Safe sabotless BH209 .45cal load

[bowbender6]

I have 5 .45 Cal muzzleloaders and would like to try some sabotless shooting. I live in Michigan so BH209 is what I use. I am shooting a custom Savage with Pacnor barrel full form so I am familiar with shooting sabotless. I don't have a smooth form doe, but a 250BE fits down my Knight bare plug just about right. I shot one shot with 70 grains weighed. The fps was 2125. The primer was bulged a little. I know the smaller caliber build pressure more and the fps seemed a little fast.


What do you guys think a safe load is with Bh209 in the .45 with a 250 great bullet?

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

 

[GM54-120]

Ive shot Westerns max loads with a 300gr no problem in a SUPER DISC 45 bare primer. Mine is a Lehigh plug.

 

[52Bore]

Western Powders - BlackHorn 209 has a website that list many bullets/load combos.
Good reference.

 

[CatamountRob]

Western Powders - BlackHorn 209 has a website that list many bullets/load combos.
Good reference.

I don’t think they have loads for .45 rifles.

 

[BuckDoeHunter]

I shot 120 grains by volume of BH209 out of my .45 Disc Elite with a 250 grain Barnes TEZ. No bulging primers, they came out looking new, this was with a Lehigh breech plug. I had to knurl the bullets for a good fit, I also used a veggie wad, accuracy was decent. I would think a thin skinned BE would shoot good, a thicker jacket like on an FTX most likely won’t with BH209.

 

[sabinajiles]

I would think a thin skinned BE would shoot good, a thicker jacket like on an FTX most likely won’t with BH209.

I agree with this. You want a soft jacketed, soft core bullet and use a veggie wad under the bullet. The Fury muzzleloader bullets would also work very well. As far as your powder load, I don't think you would have any pressure issues with the 120 gr by volume maximum load. The pressure traces I have seen for 45 cal rifles with BH209 and 300-350 gr bullets were just over 26K. I believe 3 pellet loads in magnum rated muzzleloaders are around 27K so I don't believe excessive pressure would be an issue. I would think any load of BH209 over 100 gr would give good bullet obitration with the mentioned softer bullets.

 

[GM54-120]

Thin jacket and soft lead core helps a ton with BH209 sabotless. A great practice bullet is the Nosler 45LC 250gr Sporting Handgun bullet. The core is pure lead and the bullet is fairly cheap. A 250 pack is about $33.

If you are getting primer bulge then you either have a loose head space, enlarged flash hole or the flash channel is filling up with carbon. I would try a Win209 if you have not already. Its longer and might solve the issue. You might also want to consider a custom plug from Bestill with a bushing. They are sized to fit your action and made out of 17-4 just like the Lehighs.

 

[Busta]

I don't know, the 300 grain SST shot a pretty good group in my .45cal 1:20 twist, with a .50 cal wool wad. Back when I was doing some sabotless testing about 10 years ago. More where that came from.

What do you think?

 

[bowbender6]

These are not my primary hunting guns but could turn into them if things work out.

One is s Knight, I think 1:30, bare primer plug that I made a .031 vent liner for.

The other is a TC encore 1:20

I think the bulge in the primer is because the pocket is not deep enough. I have shimmed or used an o ring to get a tight seal.

Thanks, that gives more a starting point

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

 

[GM54-120]

Was this the old style Knight bare primer plug you modified to vent liner or a newer "vented" plug you modified to a removable vent liner? The newer style which is based on the Lehigh plug seals better with a Win209.

If you can take some basic measurements accurately then Bestill can make you a plug for around $80 IIRC. They use a bushing instead of a vent liner and he had them made from 17-4 SS just like the original Lehighs.

These are beautifully machined.

Mine was a perfect fit following his directions. Lehigh plug on the right for comparison.