Ultralight Mountaineer First Look

[ronlaughlin]

Thanks guys.

The Holo-Krome screws are hard to drill. Am using cobalt #70 drills to make the vent liners. HS steel drills don't do well. Drilling is tedious for me. Sometimes i get 15 vent liners from one drill; sometimes more. Sometimes i get one vent liner from one drill, or a couple, or none. It is very disgusting when a drill breaks before finishing a single vent liner. Have never sold vent liners for this reason. Started making vent liners because folks still send me CVA breech plugs to modify for reliable ignition of Blackhorn powder. A vent liner is included with each plug, when we mail them back. Can't handle paying $5 for a vent liner, then giving it away.

For myself, i like the home made vent liners better than any available for purchase, because i make them with smaller flash holes. It doesn't make sense to me to make the flash hole 0.032", when 0.028" works as well for ignition, and the smaller flash hole will allow for more shots, before the flash hole becomes too large. Bullet velocities using the smaller flash hole, are the same as when one uses the large flash holes. Cold sub-zero ignition of Blackhorn is reliable 100% of the time when the flash hole is 0.028". In my opinion/experience commercial vent liners have flash holes too large. The flash hole of a commercial vent liner was made for burning smokeless powder is what i think. :mrgreen:

 

[WV Hunter]

Great shooting Ron! :yeah:

 

[ronlaughlin]

Thanks Mike. Them $5 breech plugs -- let me know if you want one or two; i bought ten of them.

 

[WV Hunter]

Thanks Mike. Them $5 breech plugs -- let me know if you want one or two; i bought ten of them.

Oh wow, thanks Ron. I might take you up on that! :yeah:

 

[ShawnT]

Thanks guys.

The Holo-Krome screws are hard to drill. Am using cobalt #70 drills to make the vent liners. HS steel drills don't do well. Drilling is tedious for me. Sometimes i get 15 vent liners from one drill; sometimes more. Sometimes i get one vent liner from one drill, or a couple, or none. It is very disgusting when a drill breaks before finishing a single vent liner. Have never sold vent liners for this reason. Started making vent liners because folks still send me CVA breech plugs to modify for reliable ignition of Blackhorn powder. A vent liner is included with each plug, when we mail them back. Can't handle paying $5 for a vent liner, then giving it away.

For myself, i like the home made vent liners better than any available for purchase, because i make them with smaller flash holes. It doesn't make sense to me to make the flash hole 0.032", when 0.028" works as well for ignition, and the smaller flash hole will allow for more shots, before the flash hole becomes too large. Bullet velocities using the smaller flash hole, are the same as when one uses the large flash holes. Cold sub-zero ignition of Blackhorn is reliable 100% of the time when the flash hole is 0.028". In my opinion/experience commercial vent liners have flash holes too large. The flash hole of a commercial vent liner was made for burning smokeless powder is what i think. :mrgreen:

Thanks Ron. I thought I remembered you saying they were hard on drill bits.

 

[ronlaughlin]

The hardness of the Holo-Krome screws is no where near to the hardness of the brazed vent liner. It is too bad Knight doesn't sell the breech plug without a vent liner. Adding a vent liner to a plug without a vent liner would be fun. Another sad thing is the brazed vent liner doesn't wear well at all, and is soon worn out, requiring one to replace the breech plug sooner than one would think. Cobalt drills won't cut into the brazed vent liner.

Removing the brazed vent liner involves using carbide end mills, and a carbide spotting drill. When finished, one needs to use a tap to remove the last of the hard hard material from the threads in the breech plug. Taps i use are not the kind one purchases at ACE; they are high speed steel. Removing the remnants of the vent liner ruins the tap. It would be wonderful if one could purchase breech plugs from Knight without a vent liner. ☺

Only having one breech plug for this rifle seems foreign to me. Seems like i have a jillion breech plugs for Omega rifles. This one plug may last me forever? The vent liner is easily replaced now. The shim installed in the primer socket makes for zero blow by around the primer, which results in no wear of the primer seat. Even though i believe the plug will last me forever, i can see purchasing another, and making it a forever plug too.

 

[Dougs136Schwartz]

Bestill plugs take care of everything . No shims to install and unless you shoot a lot you will never have to change a bushing . If yo do shoot a lot no big deal at all to change out a bushing . I wish Knight made a plug with a bushing but it is probably not cost effective because the average hunter does not shoot as much as some of us radicals ! Lol glad you love your UL it sounds very nice

 

[ronlaughlin]

......no big deal at all to change out a bushing....... .

Are you sure??

Me, i never have used a bushing. Never have tried to remove one from a plug. After thousands of shots, seems like it would be very difficult to get the bushing out of the breech plug??

 

[ShawnT]

......no big deal at all to change out a bushing....... .

Are you sure??

Me, i never have used a bushing. Never have tried to remove one from a plug. After thousands of shots, seems like it would be very difficult to get the bushing out of the breech plug??

I have one of Bestill's plugs in my UL now. The original had the flash hole getting too large so I went with his. I did not think Ron would want to drill my Brazed in Ventliner out. :wink: Bestill's plug has the bushing in it (Drops in) and it is locked in with a Lock screw that looks like a set screw but the middle drilled out. The Lock screw is installed with Red Loctite so it would require a little heat to get it loose. I don't think it would be a problem as I clean it pretty good and so far the threads that are exposed look great, but don't know how hard it would be to get out after thousands of shots either. Maybe one day I will find out?

 

[ronlaughlin]

...... Bestill's plug has the bushing in it (Drops in) and it is locked in with a Lock screw that looks like a set screw but the middle drilled out. The Lock screw is installed with Red Loctite so it would require a little heat to get it loose. I don't think it would be a problem as I clean it pretty good and so far the threads that are exposed look great, but don't know how hard it would be to get out after thousands of shots either. Maybe one day I will find out?

Maybe not?

Bushing plugs were developed because hot rod smokeless shooters would endure their vent liner wearing out before they finished a single range session. For us non hot rod smoker shooters, a bushing will probably last forever; never needing to be removed, nor replaced......☺

 

[GM54-120]

Before the tungsten carbide bushings became popular, PA Machine (Pete) made some with drill bushings. I think these were made from a very tough steel. I bet they are also much cheaper than $30 each.

There is no doubt in my mind if i wanted to upgrade another Knight plug it would be with a Bestill bushing plug. They are beautifully machined just like the original Lehighs. They are made from the same 17-4 stainless instead of 416. In a 50cal i cant begin to imagine how many shots you would get from a more common BH209 load. Im sure its a lot.

I dont loctite my collar. I just use anti seize and remove/reapply/replace each time just like in a vent liner plug. The bushing is left alone though. I have considered using some of the "creeping" green loctite made for bushings and preassembled parts. Its possible that is a good option too. It does not setup nearly as hard as the red.

 

[sabotloader]

Just thought I would add this information - I have two original Lehigh vent liners (prior to Knight - that were built for the Savage) that I have shot quite a bit. One has 250+ shots and the other right at 400. Both of these two liners are still working great and have only eroded approximately 0.002.

But, I have basically only shot T7 powder and W209's with these two liners. I have shot a few BH loads with them and I understand that BH is tougher on them because of ignitions temps. Were all of these shots with BH I guess/think the erosion would be greater.

The new vent liners now being produced by Lehigh and not the ones in the Knight breech Plug are back to the original domed design and materials. I also believe the domed design of the Lehigh liner helps reduce blowback pressure back through the breech plug but deflecting a portion of the pressure off the dome away from the flash hole.

I also believe the BESTILL plug is a huge advancement and if you believe you want one - go for it!!! I will stay with the 17-4 Lehigh Plug and the Savage Vent liner. These are not available at Lehigh Defense - they are under the Lehigh Bullets banner

https://www.lehighbullets.com/product-c ... ventliner/