BH209 temp sensitive?

[Rangeball]

We set up my buddy's dad's CVA accura V1 with BH209, drilled the flash hole to .035 per frontier gander's recommendation, and used the .50 300gr FTX sabotless. Only primers we could get around here were regular CCI, not magnums.

When sighting in, the gun shot perfectly and went boom every time. Temps were probably in the 60's. Dad was happy and all set.

The first deer weekend he did not get a chance to shoot a deer but did try to shoot to unload each evening, and the gun misfired. Primer popped, but the load did not ignite. He had cleaned it with something other than hoppes that had left a good amount of oily residue so we assumed that was the problem, cleaned the heck out of it and the plug and he was back in business. Until this weekend, when he had another misfire, this time at a deer.

Gun is stored in an unheated garage so condensation isn't the issue. Powder seems dry, granules not swelled up or sticking together, shakes easily. Only thing I can think of is the temp difference. Mid 20's to mid 30's while hunting.

Is it possible the regular CCI just isn't enough to ignite BH209 in these temps? Do you think a magnum primer would do it?

Really scratching my head here and this is all I can come up with. Pretty certain it's not seating pressure as he didn't have this issue at the range in warmer temps. With all the problems he bought some 777 and it fires each time.

 

[Anonymous]

I have not shot a .50 sabotless so I do not know how tight they seal in the barrel. That may be one problem. I would definitely use Mag primers with the CVA plug. You want a tight seal and a hot primer. Sorry to hear about the misfire but IMO the CVA plugs are the worst to use BH209 with. That T7 will make it go BANG though!

 

[JStanley]

Smyers717 is on the right track. Copper and lead expand & contract to a greater degree than the various alloys of steel. Temps in the 20's & 30's vs the 60's could cause the bullet to contract proportionately more than the barrel making the seal that BH needs to go bang compromised. Just a theory....


Be blessed.

 

[Rangeball]

Thanks fellas. I hadn't thought or asked about loading pressure. I'll find out if it loaded easier. If they did, maybe all that's needed is a light knurl.

 

[GM54-120]

I would also like to add....

Try a tight fitting fiber or wool wad under the sabotless bullet. Even a modded sabot BASE with the petals removed might work. This should give the powder a millisecond to gain some pressure.

Also make sure your bullet has not moved a tiny bit off of the powder. Sabotless is neat but it can have a tough learning curve.

 

[Rangeball]

More good thoughts. Thanks

 

[sabotloader]

Rangeball

I have not read everyone elses response but I would like to share a thought. I do not think BH is any more temperature sensitive than any other of the powders.

What we need to realize is the BH does require a mush higher ignition temperature than any of the other subs.

Where I believe the temp sensitive thing may come into play is when you are shooting a very cold breech plug and chamber a lot of your heat from the primer is lost in just warming up the surrounding metal to get to the powder, with this loss of heat it takes little longer for the hotter gas to reach the powder.

I have seen Jim Shockey wrap a hand warmer around the breech area when he is hunting in extremely cold environments - just to beat that factor.

Just a thought

 

[frontier gander]

you know i just noticed the FTX Sabotless bullet, that could very well have caused the problem in colder weather. May not have enough pressure build up.

I havent shot those in a long time, only 3 shots in that period and they looked extremely promising. I think i will need to get some and try out a cold weather test.

 

[wayles]

Bh 209

High PSI seat the bullet and tape the muzzle with plastic electrical tape. The tape will not affect accuracy. Clean plug regular with drill bit and torch tip cleaner. Wipe solvet out with alcohol and dry patch let dry. It will go bang
Wayles

 

[ronlaughlin]

............................ Only thing I can think of is the temp difference. Mid 20's to mid 30's while hunting......................Is it possible the regular CCI just isn't enough to ignite BH209 in these temps? Do you think a magnum primer would do it?

Let me preface with this: my bullets were not bore size, and a sabot was used. Just now, i returned home from my 5th day of sighting in my rifles for our upcoming muzzle loader season. Here we cannot use optics. During our rifle season, i have been using optics, but starting Saturday it is iron sights. My powder of choice is BH209. My primer of choice is the STS, and the W209.

The CVA rifles have been left loaded, and dirty, overnight in the cab of the truck. The temperature at first light of the past 4 days, and today, has been something like 7*, 8*, 6*, 11*, and 13*. The BH209 has lit with gusto each and every morning. Thus i would have to say the CCI primer is enough to ignite BH209, since the STS, and the W209 did just fine. By this morning each rifle had at least 25 shots through, without cleaning the barrel or the flash channel of the breech plug.

In my opinion, your issue is not the primer; i would guess it is either the tightness of your bullets, or the design of your breech plug, or both.

 

[Rangeball]

you know i just noticed the FTX Sabotless bullet, that could very well have caused the problem in colder weather. May not have enough pressure build up.

I havent shot those in a long time, only 3 shots in that period and they looked extremely promising. I think i will need to get some and try out a cold weather test.

Please do if possible, as the fit seemed to be the same in what you described and his barrel. Also please use regular CCI primers if possible.

 

[cooperM22]

I used regular cci's in my rifle last weekend without a problem, it was in the low 30's and the gun shot great.... i have an omega though.