[frontiergander]

got over 1,500 rounds through my Optima with the modded .035" flash hole. You know how many years that'd take the average joe to shoot?

There are no safety concerns with it.

 

[Hunting Man]

I think the whole issue, for this site, is promoting others to follow suit. A personal choise is just that. If a modification needs to be made the Manufacturer should make the appropriate changes/instructions, that's as far as we should go as help needed sponsers.

 

[three under]

I did give Western Powders a call while I was still at the range and spoke to Don. He thought the problem was probably a dirty flash hole. He recomended the #32 drill bit to clean the flash hole which I do not own yet. What I did have was a brand new breech plug that I screwed in and got a misfire on my second try.

Don also recomended the CCI magnum primers which I have no problem giving a try. He also suggested switching to a saboted bullet which is not going to happen. I have tryed them all and my gun likes the 295 grn CVA hollow points. I have a mark on my ram rod, I apply even pressure until it hurts my palm, and ten out of ten times my mark lines up with the tip of the muzzle.

My biggest concerne is that I have not changed a thing since last year and last year I shot 20+ shots and everyone got instant ignition. So when I contacted Western Powders my first question was related to shelf life. Don let me know he has been shooting the same jug for four years.

I do not meen to bash BH 209, I love the results I have gotten up to the first misfire. I am just trying to gather as much information as I can so I can resolve the problem and get my confidence back.

 

[Hunting Man]

I'm a big fan of CCI primers also. I also like Black Horn powder. I simply seat my saboted TC shock waves firmly on the powder, not hard. I have Pyrodex powder that's probably 15 yrs old and will fire fine.

 

[BruceBruce1959]

If someone other than your rifle manufacturer leads you to believe you need to Drill anything out to correct a misfire, I would certainly check with the Rifle manufacturer first because history has proven when you tamper with Weapons by altering their design you can be putting yourself in extreme danger and dont you agree that any alterations to your weapon especially when it involves machining procedures such as Drilling, should be performed by the manufacturer ONLY?

Personally,, I cannot believe anyone would tell you to "Drill" anything out on your weapon. Breech plugs are manufactured to perform within safe tolerances , anything you do by drilling to alter those tolerance puts you in danger.
Is every weapon owner who experiences a misfire expected to be a qualified machinist now?

What if you do decide to drill it on your own and from inexperience drilling you accidentally ream the hole too large causing your weapon to become unsafe? is Don ? or frontiergander or anyone else going to assume responsibility for your inability to drill properly?
Come on guys It doesn't take a lot of common sense here to understand that the idea of drilling is INSANE...

First Don suggested drilling, then he suggests CCI magnum primers, then he suggests switching to different bullets, what's he going to suggest next a new muzzleloader?

threeunder, I'm confident when I say I think you had "Contaminated Powder" and maybe I'm wrong but you tried new powder and had no issues afterwards.

If you have further concerns with your weapon, I SUGGEST you send it in to the manufacturer and let them handle it... That's the best advice I can offer you...
Good Luck...

 

[three under]

If someone other than your rifle manufacturer leads you to believe you need to Drill anything out to correct a misfire, I would certainly check with the Rifle manufacturer first because history has proven when you tamper with Weapons by altering their design you can be putting yourself in extreme danger and dont you agree that any alterations to your weapon especially when it involves machining procedures such as Drilling, should be performed by the manufacturer ONLY?

Personally,, I cannot believe anyone would tell you to "Drill" anything out on your weapon. Breech plugs are manufactured to perform within safe tolerances , anything you do by drilling to alter those tolerance puts you in danger.
Is every weapon owner who experiences a misfire expected to be a qualified machinist now?

What if you do decide to drill it on your own and from inexperience drilling you accidentally ream the hole too large causing your weapon to become unsafe? is Don ? or frontiergander or anyone else going to assume responsibility for your inability to drill properly?
Come on guys It doesn't take a lot of common sense here to understand that the idea of drilling is INSANE...

First Don suggested drilling, then he suggests CCI magnum primers, then he suggests switching to different bullets, what's he going to suggest next a new muzzleloader?

threeunder, I'm confident when I say I think you had "Contaminated Powder" and maybe I'm wrong but you tried new powder and had no issues afterwards.

If you have further concerns with your weapon, I SUGGEST you send it in to the manufacturer and let them handle it... That's the best advice I can offer you...
Good Luck...

I just want to make it clear that Don did not suggest I drill my breech plug. He recommended the #32 drill bit to clean the flash hole only because it matches the diameter of the flash hole as is.

I called again and brought up the possibility of moisture contamination and was told I could simply remove the cap while leaving the jug in a known dry place.

 

[frontiergander]

Hey Gordon, I know of a guy that makes custom plugs that are made for BH209, i am running one in my Accura right now.

He charges $13 to have one made. Let me get his email address and i will forward it to you.

Heres his custom plug,
The plug in the middle is the factory CVA Plug, the next plug on the right is the custom plug for the Accura,wolf,optima.

I believe Don is giving you tips on things to try before drilling the plug to the recommended .035" flash hole. A tight sabot will build more pressure VS the powerbelt and that extra pressure the sabot offers works excellent with blackhorn.

He'll get you all taken care of though for certain.

 

[three under]

Hey Gordon, I know of a guy that makes custom plugs that are made for BH209, i am running one in my Accura right now.

He charges $13 to have one made. Let me get his email address and i will forward it to you.

Heres his custom plug,
The plug in the middle is the factory CVA Plug, the next plug on the right is the custom plug for the Accura,wolf,optima.

I believe Don is giving you tips on things to try before drilling the plug to the recommended .035" flash hole. A tight sabot will build more pressure VS the powerbelt and that extra pressure the sabot offers works excellent with blackhorn.

He'll get you all taken care of though for certain.

The last coversation with Don, he was pretty certain the CCI primers would do the trick. I brought up the plug modifications and he offered to drill it out if I wished. I'm sure you already know, but he was telling me about the testing they do on various gun models where they really test the limits of pressures and so on..

Are you seeing any difference between the custom plug and the modified one?

 

[frontiergander]

I havent shot the custom plug a whole lot yet to decide. I have a case of powder coming in and once its here along with my bullets, i can guarantee that i'll have reports on the custom plug.

 

[arb63n]

powder

All Cva muzzleloaders will not ignite Bh powder. I have 2 cva accuras and had to get the breech plugs modified to ignite BH powder. Also need to use cci. winchester, or federal 209 primers. This has been a problem for cva some time and finally cva has made a new breech plug this year that will ignite BH. I think they are 20.00 on their web sight. Since I had mine modified I have had zero misfires. Excellent powder. Hope this helps, good luck.