at a certain shot count need it or not. The liners are cheap compared to replacement plugs that are generally made of much soft metal. Other shooters may not see the same results that I have related but no matter, the liners are still the most consistent way to shoot and are by far the most affordable.

 

[GM54-120]

A load like that is probably good for 200+ shots. The last vents i got are different than the old ones. New ones are a hard 17-4 SS. Not sure what the originals were but even the color is different. One of the factors is how well your plug seals a primer and how large the flash channel volume is. More it leaks and the larger the volume...the faster it wears too.

 

[d414hiker]

I've Always been told 100 shots or so, I think a lot might go into account, using different loads and powders. Hotter loads would probably open it up a lot quicker. I have about 10 here at the house for when I need to change them out. The tell-tell sign is groups starting to open up. Maybe wasteful but depending on how much you shoot, could change after every season or 2. I don't target shoot enough to change out often.

A bit of an aside here. When you order the lehigh vent liners from Badger Ridge Industries, be sure to order the 7/64 Hex L Wrench (allen wrench) when you place your order. If you forget to and later discover that you can't find the darn thing you will have to pay another 6.99 for the cheapest and slowest shipping.

 

[Dioni]

Do you guys put anything on the threads of your vent liners?

 

[HC]

Yes, antiseze