Hi

Having a devil of a time trying to find Winchester 777 209s that I usually use.

Will regular shotgun 209s work? I'm assuming I might have to tweak load but other than that no problems?

Thanks

I think a 209 primer is a 209 primer is a.... But when changing any component of your load, check it out and shoot it before hunting with it. I was just checking out a 209 adapter for using large rifle primers, looks interesting.

Are you shooting 777 or one of the other propellants based on it? That’s the only reason to use those pricey special primers. For any other propellant, the regular ones are better. For Blackhorn 209, the hotter the better, as long as they’re a good fit in your breechplug. Using regular primers with 777 will result in more of a crud ring in front of the chamber area, meaning you’ll have to brush it out more often, but ignition will be fine. Gotta use what you can get.

The 209 primers geared towards muzzleloaders generate less force. This is meant to prevent the BP charge from being pushed forward.

Pappy348 - For most of my BP life I've used (and still do) a TC Renegade sidelock built from a kit and I've always used Pyrodex RS with it. A few years ago I won a Traditions inline and along with it a box of 777 pellets and 777 209 primers. Tried the pellets but found out they can go bad in a year so last year went to Pyro RS in it as well. The pellets also left a lot of crud in the barrel. This year bought a pound of loose 777 powder and Pryo RS Select and planned to work up some loads. Problem is I only have 16 primers left and can't find any anywhere.

Are the 777 primers hotter than regular 209s? Is there such a thing as magnum shotgun 209s that would work better?

I have friend who shoots a lot of trap and rolls his own, so I'm pretty sure I can talk him into selling me a 100 primers and that's all I need. If standard primers are usable then I should be set.

777 primers are weak on purpose so the load won't be pushed down the barrel before the powder is ignited and also supposed to reduce the 777 crud ring. Best thing to do is use loose powder and a hotter primer than the 777 primer.

Putting all this feedback together, sounds like if I use the 777 powder as I planned and then a standard shotgun primer I should be OK to do load development.

Thanks for the help fellas.

777 can/will leave a crud ring if primer designed for 777 aren't used.

777 has been suspected to deteriorate rather quickly.

PM sent Mo_boy.

Regular primers will work fine with either. I’d prefer 777 or black powder over Pyrodex, which is hard to ignite. With 777, you will get more of a crud ring, but that’s seldom a problem when hunting. Parch or brush it out every couple or three shots and soldier on. Just be certain to mark your ramrod so you’re certain the bullet is firmly on the charge with no air gap.

I have used Winchester 209 shotgun primers with Black Powder, Pyrodex, 777and BH 209. Probably for 20 years.Have never seen a difference in accuracy, cleaning or?
It is all marketing hype to take your money

I actually find shotgun primers to be more accurate than 777 primers. I've done a lot of testing.

^^^^^^This^^^^^^^. If you are not using 777 then get a Federal 209A

I'm having a "devil of a time" finding any 209 primers.

And, man, I've used all different kinds of 209 primers and can't tell a lick of difference between 'em, i.e., they all go bang.

I wish you were local to me. I’m not shipping them but I have 2 packages of 777 primers and hate them. They will not reliably light BH209. They do work with 777 powder and pyrodex.

Todd