One other question Miles: do you think the BH209 is worth it? I was going to hit the muzzle loader season with my old Knight, and Fleet Farm had the Optima on sale, so I got one. I only have had it out twice, and am using pellets just because that is what I did with my Knight, and I don't have a ton of time to work up a load before Saturday..
Anyhow, the 777 pellets are shooting pretty well, and much cleaner than the Pyrodex pellets I used to use. Since I am not scoping it, I don't know if it's worth spending a lot of load-development time on something I will likely only use out to 75 yards.
Is the performance jump that great that it's worth it? I can easily get the replacement breech plug if it is for next year.
Two things I would do...
First, install Dyna Bore Coat.
Second, get some BH 209.
777 and Pyrodex get sticky and make reloading harder after one shot and sometimes impossible after 2/3. A person just doesn't need that.
BH 209 and the Barnes T-EZ are BOTH worth it. There is little to no difference in price between the Barnes and any other bullets. The performance of the Barnes has been absolutely consistent for me. Little to no bone or lots of bone, lots of deer to go through or not, they just go through in a straight line. I doubt I will ever recover one.
If you bought a pound of BH 209, just use 95 grains by volume or 66 grains by weight with a 250 grain bullet and it'll be fine. I'd bet on that load working well in any in-line. If it's cold out I'd consider having a pack of magnum 209s. Can't hurt, might help that little delay that sometimes happens.
