Which load for 777

[ohihunter2014]

I cant find BH209 anywhere and tired of chasing it and paying the high price for it. I am switching to 777 this year for my CVA Optima 50cal and would like some advice on what 777 you guys like. I would like to continue shooting my 300gr .452 Hornady XTP but not apposed to other options. I have shot pellets in the past as well as mag pellets and really dont remember how they shot. Just looking for a good hunting load for shots up to 150yards.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Keep shooting those 300 XTPs. 90-110 grains is probably where youll find good results. T7 gives performance close to bh209. If you can keep that crud ring to a minimum with the ML209 primers you may be happy enough that you stay with T7. I once thought i would never go back to it but now I'm reconsidering it.

 

[ohihunter2014]

Keep shooting those 300 XTPs. 90-110 grains is probably where youll find good results. T7 gives performance close to bh209. If you can keep that crud ring to a minimum with the ML209 primers you may be happy enough that you stay with T7. I once thought i would never go back to it but now I'm reconsidering it.

I used to shoot the pellets out of my old CVA optima from like 20yrs ago and I would run a brush or wet patch down the bore between shots at the range to eliminate the crud ring. When I got my new CVA optima it was rated for BH209. I shot some magnum 777 that was gifted to me and took a deer with them. I really dont remember how any of it shot because it was years ago. Locally unless I want to drive 45min-1hr I cannot find BH209 but 777 seems to be everywhere. I tried some different sabot combos last year and maybe have 1/8 of a jug of BH209 left. After dropping the rifle last year I need to ensure the scope isnt trash so thats 5-7 shots and if the scope is trash I need to sight in another scope which is another 5-7 shots. After that I may have enough BH209 for 2-3 shot to hunt with. Switching to 777 just seems like the logical choice for me due to supply.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

If you check your scope or if you sight in a new scope with T7 i bet you will be close enough to bh209 poi that you can conserve more of the bh209.

 

[GM54-120]

Shooting a 250gr you wont see much of a speed difference unless its around max. The 300gr will favor BH209 by a larger margin.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Say 90 gr volume of bh209 vs 90gr volume of ffg T7. I think it will still be pretty close. IDK what are your loads of bh209 Ohihunter2014?

 

[snapbang]

Shooting a 250gr you wont see much of a speed difference unless its around max. The 300gr will favor BH209 by a larger margin.

With all guns having their own character, likes, dislikes, how can it be said the 300gr will favor the BH209 by a large margin???? Maybe I misread something???

 

[GM54-120]

BH209 pulls ahead in fps when loads are increased or bullet weight goes up. Take a 200gr sabot load in a 45cal. Use 120grV of each.....Triple7 is actually the faster load. Do the same thing in a 50cal with a 300gr bullet...BH209 will beat Triple7 easily.

BH209 loses less fps as bullet weight increases from 250gr to 300gr+.

 

[snapbang]

ok, we are talking strictly velocity then.

 

[Chick]

I used to shoot the pellets out of my old CVA optima from like 20yrs ago and I would run a brush or wet patch down the bore between shots at the range to eliminate the crud ring. When I got my new CVA optima it was rated for BH209. I shot some magnum 777 that was gifted to me and took a deer with them. I really dont remember how any of it shot because it was years ago. Locally unless I want to drive 45min-1hr I cannot find BH209 but 777 seems to be everywhere. I tried some different sabot combos last year and maybe have 1/8 of a jug of BH209 left. After dropping the rifle last year I need to ensure the scope isnt trash so thats 5-7 shots and if the scope is trash I need to sight in another scope which is another 5-7 shots. After that I may have enough BH209 for 2-3 shot to hunt with. Switching to 777 just seems like the logical choice for me due to supply.

There is a reason 777 is everywhere, and the BH209 is sold out.

 

[Chick]

BH209 pulls ahead in fps when loads are increased or bullet weight goes up. Take a 200gr sabot load in a 45cal. Use 120grV of each.....Triple7 is actually the faster load. Do the same thing in a 50cal with a 300gr bullet...BH209 will beat Triple7 easily.

BH209 loses less fps as bullet weight increases from 250gr to 300gr+.

That is because BH209 burns faster with the increase in pressure, with the use of the heavier bullet.

 

[snapbang]

There is a reason 777 is everywhere, and the BH209 is sold out.

Im not sure I see any explanation in ohihunter2014 statement that explains why 209 is sold out and T7 is everywhere. Frankly I get a little tired of reading why 209 is the worlds greatest powder and t7 is for lesser causes or lesser shooters. I killed a lot of deer with that Jim Sharky stuff because a friend left me 3 pounds at his passing. Put a patch and round ball on top of 100 grains and it kills deer just fine. T7 works just fine for me also. The crud ring isnt a monster. A few strokes with a wet patch and im good to shoot again. Even if I were using 209 I would swab between shots because thats the way I am going to start my hunting. With a clean barrel.

Ive been killing deer for 35, no make that 40 years. At no time can I blame any primer, powder, bullet, or patch for an unsuccessful hunt. If I had a problem its because I didn't do my part to have my gun properly prepared for the hunt and I knew it. Lewis often (maybe always) uses straight black powder. Ever use it.? Talk about crud. When I used it I would swab with the barrel pointing down so the crud would fall out instead of into the barrel. Still, I killed a pile of deer with it, a patched round ball, and a #11 cap. Way before inlines and modern powder and 209 were ever thought of.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

BH209 pulls ahead in fps when loads are increased or bullet weight goes up. Take a 200gr sabot load in a 45cal. Use 120grV of each.....Triple7 is actually the faster load. Do the same thing in a 50cal with a 300gr bullet...BH209 will beat Triple7 easily.

BH209 loses less fps as bullet weight increases from 250gr to 300gr+.

Is it a large difference at 90-100 grains with a 300? I mean like 200fps faster or are we talking 50-60fps? I was just trying to help him conserve what powder he has left. My thinking is the t7 will perform close enough that he could use it to sight in then take a couple bh209 shots to final adjus. instead of being left with only 2-3 shots of it, he might have 8-10 loads of bh209 left. Might be easier to just help him find more bh209 tho.

 

[ohihunter2014]

There is a reason 777 is everywhere, and the BH209 is sold out.

Its not sold out, no one carries it around here. 1 walmart carries it and the sporting goods guy says they get 2-3 jugs a year and usually gone within a week of him stocking them. I have called several stores and they all say they dont carry it at all.

 

[ohihunter2014]

Is it a large difference at 90-100 grains with a 300? I mean like 200fps faster or are we talking 50-60fps? I was just trying to help him conserve what powder he has left. My thinking is the t7 will perform close enough that he could use it to sight in then take a couple bh209 shots to final adjus. instead of being left with only 2-3 shots of it, he might have 8-10 loads of bh209 left. Might be easier to just help him find more bh209 tho.

Thanks. I have called several places and they just dont carry it. I may have to take the drive saturday and buy some if they even have it.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Its not sold out, no one carries it around here. 1 walmart carries it and the sporting goods guy says they get 2-3 jugs a year and usually gone within a week of him stocking them. I have called several stores and they all say they dont carry it at all.

Ask the malwart guy if he will order some in for you. On another thread here someone suggested that the malwart warehouse has a lot of it in stock. Im going to ask a LGS to order me some powder and primers for reloading a couple cartridges. They have some powders in stock just not what i want. I'll ask about bh209, too. We'll see what happens.

 

[bamawoodsman]

71 grains weighed which is around 91 grains of t7 fffg is a very accurate load with several different bullets for me. I agree with you snap bang. The crud ring is not a big issue with me compared to the misfires I’ve had with bh209. It’s way too finicky to hunt with for me. I do target shoot with it until I burn it all.

 

[ohihunter2014]

So question for the crud ring. I bought some TC patches that are pre saturated should I just swab after each shot with those or should I brush or wait after 2-3 shots and swab?

 

[bamawoodsman]

I swab between every shot. One wet patch turned over and one dry patch turned over. I’m hunting with a clean barrel so I want a clean barrel every practice shot to mirror a hunting shot. If you have a tight barrel. It loads a lot easier swabbing between shots too.

 

[ENCORE50A]

So question for the crud ring. I bought some TC patches that are pre saturated should I just swab after each shot with those or should I brush or wait after 2-3 shots and swab?

Be careful with SATURATED patches. Its not a good thing and surely can cause accuracy issues.

For T7, IMO the best you'll get to clean and swab with is Butch's Black Powder Bore Shine. When you swab between rounds, the patch should be ever so slightly damp and NOT saturated. Run the patch down one side, flip it and run it down again. If you prefer, you can run a dry patch but, if the patch is just slightly damp it'll work fine.
I shot 5 cases per year for about 5yrs of T7 and it just flat out works best. When using it to clean, yes, you can saturate patches but not for swabbing between rounds.