With our Remington 700 ML 209 conversion kit, we get very few complaints or requests for assistance compared to the number of kits sold and installed. The few instances usually are tied to not fully comprehending the kit’s components and how to maintain them. Of these, most center around the Badger Ridge Hunter 209 Breech plug. There is a good section in our FAQ on the breech plug and how to maintain it.
The other complaints center around not understanding the subtle differences when using Blackhorn209. This was posted to our old website back in May of 2016 (moving it here to preserve and update it)
TROUBLE SHOOTING AND COMMON MISTAKES
You must read and understand the Remington 700ML owners manual prior to using our conversion kit. Using our 209 conversion replaces the breech plug; so you have to apply what the Remington 700ML Owner’s Manual says about nipples, flash holes, and caps to flash channels, vent liners, and 209 primers.
Failure to Fire, Misfires, Hang-Fires, Bloopers, etc:
Typically these sorts of malfunctions are caused by one or a combination of:
-1. Using weak ‘muzzleloader’ 209 primers with Blackhorn209
-2. Obstructions or contaminants in the flash chamber (improper maintenance)
-3. Failure to seal and compact the charge when using Blackhorn 209.
-4. Not replacing the mainspring during conversion/poorly installed conversion, improper firing pin protrusion, using oils/grease that gel when cold, failing to properly reassemble after maintenance, etc.
First and foremost: The mainspring should be replaced during conversion. The original configuration subjected the mainspring to lots of corrosive blow-back, heat, and extra cycles. All quickly reduce its effectiveness. If not replaced, light and inconsistent primer strikes are probable. Also if the firing pin protrusion was not set properly, or there is a bur, rust, or crud causing the firing pin to hang up, failures to fire are probable. We always replace the mainspring as part of our installation service and include a new mainspring with our kits. If you did it yourself and are having trouble with detonating the primer: Take the rifle to a competent gunsmith to remedy these or any other unsafe or abnormal condition, or buy our bolt cleaning and mainspring replacment service and we’ll take a look at it.
Use only standard shotshell, full powered 209 primers with Blackhorn209. The primer must be sealed!!!
Besides leaking at the primer. It is critical that you understand: Any primer that says “inline Muzzle loader” or is titled by a black powder subsitue, or says it has reduce fouling or a “KleenBore” is too weak for BlackHorn209. I wrote a lenghty blog post about this if you want more details.
Remedies for obstructions or contaminants in the flash chamber/improper maintenance:
— Clean the flash channel of the breech plug with a 7/32 drill bit (only use your fingers and light pressure… do not remove metal!!!) Use standard bore cleaning solvents and round brushes to dissolve and scrub away any remaining contaminates.
–Clean the flash channel of the vent liner with torch tip cleaners. Break cleaner works well to remove oils and greases and any remnants, some guys use IsoPropal Alchohol (IPA). You should see a nice round flash hole when you hold the breech plug up to a light source, and the expansion chamber between the flash hole (vent liner) should be free of debris, dry and clean.
Remove any lubricants, greases, or oils in the flash channel prior to loading.
— Keep anti-seize only on the threads of the breech plug and vent liner; anti-seize or any other lubricant will reduce primer heat and cause ignition problems when in the flash chamber, or face of the breech plug.
— Swab out any excess oil left in the barrel with a dry patch before loading. You can swab it out (typically with an evaporating solvent), or sometimes even blast it out with an aersol can (like brake cleaner).
— After doing the stuff above: Some guys will take an unloaded rifle, and prior to loading, pop one primer and watch to ensure flame/lots of air shoots out the end of the muzzle to ensure the flash path is clear and dry.
In cold climates avoid greases and oils that gel or congeal when cold
— We use and recommend only dry PTFE lubes on the firing pin assembly
If you are using full powered primers and doing the above maintenance and still having issues only when using Blackhorn209 (typically diagnosed by successfully and repeatedly igniting a load of other easier to ignite black powder substitute), the cause is most likely a poor seal on the primer or projectile.
Poor primer seal can also be diagnosed by having soot or blow back on the sides of the 209 primers; only the primer’s face should have soot on it (check out the picture above)
ONLY SABOTS AND HORNADY BORE DRIVERS HAVE A SOLID REPUTATION OF SEALING THE PROJECTILE:
Most other conicals (PowerBelts, Federal B.O.R. Lock, minie balls, etc) will not adequately seal and will give bloopers and misfires!
BOTTOM LINE METHODS TO GET RELIABILITY WITH BLACKHORN209
— Seal Primer: full power 209 shot shell primer swaged and sealed properly into the breech plug; one should feel some resistance when closing the bolt with a primer in the nose. This is because the primer is being swaged into and sealing the breech plug. Failure for the primer to seal is commonly caused by over or excessive breech plug tuning, or poor primer fit. Correct by changing to a larger size brand of primers (Winchester are the skinnest, CCI-Federal-Remington are next, then foreign tend to be bigger), or purchase a new breech plug & do not over tune.
— Change projectile: Powerbelts, Bore Locks, Minet, Lubed conicals, Minnie-balls, etc do not fully seal (aka obturate) until the powder charge expands and presses them into the rifling grooves. Use snug fitting sabots with properly sized bullets with Blackhorn209. Some report great results with the Hornady Bore Driver bullets.
— Change powder: Black Powder and its other substitutes will combust easily and work OK when not completely sealed, but Blackhorn209 needs a good seal for proper ignition. Changing powders when one has a a poor seal is circumventing the problem rather than fixing it.
So in summary:
1> You need to make sure your 209 conversion kit is properly installed
2> You still have to clean the crud out of the flash channel like you would any muzzleloader, it just requires a few different tools. In many ways it is easier than taking care of a side lock. Dry PTFE lubes work great on the firing pin and action at all temperatures (hot and cold).
3> When you change to Blackhorn209 those weak 209 black powder primers aren’t going to do it.
4> And the old school, easy load, seals with combustion, projectiles don’t work well with Blackhorn209 neither.Keep it simple: Use our kit with modern sabots and properly sized bullets, standard 209 primers that swage and seal, and you’ll nearly certainly be malfunction and blow back free.