BH 209 - Part 1, Preparation for the range.

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Nice thing about here is you can get reviews on products that are not just supplied by a sponsor. You are more likely to get a complete review of the product including the bad things. TB typically does not review a product unless its from a sponsor. He also has a history of keeping the negative opinions "hush hush" until that sponsorship ends or is ending. Some fine examples are Savage, Knight and Alliant BlackMZ....All were wonderful until one day...they suddenly had flaws that were hardly mentioned before.

Here with multiple reviews from people that had to pay for their products you have a far better chance of getting at the entire truth. You wont see me tell you that the Harvester Crushrib is the "be all end all sabot" for every rifle although its a great sabot for some bores. The less expensive Harvester EZ Load smooth short sabot is often a better choice. Sometimes its one of the MMP sabots ect ect ect.

You simply wont get those kind of answers when sponsors and their products are paying the bills of the reviewer. Enjoy his articles just see them for what they are. He has many worth reading.
I’ve seen much of that already. They stick out like a sore thumb. The worst one that gets on my nerves are those wearing CVA emblems on their shirts and caps. They would have me believe that the only thing worth shooting in my Accura are White Hots and Powerbelts, while they subtly put down sabots. Thanks for the info. I really enjoy the wealth of knowledge on this site.
 
My brass volume measure throws light charges when I weigh them if I don’t mound and tap, but when I do, it will measure charges very close to BH’s conversion ratio.
Last Friday I measured and filled 50 tubes for the range. I need more practice to consistently get close to what you do. I began by pouring too fast with BH rolling off my hand into the bowl. When I was able to mound without leveling I was 1-3 gr. off 70 gr. by weight. I then took a single edged razor blade and slowly leveled the BH and was .2 - .4 gr off 70gr. by weight. It was tedious but interesting. The blade didn't crack and crunch the gr. like the leveler did.

I bought a Hornady electronic Lock-N'-Load (1500) scale just so I could experience the weight vs. volume comparison. As long as I kept it zeroed and checked calibration it seemed precisely accurate to .1

At times the reading toggled between two measures, like 70.1 - 70.2. I discovered that I could roll a few gr. from my fingers (wearing platex gloves ) and set the measure to 70.0 They sell a trickler to be used with this model but I saw a post where a guy cut an angled piece from a large plastic straw and kinda rolled the straw to make the gr. trickle onto the scale. It worked perfectly. In fact, if I was even 1. or more grains off 70 I could easily scoop with the straw and trickle onto the scale or scoop to remove access. Not sure if any of this is in the manual but I knew I went to the range with tubes with loads weighing precisely 70 gr. I will keep practicing your mounding technique and weighing to check my accuracy.

I recall posted comments that the scale markings on the BH 209 tubes were not precise. I gently poured 70 gr by wt into some of them and it was very close to 100 by volume. I measured some 100 by volume and put them on the scale. They were a tad off 70 gr. by weight. I tend to believe that maybe those differences in "tenths" is attributed to the density of the BH and its ability to "settle" with motion applied. I experimented - for whatever reason. I weighed 70 gr. by weight and carefully poured them into the BH tubes - in which they looked to be a good 100 gr by volume. I noticed that I could tap and flick a little on the tube and the volume reading would change as it settled. I could tap the tube on the counter a few times and consistently change the level from 100 by volume to 90. I'd just purchased a batch of Lane tubes and ended up taking those to the range. One thing I noticed is that there was no static in them. Nothing against the BH 209 tubes but I prefer the Lane tubes. Their diameter is smaller, enough that it fits into the BH tube. The narrow Lane tube was much easier for me to pour the charge into the bore with never losing a grain of powder.

Like others, I guess one day I'll decide whether to weigh by weight or volume, or both. I do recall reading that the tenths of a difference does not affect the performance of the charge. I have no idea how much difference it would take to affect the charge.
 
If you got the Taller Lane's vial you can use it as a "Speed Loader" too. Put the Bullet in the sabot and put that bullet nose first into the vial and then put the powder in. In the Field unscrew the cap Pour the Powder down the bore and then the sabot bullet drops down, might have to tap the vial on the muzzle if they stick a bit. I still wiped mine with a dryer sheet one time to make sure the powder don't stick from static, you can see more of the static in later parts of the hunting season since the humidity is lower. They are Great tubes. I wish he had one that would work this way for a .54cal.
 
If you got the Taller Lane's vial you can use it as a "Speed Loader" too. Put the Bullet in the sabot and put that bullet nose first into the vial and then put the powder in. In the Field unscrew the cap Pour the Powder down the bore and then the sabot bullet drops down, might have to tap the vial on the muzzle if they stick a bit. I still wiped mine with a dryer sheet one time to make sure the powder don't stick from static, you can see more of the static in later parts of the hunting season since the humidity is lower. They are Great tubes. I wish he had one that would work this way for a .54cal.
Appreciate that tip. I won't bash the BH 209 tubes. I'll just say the Lane is better for my big hands. The tube opening is small enough that it fits right into the muzzle. The 209 slides right out of the tube. I'll let you know how it works this week. Thanks again.
 
Last Friday I measured and filled 50 tubes for the range. I need more practice to consistently get close to what you do. I began by pouring too fast with BH rolling off my hand into the bowl. When I was able to mound without leveling I was 1-3 gr. off 70 gr. by weight. I then took a single edged razor blade and slowly leveled the BH and was .2 - .4 gr off 70gr. by weight. It was tedious but interesting. The blade didn't crack and crunch the gr. like the leveler did.

I bought a Hornady electronic Lock-N'-Load (1500) scale just so I could experience the weight vs. volume comparison. As long as I kept it zeroed and checked calibration it seemed precisely accurate to .1

At times the reading toggled between two measures, like 70.1 - 70.2. I discovered that I could roll a few gr. from my fingers (wearing platex gloves ) and set the measure to 70.0 They sell a trickler to be used with this model but I saw a post where a guy cut an angled piece from a large plastic straw and kinda rolled the straw to make the gr. trickle onto the scale. It worked perfectly. In fact, if I was even 1. or more grains off 70 I could easily scoop with the straw and trickle onto the scale or scoop to remove access. Not sure if any of this is in the manual but I knew I went to the range with tubes with loads weighing precisely 70 gr. I will keep practicing your mounding technique and weighing to check my accuracy.

I recall posted comments that the scale markings on the BH 209 tubes were not precise. I gently poured 70 gr by wt into some of them and it was very close to 100 by volume. I measured some 100 by volume and put them on the scale. They were a tad off 70 gr. by weight. I tend to believe that maybe those differences in "tenths" is attributed to the density of the BH and its ability to "settle" with motion applied. I experimented - for whatever reason. I weighed 70 gr. by weight and carefully poured them into the BH tubes - in which they looked to be a good 100 gr by volume. I noticed that I could tap and flick a little on the tube and the volume reading would change as it settled. I could tap the tube on the counter a few times and consistently change the level from 100 by volume to 90. I'd just purchased a batch of Lane tubes and ended up taking those to the range. One thing I noticed is that there was no static in them. Nothing against the BH 209 tubes but I prefer the Lane tubes. Their diameter is smaller, enough that it fits into the BH tube. The narrow Lane tube was much easier for me to pour the charge into the bore with never losing a grain of powder.

Like others, I guess one day I'll decide whether to weigh by weight or volume, or both. I do recall reading that the tenths of a difference does not affect the performance of the charge. I have no idea how much difference it would take to affect the charge.

Last Friday I measured and filled 50 tubes for the range. I need more practice to consistently get close to what you do. I began by pouring too fast with BH rolling off my hand into the bowl. When I was able to mound without leveling I was 1-3 gr. off 70 gr. by weight. I then took a single edged razor blade and slowly leveled the BH and was .2 - .4 gr off 70gr. by weight. It was tedious but interesting. The blade didn't crack and crunch the gr. like the leveler did.

I bought a Hornady electronic Lock-N'-Load (1500) scale just so I could experience the weight vs. volume comparison. As long as I kept it zeroed and checked calibration it seemed precisely accurate to .1

At times the reading toggled between two measures, like 70.1 - 70.2. I discovered that I could roll a few gr. from my fingers (wearing platex gloves ) and set the measure to 70.0 They sell a trickler to be used with this model but I saw a post where a guy cut an angled piece from a large plastic straw and kinda rolled the straw to make the gr. trickle onto the scale. It worked perfectly. In fact, if I was even 1. or more grains off 70 I could easily scoop with the straw and trickle onto the scale or scoop to remove access. Not sure if any of this is in the manual but I knew I went to the range with tubes with loads weighing precisely 70 gr. I will keep practicing your mounding technique and weighing to check my accuracy.

I recall posted comments that the scale markings on the BH 209 tubes were not precise. I gently poured 70 gr by wt into some of them and it was very close to 100 by volume. I measured some 100 by volume and put them on the scale. They were a tad off 70 gr. by weight. I tend to believe that maybe those differences in "tenths" is attributed to the density of the BH and its ability to "settle" with motion applied. I experimented - for whatever reason. I weighed 70 gr. by weight and carefully poured them into the BH tubes - in which they looked to be a good 100 gr by volume. I noticed that I could tap and flick a little on the tube and the volume reading would change as it settled. I could tap the tube on the counter a few times and consistently change the level from 100 by volume to 90. I'd just purchased a batch of Lane tubes and ended up taking those to the range. One thing I noticed is that there was no static in them. Nothing against the BH 209 tubes but I prefer the Lane tubes. Their diameter is smaller, enough that it fits into the BH tube. The narrow Lane tube was much easier for me to pour the charge into the bore with never losing a grain of powder.

Like others, I guess one day I'll decide whether to weigh by weight or volume, or both. I do recall reading that the tenths of a difference does not affect the performance of the charge. I have no idea how much difference it would take to affect the charge.
I weigh mine for peace of mind i agree with you after tapping the tubes it goes from 100 to 90 or 95 grains
 
I weigh mine for peace of mind i agree with you after tapping the tubes it goes from 100 to 90 or 95 grains
It worked somewhat better this week than before, but I still don’t feel comfortable with the volume yet. I’ll keep practicing though, in case I’m without the digital scale and need to fill the tubes for the range or a hunt.

I’ve so many posts saying Western Powder recommends measuring by volume. They’ve told me the same thing, even saying that being off a little wont affect consistency. Friday, when I mentioned my observations about the potential for 209 to settle, he replied that the recommendation to measure by volume was to get new users used to the BH. Then he said that if I wanted true consistency I should measure by weight. For now, I’ve decided to measure by weight, just in case the “absolute” matters.
 
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