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Thread: Blackhorn 209

  1. #1
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Blackhorn 209

    any body use it ? Opinions?
    Hit em'hard
    hit em'often

  2. #2
    Boolit Buddy
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    I use it, and love it but they just priced themselves out of my reach. The last can i bought was maybe 8 years ago and i paid 30 bucks for a 10 oz can. Now it's 90 for an 8oz can, 80 at Cabela's sorry but no way. I like it for it's easy clean-up a couple patches of Hoppe's and a dry one and it's done. Once what i have is gone I won't buy more unless the price comes back into reality.
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  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master
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    yeah it is quite in the high side of things
    Have you seen the price of large rifle primers?
    OMG!
    Hit em'hard
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  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master


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    I used it for a few years. What specifically did you want to know about it?

    My opinion is that it is a quality powder that more or less does what it says. There is little fouling, but it is still best to swab between shots. This is a powder you can get away with a dry patch only. It's probably non-corrosive, but you will still get rust if you don't clean soon from moisture getting in the fouling. You should be fine for about a week, I wouldn't push it more than that. It is a very powerful powder. Volume for volume it is like 777 powder, maybe even more than that. Most rifles you are fine to 100 grains volume of the stuff, and many are fine at 120 grains. I don't think Accurate recommends over 120 grains by volume in any rifle, so that's something to be aware of. The biggest downside I found to this powder is that it does not clean well with water. You really need a solvent bore cleaner such as Hoppes #9 to get it out. Some other things to note, it's only good for rifles. It won't work in shotguns or handguns. It also needs a specific design breech plug, although most inline rifles today have that type. It also needs a strong primer, a Federal 209A, CCI 209M, or a Winchester 209 primer. It won't work with anything else reliably. It also so happens that those three primers have been MIA for years.

    Like many others, the main reason I don't shoot it anymore is cost. It used to be about $25 per 10oz can, which was worth it. Then it went up to $35 a can and I said enough. I'm not going to blow $35 in powder alone every range trip. Today you can't hardly touch it for under $80, and it's dropped to an 8oz can. $160 per pound of powder!!! That reason alone makes it unreasonable to me. If normal blackpowder or substitutes aren't cutting it for you, I say just skip a few range trips from that BH209, and you have just saved yourself enough money to buy a smokeless powder capable muzzleloader.
    Last edited by megasupermagnum; 01-13-2023 at 08:48 PM.

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy
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    I’ll echo the above, I have a cva accura in-line I use it in.
    It’s an easy 200 yd combo. I prefer my side lock more so don’t shoot it that much.
    Luckily I made a large black powder order to spread the hazmat fees before the prices took off, I would have to think twice before I would use it at
    $90. for 8 oz though.

  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master
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    any body use it ? Opinions?
    about all I wanted
    Hit em'hard
    hit em'often

  7. #7
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    I like it!

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    I don’t like the price, but it’s NOT anywhere near a deal breaker if you look at your total cost of going hunting with a muzzle loading rifle. I shoot BH209 and use Barnes T-Z bullets with it and I can honestly shoot five shots 1moa with this combo in my gun. That works out to about three bucks a shot! Still, I took five shots to sight the gun in and after that I shot three deer with it this year. So, it cost me nine bucks to shoot three deer. Anyone bought any centerfire bottle neck rounds lately? About the same price for a lot of them. For hunting, not target practice, it’s still worth it if you have a gun that shoots that good and is capable out to well past two hundred yards. FWIW, I can get nearly the same accuracy with T7 if I swab between each shot with a Windex patch and a dry patch. It just depends what you call “too much”. I hope a lot of people quit using it so that the price might go back down. However, I will keep using it based on results. I don’t have enough hunting years left to protest. I’ve got fifteen hundred into the gun and scope, so I’m not about to quit using it even if it costs three bucks a shot.

  9. #9
    Boolit Grand Master
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    I have yet to use it but it seems a bunch of people do and they like it as well
    all I have used is Pyrodex powder and Goex (real black powder) in my 54 cal T/C Hawken
    BH 209 is expensive I will admit
    Hit em'hard
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  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by danmat View Post
    I’ll echo the above, I have a cva accura in-line I use it in.
    It’s an easy 200 yd combo. I prefer my side lock more so don’t shoot it that much.
    Luckily I made a large black powder order to spread the hazmat fees before the prices took off, I would have to think twice before I would use it at
    $90. for 8 oz though.
    Works great even in side locks (Mag Spark conversion) for 209primers (CCI ) in my case costs $30.00and I use CCI #11 caps (for back up)

  11. #11
    Boolit Grand Master


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    It does not work in most side locks. It won't even go bang in a TC renegade or Hawken.

  12. #12
    Boolit Master



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    BH209 caused me to go to the next step and that is Smokeless guns. I still like it in appropriate rifles, but haven't bought any in 10 yrs or so.
    ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
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    I'll cling to my God and my guns, and you can keep the "Change".

  13. #13
    Boolit Master

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    BH 209 won't ignite reliably in rifles like my Austin Halleck. Primer must be completely enclosed in the breech plug. My son's shoot in their T/C rifles without issue. A great powder. Hunting and a little practice, powder cost is about $5 a gun annually more than 777 in my area. Not a deal breaker for us. YMMV
    If liars pants really did catch on fire, watching the news would be a lot more fun!

  14. #14
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    Real black powder works great and is alot cheaper.

  15. #15
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    Use it exclusively in my CVA Wolf from day two, day one I was impatient while waiting for my 209 breech plug and shot off the first rounds with RS. Works good for everything I need it to do. It usually shows up at my local Wallyworld during ML season and I watch for it to go on clearance.

    Based on the amount that I do shoot a can will last a long while so I don’t really mind the extra cost.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master
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    I like it in my cartridge guns and my ML, I just use a magnum primer all times, never changed breach plug, yes expensive, tried all the others, subsites and black, blackhorn209 works, so I have no need to change, more consistent, just need to watch lots, the lots I have on hand go's from 38 grs to 42 grs, weighed, to stay at 1200 FPS. Availability seams to be the draw back ? At $160 a lb. ( at 42 grs ) it costs me about .96 cents a shot. Clean up is easy, no Water needed, two hoppys 9 Paches, two dry patches, an oil patch and a dry patch done.

  17. #17
    Boolit Mold
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    I really like the stuff! Others have touched on the ease of cleanup, which is a huge plus from where I see things. The cost, near as I can figure it's because it's a cocaine based power, (only rational explanation) I will use it for hunting, for shooting I have 10 pounds of Goex Pinnacle I got for super cheap when it was discontinued, this is used to keep or hopefully improve my skills, prior to hunting season I will zero with Blackhorn. I got three jars way back when, so I most likely won't need to buy more until the price comes back within reason, or I'm looking up at the grass.
    The ability to shoot a string of five shots with no increase in loading difficulty or decrease in accuracy without patching the barrel between shots is the thing I really like about this powder.

  18. #18
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Hi and welcome
    The very first time I used it was yesterday, just got a new ml.
    I shot 15 bullets without cleaning and it was just as easy to push them down as the second bullet was
    and clean up is a breeze as well, to bad it's so darn expensive
    Hit em'hard
    hit em'often

  19. #19
    Boolit Master


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    If it is that good, seems like it needs a competitor!

  20. #20
    Boolit Grand Master
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    had I not witnessed it and shot all those rounds I would have been a wee bit skeptical
    as for competition I think all the smokeless powders are their competition
    Hit em'hard
    hit em'often

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check