I just received my new muzzleloader today. I got it from Buds. I’m not new to muzzleloaders however I’ve never shot with BH209. This muzzleloader will be my Colorado only gun.
My question is how many shots with the stock breech plug can I get before it starts showing signs of wear while using the BH209? I will pick up a BH209 plug shortly. I’m going to pick up a bottle tomorrow along with some bullets.
Thanks

I have read that the flat front of the standard breech plug doesn't work well with loose powder, irregular ignition(?), so you might just be wasting money on bullets, powder, and primers if you use the stock breech plug.

I did some more googling after I posted this. I’m going to buy a 209 plug. Cheap as they are it’s a no brainer.

That's what I did when I bought a CVA Optima V2 stainless.

Not your rifle, but if it helps, the rep at Knight told me I could expect at least 600-700 shots from one of their plugs. I bought a spare, and rotate them when I clean it. The amount you stuff in it may make a difference.

I thought they came from the factory with a compatible BH209 plug.

I don't know about the Accura V2s, but my Optima V2s came with a flat faced breech plug that is, I believe, designed for shooting pellets, rather than the coned/recessed breech plug that is, I believe, designed for shooting loose powder.

They ship from the factory with the breech plug designed for pellets because that is what most shooters use. The Blackhorn breech plug has a slightly larger flame channel and is dished out in front to allow the powder to sit closer to the primer. Don't forget that BH209 causes carbon buildup in the plug that can cause a loss of accuracy and finally a failure to fire if not cleaned properly. Different shooters claim different numbers of shots before carbon buildup is a problem, but I have gone 10 shots with no loss of accuracy and still was able to load as easily as the first shot.

I fired about 20, IIRC, from my new Strike without issue. Its plug is much simpler than the one for my Knight. That one has three different inside diameters to deal with, plus the wire-sized bit. If you let it get crudded up, it's a job to clean, and that crud is hard!

Couldn't you just pull the breech plug and soak it in brake cleaner to soften the crud?

Good to know, thanks

I keep a film can (remember those?) of Hoppes on hand for that. Does brake cleaner work better?

Now that I've got the Strike, with no internal threads on the plug, and (so far) hand removal of the retaining collar, life is simpler. If the Knight stays, I just might go to caps and either Old Eynesford or 777. The Western cap-ignition plug is very simple, much like a Manton breech.

I found a interesting article today about the standard breech plug and Blackhorn 209. I was reading up on modifying the standard plug. There are several articles about the modifying. I found where someone had just drilled the flash hole to .035 and used the BP for BH209.
Then I found a article/post made by a guy who said at the time he has shot over 150 containers ofBH209.
He found that by using the standard breech plug (unmodified) with BH209 was perfectly okay. He said by drilling out the flash hole to .035 you basically take a new BP and make it a old worn out one. He suggested using standard 209 primers over the hotter CCI 209 primer.
He has used the standard BP in negative temperatures while hunting and load development with zero problems.
I’m going to give the standard breech plug a go with BH 209 and see what shakes out.

If it works, you're good to go. Just be sure to test it the same way you'll use it. Could be that it may not work as well after a few shots or in the cold etc.

I'd still suggest getting a spare or two, of the "correct" sort. Compare the two types. Maybe the one that came with the gun will be better as your spare. Maybe it won't matter.

Also, before you lay in a bunch of any primer, be sure to check for fit. My Strike accepts any of the three brands I have, but the Knight won't accept the Fiocchis.

I’ll test and advise in a couple weeks. I have a three hundred yard range in my backyard. Once I figure out the load and bullet for a Colorado elk hunt it will be a western elk gun only after that.
I have a old MK 85 I bought from Tony Knights hand in 1989/1990 while he was hunting turkey with my buddy. It shoots lights out with loose pyrodex, Knight green sabot and a 240 jacketed HP. The breech plug is forever locked the barrel however it still amazes me how well it shoots and how well it dumps whitetails.
In summary the Accura will be shot several times figuring the charge weight then put away waiting for elk tags to be drawn.

I've used BH209 with 3 different CVA guns (2x Accura V2 and 1 Accura MR). Get the BH209 breech plug- I haven't used it with 150 containers of BH209 but looking at the two side by side I'm not sure that simply drilling it out would work the same way. You can see the difference just google CVA BH209 plug.

What I found was a noticeable positive shift in accuracy using the BH209 specific plug instead of the factory plug. I'm assuming the ignition was better/more consistent. I managed to ding my chrony with a sabot so I can't quantify other than groups went from 2" inches at 100 yards to 1" at 150 yards with a 3-9x leupold.

Keep in mind you cannot use Sabots in Colorado.

I am shooting a CVA Optima V2 with BH 209 with the BH209 plug. Just a heads up I had some misfires with Win 209 primers and then discovered that they recommend the CCI mag 209 primers to prevent the misfires.