Shimming Lehigh plug for knight LRH

[txhunter58]

Just recieved and shot my new Lehigh plug for my knight bolt action LRH. This is the plug I bought.

https://www.sskfirearms.com/breech-...reme-master-hunter-and-long-range-hunter.html
Worked great. So much less BH 209 fouling to clean out. However I am getting a fair amount of blowback.

I am using Remington STS primers. They work great and I have a bunch so in current times don’t want to switch.

I read thru the “shimming primer Pocket” thread. I prob shoot around 150-200 times a year, so if there is any way a rubber O ring would work, it would be much more convenient than steel rings.

That said, is there any way to make the Rubber ones done work well in knight bolt guns like my LRH?

Do I need to bite the bullet and get the steel rings and go thru the shimming process? Or is there some way a rubber one will work for me?

Also, if I did shim the pocket with steel shims, and I someday changed to a different (longer) primer, how would you get the shims out to accommodate the longer primer?

Thx!

 

[jsteurrys]

PM your address. I will send you a couple "o"-ring and some shims. It might take me a week to get them out as I have vacation coming up.

 

[txhunter58]

Thx! Will do

 

[GM54-120]

O-rings will twist but but might work is a high temp PTFE shim/washer.
https://www.mcmaster.com/ptfe-washers/chemical-resistant-plastic-washers-9/

 

[ronlaughlin]

I am using Remington STS primers. They work great and I have a bunch so in current times don’t want to switch.

Well, that's too bad. STS are the shortest primers. It may be possible any other primer will seal off the blow by.

Another option, a real good option, is to see if Bestill makes a plug to fit your rifle. If so, it could be sized to fit your primers. You could then enjoy zero blow by shooting those STS primers. without shimming or using an o-ring.

 

[brownisdown]

I was told by bestill that sts primers were too short for the knight breech plugs.Not enough crush for themtoo seal properly.

 

[ronlaughlin]

Oh................that sucks. STS primers work great in Bestill' Omega plugs.

 

[GM54-120]

Bestill original plugs leave quite a bit of Win209 or FED209A primer sticking out of the breech plug. Should be enough clearance left if you wanted to use a STS primer.

 

[txhunter58]

I did find about 150 CCI primers in my blackpowder equipment. They are slightly longer than the STS primers. But only very slightly

Sounds like I should just bite the bullet and shim the plug.

But you can see by the price that I have had them for a long time

 

[brownisdown]

With those being longer,would that not allow for a better ''crush''feel and help with the blow by?

 

[GM54-120]

With those being longer,would that not allow for a better ''crush''feel and help with the blow by?

If you dont get any crush they will both leak like mad. Once you get to about .003 crush the primers will be virtually spotless and extract easily without tools.

 

[brownisdown]

My thoughts exactly.Too much crush and bolt will be hard to close and not enough crush and you do get the blow-by.I just tilt my gun over and the primer just falls out,nice and clean.

 

[GM54-120]

There is definitely a sweet spot and when you find it they do just fall out. Best i can measure is between .003-.005. Slightly less and you might get the occasional sticky primer that needs to be dry fired again to get it to fall out. If you go upto .005 you better have measured your primers so you dont get one that is too long. On the plus side if you have a .005 crush with a Win209 then a Fed209A is very close to the sweet spot. The newest batch of Fed209As i got are a bit longer than older stock.

Sure wish my Knight plugs would take the NSI (Nobel) primers. The length is some of the most consistent ive seen but they are too large OD. Need to polish the plug out a couple thousandths and they should fit great.

 

[txhunter58]

No one answered one of my questions:

Once you get a plug shimmed for a given primer, and you have to switch to a longer primer, what do you do? Just buy and shim a second breech plug?

 

[GM54-120]

The steel shims can be really hard to remove. So yes another plug is easier to deal with.

IF the PTFE shims would work, those could be much much easier to get out if needed.

 

[GM54-120]

In case you missed the McMasters part #s. Remember you need the .241" OD steel in .005" thickness to find out what you need total. Then if you go steel you need .248" OD for the final shimming. The .248s come in .005" and .015" in case you dont want to stack several thinner ones.

This is why im guessing a .250" OD PTFE might work. They will compress easier than the steel but still hold tight.
https://www.modernmuzzleloader.com/...imer-pocket-updated-4-7-16.28388/#post-222515

 

[BadgerRidge]

also available here:
https://www.badgerridgeind.com/store/p69/209PrimerShims.html

 

[GM54-120]

3 shims for $7. What a deal

 

[BadgerRidge]

3 shims for $7. What a deal

I don't think you'd say that after you fiddled a while with getting them sorted and in individual bags, labeled and packaged for shipping... but to each his own.

 

[txhunter58]

Ok. I should be working now but the wife and I got the virus yesterday! Nothing too bad. Just low fever, coughing, and body aches. Resting mostly but that gives me time to think.

Anyway got up and stated the process of shimming my breech plug. Remember, I have a knight long rang hunter bolt rifle converted to bare 209s

Using the 0.241 shims in 0.005, I put 1, 2, and then 3 shims in without seeing any “crush” in the primer. Decided to fire off a primer with 3: side of primer looked a little dirty and didn’t see any crush

So added a 4th shim and you could feel that the bolt took some effort to close. In fact, it wouldn’t go all the way down without some force. Primer went off ok and seems clean.

Questions:

Should it require extra force to close the bolt? If I slam it down to close, could the primer go off.

My primer was stuck when I fired it both with 3 and 4 shims. Much harder than normal to remove when I shoot bullets at the range. Is that normal?

And last, this was a clean gun. Last patch I ran thru it was coated with Montana Extreme. I shot off 2 primers. Do I need to clean the gun soon? Or will it be ok until my next shooting session? Maybe in 2 weeks.