Well, I finally got out and shot the NEF huntsman today with Blackhorn 209. The .25 ACP with standard small rifle primers (CCI 400) is not going to work as far as 100% instant ignition. In my preliminary report, I shot off hand at a puddle in front of my backstop, it seemed like it was instant ignition at the time. Today however, I shot off the bench and noticed a little lag in ignition, not hangfires, but a slight delay. I could actually hear the hammer fall a split second before ignition.
First up was some 240 grain XTP's and 90 gr BH209. The lag in ignition was very noticeable on the bench, but the first bullet clipped the bullseye at 8 o'clock. The next bullet hit 1-1/4" right of the bulls center and also had a very noticeable lag in ignition. The third bullet hit about 2" high and right of the bull opening up the group to 3", when all things considered is better than I thought it would be.
Next up was 240 grain T/C Cheapshots and 80 grains BH209, this is the same load I shot off hand out my garage door into the puddle in front of my backstop. The lag in ignition seemed to be less, but still noticeable on the bench. The 3rd shot in this group I had a FTF, after using a nipple pick to clean out the carbon in the flash hole I reprimed and had an instant ignition, the only shot out of six that seemed instant. The group was hardly any better at 2.81", and that concluded my testing with the .25 ACP plug and CCI 400 primers. I will get some Small Rifle MAGNUM Primers and give it another go sometime on down the road.
At this point I went back inside and swapped to the original Primer Carrier Breech Plug, and Winchester W209 Primers. I tried the 200 grain Shockwaves and 100 grains BH209, ignition was instant, but unfortunately the group was the worst of the day at 3.35".
A little frustrated at this point, I figured I would try the Knight 250 gr PBT's that shoot one hole groups out of my Knight Disc Extreme. They loaded so hard, that if I hadn't had my Knight Range Rod, I doubt I would have got them down the bore. Unfortunately they would not group with 100 grains BH209 and had a vertical 2.90" group.
Very frustrated at this point, I figured I would try something different, a heavier bullet and a lighter charge of powder. I got out the 300 grain SST's and 80 grains BH209. This load shows some serious promise and will get some follow up time at a later date. This was the best group of the day at 1.15", and they loaded much easier than the 250 grain Knight/Barnes and the 200 grain Shockwaves.
Overall, the .25 ACP is not going to get it done reliably with the standard Small Rifle Primers (CCI 400). The 209 Primer Carrier Ignition will get it done, but may take a little time to find the perfect bullet and powder combination. My barrel is only 24", and BH209 is a progressive powder which is more suited to longer barrels with the heavier powder charges. I would also like to do some testing with some heavy 460 grain conicals, but I think I will forgo trying them with the .25ACP.
This is the overall target, it was a 3 MOA day today for the most part.
I did use one new primer carrier today for the 9 shots, the blowback was surprisingly less than when using 777, but it washed .010" off the thickness of the carrier. A new one measures .310" thick, that one after 9 shots only measures .300" and was allowing more blowback at every shot.
I also saved some primers and sabots today. Most all of the primers flowed back as you can see, and the sabots were intact except for the 200 grain Shockwave sabots which are known to shed petals.
If someone would make a Breech Plug for bare 209 primers, he would have a winner for the NEF's with Blackhorn 209 Powder. Probably be hard to convince somebody to make some, now that the NEF ML's have been discontinued.
