FTX with BH209 Ladder Test

In this video we take the Hornady Bore Driver FTX 290gr and pair it with BH209 to see what kind of groups we can get. The test is coming off a great ELD-X test... Can it compare? Lets find out.
Updated Test Results : www.suburbanhu...

[@UltraLimitedHD]

BH209 & Horn ELD-X !

[@suburbanhunt3653]

They are a great combo kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGmoZnt_gtCsra8si=YeIsnRsTe3T5PElf

[@deanmccabe8783]

Need to tell us what primer you use, it makes a difference.

[@suburbanhunt3653]

Federal 209A thanks for watching

[@SteveChishamSr]

Can powder and pellets be used in the same load?

[@suburbanhunt3653]

Im sure they could but with the inconsistencies of the pellets what would be the benefit? Not something I’m willing to run.

[@chromepigproductions9419]

I can measure grams but not grains. Is there a way to convert 75 grains weight to volume? Seemed like you were most happy with the 75 grouping.

[@chromepigproductions9419]

Looks like it might be 107 by volume..?

[@suburbanhunt3653]

If you are using Blackhorn 209 you right on the money with 107gnV. As the ration from Volume to Weight is 100 : 70 HOWEVER The rule of thumb for Triple 7 is that for every 1gn by volume you have .777gn by weight. So to go from volume to weight you simply MULTIPLY the volume by .777 and you have a good starting place. Going the other way: if you simply DIVIDE the weight by .777 example 75gnW / .777 = 96.525gnV 96.525gnV * .777 = 74.9999gnW **The reason the numbers don't line up perfect is because the "96.525" actually has a ton of numbers past the decimal. Thus not being a perfect number.** The point is that each powder is different. The best way to check is to take 10 (or more) volume measurement and weigh them to get a average. But as you mentioned you don't have a scale for that. If you are going to run loose I highly recommend weight over volume. Here is the link to the pocket scale I take with me on hunting trips. amzn.to/45yEtom Best of luck and be careful.

[@chromepigproductions9419]

Do you still prefer 209 over 777? I know it cleans easier with the 209 solvent.

[@suburbanhunt3653]

@@chromepigproductions9419 truth is the I need to do more testing with the 777 loose powder. I love how clean BH209 is but the cost is ridiculous. I plan to test 777 and Pyrodex and see how they do. If they can produce good groups I would much rather use those due to price.

[@roberthodges9242]

Did you clean in between each shot or just shoot all 3

[@suburbanhunt3653]

I shoot 3 shot groups then clean between groups

[@roberthodges9242]

@@suburbanhunt3653 I know it’s a lot of work but it would probably be better to at least run a patch down a couple times between each shot. If you’re trying to get the true accuracy of each thing start with a clean slate each time. Only take a min to pull breech plug run a rod down a few times then load

[@suburbanhunt3653]

@@roberthodges9242 you are 100% right. But for hunting purposes I want to see how it does without cleaning as I won’t be cleaning in the stand. That being said most of the time I end up shooting my reloaded round into a steel target at the end of the hunt 😁Thanks for watching

[@Macdaddy22713]

love the series man. I shoot 100 grains of 777 loose powder with a hornady SST 250 grain bullet with a winchester 777 pellet and can kill all day out to 200 with about a 2.5-3inch group

[@suburbanhunt3653]

Very nice!! I’m looking forward to the weather easing up so I can get to testing the T7 loose powder. Sounds promising. Thanks for watching.

[@patrickreynolds2647]

Brother, your channel is awesome. I wish you guys could do some loads for like Idaho and stuff where I live. And with open sites, we cannot use scopes on our muzzle Loaders I have an CVA acura V-2. We are very limited on the bolts that we can shoot. I've been trying to figure a load out from my gun. To hit consistent was hoping you might have some ideas.

[@suburbanhunt3653]

Thank you!! So do you have a list of projectiles that you are allowed to use? Any other restrictions? Powder or primer? Would be more then happy to test. Just let me know. As for the iron sights not a lot there but I would assume it would still help. Just let me know. Thank you for your comment and for watching

[@ralphross2357]

For areas that optics aren't allowed for hunting, why not mount a scope for load and accuracy development, then remove it for hunting. Just a thought. God bless.

[@lorenzodelacruz1887]

Thanks for the show D.J. What scale do you use for the grain measurement?

[@suburbanhunt3653]

Hornady Pocket Scale. Makes it easy to carry in my pack. amzn.to/3SopVDj

[@swampysanta5445]

i been waiting for a black powder ladder test video for 13 years lol.

[@suburbanhunt3653]

Glad we could put that one to rest for you. What combo you running this season? Whatever it may be wish you the best of luck out there.

[@Snailz5]

Not worth a hill of beans, but I took a deer with a 290gr TMZ and a 250gr monoflex both on 84gr charges of BH209 and both worked perfectly at 80 yards. First one ran 10 yards to a fence, barely cleared it and died on the other side. Second was a high shoulder and didn’t take a step. Didn’t recover either bullet but entrance and exits were both great. Front side shoulder on second was ruined, but that’s the price you pay when you forget you’re about 2.25 in high at 100 instead of dead center and you aim/pull a little high. I’d rather run either over the ELD-X which would’ve likely shed a lot of weight with such a close impact at high powder charge.

[@suburbanhunt3653]

Glad to hear the Monoflex worked so well. I have them just haven’t tested yet. With any luck I will report back on the ELD-X performance. Good luck out there

[@Snailz5]

Hey update for you. I called hodgdon and they said BH209 should be measured volumetrically. Recent batches have been lower density (~77gr per 100 vol versus 70gr on old load data) so 84gr max load is actually more like a 110gr volume charge. Best approach is to measure out 10 charges, weigh them, and average them to get your weight. Ethan from ilovemuzzloading has been shooting for longer and likely had an older batch with a different density. I’ve had problems with lower velocity than load data despite a 30” barrel using 84gr and now I know why. I figured it would help you in your load development since you’re likely shooting 10% lower BH209 charges than you think.

[@suburbanhunt3653]

I appreciate the information!! I wonder what cause the density change. I ran the FTX 290gr with 75gr BH209 and harvested a nice 10 pointer during muzzleloader opener last weekend. Stay tuned for that video. And thanks again for the info

[@Snailz5]

@@suburbanhunt3653 lots are manufactured to meet a volume standard, not a weight standard. I think they've been losing density after being purchased from hodgdon. Optimistically, that could mean that Hodgdon may have brought some knowledge to Western that improved some aspect of their manufacturing but resulted in lower weight density. Pessimisitically, Hodgdon could be having Western make a less dense powder, then selling it by grain weight instead of volume weight to further milk the already outrageous price of BH209 even more.Probably somewhere in the middle. Gotta hate functional monopolies. Big H couldn't beat BH209 so they bought the company and quadrupled the price instead of making a competitor. We need a real competitor or a superior product very very badly or BH209 will continue to be the most expensive non-niche propellent on the market (including smokeless powders). It's pretty much down to Alliant at this point since Hodgdon owns every other company that makes any muzzloading powder. But yeah, all government regulations are bad and corporations are people and we should let the free market solve everything. And the best propellent went from $35/pound to $164/pound in like 5 years while the rest of the market went up like 30-50%.

[@justinlloyd9342]

I’ve got a cva accura v2 I run 80 grains of blackhorn with 245 power belt and it’s a tack driver

[@suburbanhunt3653]

Very nice!! I’ve not ran those with loose powder but it took several deer with Triple 7 100gr charge (pellet). Best of luck this season. Thanks for watching

[@HundedeskriegesWV]

I've not had good ignition luck with Blackhorn 209 and these new "easy to load" sabotless muzzleloader bullets. Even using recommended primers, I get way too many hangfires and misfires for hunting purposes.

[@suburbanhunt3653]

That interesting… but using the same primers and same jug of BH209 with Sabots you’ve not had any miss or hang fires? Off hand I’m not sure how the sabots would make that happen. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t, Lord know I don’t know everything lol

[@HundedeskriegesWV]

@@suburbanhunt3653 No sir, sabots with pretty much any regular .452 bullet go bang just fine. But if the temperature gets near freezing or below, the primer (Federal 209A) will go off and just blow a bore lock mz and the powder right out the barrel or I get the ole snap bang if I'm lucky. I haven't specifically tried the new ftx bore driver but I am using the .452 250 grain ftx with a sabot and it's done well for me.

[@suburbanhunt3653]

@@HundedeskriegesWV - what rifle? If CVA are you using the BH209 plug? I have not shot in sub freezing temps but there are plenty of forums that say it operates flawlessly provided “you have right primer ( ie not MZ only primer), the right plug, and dry powder it goes bang” just curious what you setup is.

[@jeffhays1968]

You may need to change over your breech plug to a BH209 specific one.

[@jeffhays1968]

Also, get some triple F real black powder and use an empty .22 shell as a powder scoop. Put the 4 F down the tube first ( one or two scoops only) before your pellets or granulated black powder substitute. 100% ignition every time.

[@MrBanolicious]

Is there a rule of thumb for bullets and barrel twist rates?

[@suburbanhunt3653]

Not that I’m aware of. My CVA Optima V2 has a 1:28

[@patrickjoseph5028]

Nothing worse than a poorly edited long boring loud introduction with crappy music….but your shooting tests are worth peeking at…

[@suburbanhunt3653]

Thanks for watching