Do I really need a BlackHorn Breech Plug?

[mattferg84]

I bought my nephew a CVA Wolf V2 muzzleloader for an elk hunt here in Colorado. I picked up some blackhorn 209 and have been reading mixed reviews about needing a blackhorn breech plug. Is it really needed or could he get by with having the standard breech plug that came with the gun?

 

[Pickettpuncher]

I used the original plug for about 3 shots before I got my first delayed firing. I personally wouldn’t go without one if that’s what I intended on using.

 

[RS3579]

You can get them new for about $30 on eBay. Small price to pay for not having a misfire or delay firing.

 

[Nwaneal]

Be careful running Blackhorn without magnum primers. I used the BH breech plug and still got a misfire 1 out of 6 times. Haven’t had a misfire yet with 777.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Yes for the Blackhorn plug, heck for any loose powders Blackhorn plug works very well! I shoot loose 777 with a black horn plug in a cva and it works like a charm

 

[Novashooter]

Yes, that's one of the downsides to BH209 is it doesn't work in everything. It only works in inlines with breech plugs designed for it, and only with Federal 209A or CCI 209M primers.

 

[N2TRKYS]

Never used a special breech plug for BH209. I haven’t seen the need to.

 

[Novashooter]

Never used a special breech plug for BH209. I haven’t seen the need to.

Depends on the rifle you buy. I would assume most of the inlines made today should come with breech plugs made to handle BH209. I'm surprised the CVA wolf doesn't. This was much more of a concern 15 years ago. Try an older inline like an H&R Huntsman with BH209. No Bueno.

 

[N2TRKYS]

Depends on the rifle you buy. I would assume most of the inlines made today should come with breech plugs made to handle BH209. I'm surprised the CVA wolf doesn't. This was much more of a concern 15 years ago. Try an older inline like an H&R Huntsman with BH209. No Bueno.

Mine is a TC Encore I bought nearly 20 years ago. I’ve only used regular 209 primers, as well. I never used the muzzleloader versions.

 

[Novashooter]

The TC Encore is one of the few that always worked with BH209. I don't think they ever even made a special "BH209 breech plug" for them. That was back near the end for TC when they were actually a competitive, innovative company. It's crazy to think how influential they were for so long, to how far they fell in just 15 years until closing shop. As for regular 209's, Federal 209A and CCI 209M are regular shotgun primers. Muzzleloader primers are weaker. Where you would find issues is something like a CCI 209 regular primer which is actually pretty weak, but many mistake them for the M version. Maybe somewhere, someplace someone got lucky. For most people, they get nothing but delays if not outright fail to fire.

 

[69Switchbacks]

Spend the $30 and get the BH 209 breech plug. Would suck if your nephew didn’t get a “BOOM” with an elk in sight… CVA recommends using it for ANY loose powder which is what you’ll use for Colorado. I’m using the BH 209 plug with 777 and haven’t had a problem at all! (Knock on wood). The plug ignites the powder faster than the standard plug which is used for pelletized powder.

 

[N2TRKYS]

The TC Encore is one of the few that always worked with BH209. I don't think they ever even made a special "BH209 breech plug" for them. That was back near the end for TC when they were actually a competitive, innovative company. It's crazy to think how influential they were for so long, to how far they fell in just 15 years until closing shop. As for regular 209's, Federal 209A and CCI 209M are regular shotgun primers. Muzzleloader primers are weaker. Where you would find issues is something like a CCI 209 regular primer which is actually pretty weak, but many mistake them for the M version. Maybe somewhere, someplace someone got lucky. For most people, they get nothing but delays if not outright fail to fire.

The more I read of these types of issues with muzzleloaders the more I start to realize that I did get lucky with my muzzleloader selection.

 

[Novashooter]

The more I read of these types of issues with muzzleloaders the more I start to realize that I did get lucky with my muzzleloader selection.

For the time you did. It's hard to go wrong with Thompson Center. They were always cutting edge right up until 2007 when Smith and Wesson bought them. That's about the time blackhorn 209 came out too. They went downhill fast and never really did anything good again.

Today I would think most in lines are built for blackhorn powder, so not as much luck involved.

 

[Nwaneal]

The other positive of using the Bh breech plug is the reduced crud ring when reloading for the 2nd shot with 777 loose powder.

 

[Mtns2hunt]

I shoot the encore too. Never a need for the Buckhorn plug. As stated mine always goes bang. Unfortunate TC went out of business but their encores are top notch