Blackhorn 209

[Martini2]

Don you ask a very serious question and deserve a serious answer. For the past season or so we’ve had a fellow shooter at our steel gong matches cleaning our clock using nothing but said 209. I’m prepping to compete with him with same next summer. So far my most successful loads are at manufactures MAX recommended loads. In 38-55 @ 23.0 grs wt. & 322 gr. Custom slug. In 40-65 31.0 grs wt. & 420 gr. Postel. In 45-70 @ 33.0 grs wt & 530 Postel. All of these loads are made up in fired brass (cleaned etc.) the 209 is weighed on RCBS auto scale. The brass is primed with Fed 215s (all calibers) and one caliber diameter Vegi wad is placed between powder with one paper disk at bullet base. In each of the three calibers the bullet seated to crimp groove sets right on powder. There is no air space and no “fillers” need be fussed with. The factory data puts each of these loads at 1100-1200 FPS. The key factor and one should get out their Chronograph and verify is that whatever speed near max you can find loads that produce single digit Standard Deviation. I’ll gladly work with this sort of consistency VS max velocity. That is what the little knobs on ladder sight are for. I also found that my sight setting for given distances out to 500 yds are very repeatable for different sessions. One example recently two fellow shootist and I stopped by club range with my 38-55 HW. We set up a 12 inch steel gong at 300 yds. I placed the sights on established settings. Then to warm barrel I put one round into berm. My first shot on 300 yd gong was a ringer as were 8 more (must have placed my tong in wrong cheek on 1 ? Next shooter ran 10 for 10, our mate managed 7 for 10. We retired for coffee job well done. Best regards. M2