BH209 MAX?

[catncarp]

WHAT WOULD BE THE MAX LOAD IN A HUNTSMAN FOR BH 209 POWDER AND 250 GRAIN BULLET, THANKS, JIM

[mechanic]

Here is load data provided by the factory.
 
http://www.blackhorn209.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/b209muzzleloaderdata.pdf
 
 
Be careful, while this is volumetrically equal to black powder, it is not, it is a smokeless propellant with additives to give it smoke....and like all modern powders, pressures can increase extremely fast ( exponentially), when close to max. 
 
Ben

[Doug B.]

Here is load data provided by the factory.
 
http://www.blackhorn209.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/b209muzzleloaderdata.pdf
 
 
Be careful, while this is volumetrically equal to black powder, it is not, it is a smokeless propellant with additives to give it smoke....and like all modern powders, pressures can increase extremely fast ( exponentially), when close to max. 
 
Ben

Ben,


And I might add that excessive pressures are a bit easier to detect when using brass casings with smokeless powders when compared to "front stuffers". More often than not the first sign of excessive pressure in a muzzleloader is when you're holding a barrel in three pieces in your bloody hands!

Please......start low and work up.

[bikerbeans]

Jim,
 
I have shot the book maximum of BH209 in a 50 cal Huntsman and a 50 cal Rossi with 250 and 300 grain sabots and it ain't much fun.  It also wasn't very accurate.  Best results for me were in the 80 to 90 grain range.  Only way to know what charge and sabot your gun likes the best is to spend a bunch of time, any money, at the range.  Also, your Huntsman will need an aftermarket breech plug for the BH209, the factory primer carrier & plug will not work.
 
Good luck,
 
BB

[catncarp]

I have the breech plug  and 80 grains has been ok, I was just checking to see the max in the huntsman

[Busta]

I have the breech plug  and 80 grains has been ok, I was just checking to see the max in the huntsman

What year is your Huntsman? First two letters of your Serial #?
 
The 2002 & 2003 Huntsmans with 7/8" had a 100 gr VOLUME Max for powders. They were only available with 24" barrels.
 
In 2004 the Sidekick was introduced, and both Huntsman and Sidekick used the 7/8" breech plug. The powder max was increased to 120 grains that year, and 24" and 26" barrels were also available.
 
In 2005, both the Huntsman and Sidekick were changed to 5/8" breech plugs.
 
 
100 grains of Blackhorn 209 is plenty in a Huntsman/Sidekick with any bullet. I have some loads that will handle 110 grains accurately, but most are between 80 and 100 grains for best accuracy. I have shot several cases of BH209 through a Huntsman (24") and Sidekick (26"), and I prefer the 24" 2003 Huntsman with one of my custom breech plugs over my other 14 muzzleloaders. These include Whites, Knights, T/C, and CVA.
 
Here are the recommended loads for the 2002/2003 NEF Huntsmans. Disregard the .45 caliber information, they never went to production. These .45 caliber loads are not to be used with the 70's era H&R Huntsmans either.

 
 
Here are the recommended loads for the 2004 and later NEF and H&R Sidekicks. I have a 2004 24" barreled NEF Sidekick with 7/8" breech plug and 2008 26" barreled H&R Sidekick with a 5/8" breech plug, both rifles use the same manual and loads.

 
I do not have a 2004 or later Huntsman Manual, so hopefully either you do, or someone else that can shed light on which loads are recommended beyond that point.