This time of year our sales of sealed breech 209 muzzleloader accessories, breech plug vent liner retrofits, and conversions for the Remington 700 ML/MLS and Ruger 77/50 start to peak. Along with this I’ve historically noticed a trend of people rushing and not reading the directions. They then get upset and blame everyone else but themselves for their predicament. So lets slow our roll here, and go over a few things and all have a better experience.
BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front): If you want to have a good experience with our products, slow down for a minute, take the time to read the item’s listing, and the instructions. Click around and read the information at the links. It will be much better for all of us.
Common Questions:
Yes we are open. Yes we support old muzzleloaders with a variety of simple effective solutions. Yes we have 209 conversions and components in-stock and ready to ship. If it is listed on this website (badger-ridge.com): it is accurate. I.e. if the website says we have it in stock, we do. If it says you can back order it: we’re out of stock at the moment, but know and have it coming. Buy now , and we’ll ship it to you as soon as it hits our hands. Our old website is still up with directions to come here to make your purchase (because the search engines point folks to hit). But everything we sell is here! Buy with confidence.
However, we do need some time to process orders and things take time in shipment. Typically we process your order and ship the next business day. Sometimes we process and ship on Saturdays! (the details are on our Terms of USE webpage). However, if you check out and chose the free/cheap shipping, that is the slower shipping. So I don’t have much sympathy for folks who go cheap then complain it takes too long fpr the post office to deliver! Also cheap/free shipping is only insured for up to $100. So if you buy $200 in stuff from us, and it gets eaten by the post office, expect you’ll only recover $100. If you chose the cheap/slow shipping and it takes too long, its not our fault. Complain all you want, just don’t expect us to have much sympathy. We do the best we can, but we expect you to own your side while we do our best to get you what you ordered to the post office as fast as we can.
If you are in a hurry, you can upgrade your shipping (both class and insurance amounts). This just decreases the time in transit between us. It doesn’t jump you to the head of the line. We always help folks in the order the orders are placed, and do conversions in the order they arrive here to us. Also, 209 conversions of Remington and Ruger bolts takes about 4-8 weeks of time on my workbench (that’s measured by the day it arrives to the day it leaves). I often times beat that estimate by quite a bit, but sometimes I get overwhelmed with orders, hurt/sick, shop equipment breaks, etc, and need the time to get your bolt right! Please understand: The fall (hunting season) tends to be the worst because so many folks wait till then to send their bolts in a rush… and I hunt too!
That brings me to one of my most common contact form messages this time of year:
From: Any Dude * Date: Sat, Sep 20, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Subject: Badger Ridge Industries “Availability”Message Body:
I need the 209 conversion kit for Remington 700 ML 50cal . I need it by October 1 do you have in stock ready to ship?
From: Badger Ridge
Date: Sun, Sep 21, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Subject: Badger Ridge Industries “Availability”Yes, all calibers are in-stock (just like the website says). Will ship tomorrow (Monday) if you buy it today. Click the link below or here:
https://badger-ridge.com/product/remington-700ml-mls-sealed-breech-209-system/
As you seem to be in a hurry, you probably want to upgrade your shipping to priority mail. Free shipping is Ground Advantage (slower than Priority).
Yours,
Tom
www.Badger-Ridge.com
989 795 2526
But the real question is can he do it himself? How can he figure that out?
The best answer I know is to review the online installation guide here on our website, or download the PDF of the paper instructions we send with every kit, then decide. Do you have the tools and the skills show there? Do you have calipers and can you measure things to the thousandth of an inch? Can you file and shape a firing pin to thousandth of an inch specifications. When folks call me and ask such things these are the questions I normally ask them to answer for themselves. Answering for yourself heads off future issues. Though if you buy a Remington kit, and after it arrives you change your mind and want us to install it, you can purchase just installation and send the kit back with your bolt.
However, I didn’t even suggest reviewing the online installation guide, nor asked any questions to this latest contact, because in my experience he’s in too much of a hurry to slow down and consider these things. These same questions and answers are all over the website… why didn’t he read them? Clearly he doesn’t have the time to ship me a bolt and get it back, tune the breech plug, go to the range, and check his load/zero…. because he’s a week out from his dead line.
Unfortunately I’ve seen way too many times where this goes when folks don’t slow down and read the instructions… even when someone has enough sense to send me their bolt, or call on the phone… too many don’t bother to take a minute and read the instructions, or listen to good advice. Some are determined to rush down the wrong path! So, another common rush to get it wrong is not bothering to read the instructions after you get your bolt/kit. I spend most of my troubleshooting phone calls telling people the same exact things they should have read before they tried to shoot their new toy. I get being excited, but that is yet another sign to slow your roll and read the instructions. All the items below are in the Remington 700 ML Owner’s Manual or our 209 system’s instructions.
Here’s a topical list of common issues from rushing and not reading:
- Misfires with BlackHorn209 powder
- Typically folks are using muzzle loading primers in stead of full powered or magnum 209’s. It says it all over our instructions and the bottle of BlackHorn209 that you cannot used ‘muzzleloader’ primers as they are reduced power
- Some folks over tune their breech plug and get leaks down the side. BlackHorn won’t burn unless its totally sealed. That means at the primer and the projectile.
- If its not the primer, the projectile maybe leaking. You have to use saboted projectiles (the new Hornady Bore Drivers seem to have a good enough base to work too). However PowerBelts, B.O.R. LOCK MZ, and most all conicals (aka minnie balls) don’t seal to start out, and won’t work with BlackHorn209
- I’ve had folks not clean their breech plug, or leave grease and oils in the breech area too.
Some folks are convinced they are smarter than the rest of us. They just know better… like ignoring the warning to never fire the rifle without the vent liner installed:
Or that they can just ream the breech plug out and make it really easy to close the bolt (instead of tuning the breech plug to lightly squeeze primers when the bolt is being closed (this light squeeze achieves our primer seal and has to be set for each rifle/breechplug/primer combination)
- I’ve had a bunch of folks take their bolt apart and have ignition issues afterwards. Normally its a “It worked great, but after I cleaned it, the firing pin won’t hit and ignite primers.” or “The bolt won’t go back in the rifle” They swear they know what they’re doing but this stuff is straight out of the Owner’s Manual!
- If you don’t screw the firing pin assembly fully into the bolt body and then unscrew it just enough to align the cocking piece (aka Firing Pin End) with the retaining notch, you won’t get full and proper protrusion of the firing pin
- The bolt also won’t go back in the rifle if its not in the cocked position
I don’t want to sound like I don’t appreciate our customers. That’s far from the truth. This only applies to less than 5% of our customer base. But these same 5% are the ones constantly needing more attention and resources. But most of that 5% will take instrucion and appreciate it when you help them. What really drove me to write this is the few really bad apples in that 5%… probably less than one percent. This bad less than one percent refuse to acknowledge their short comings and blame everyone else.
Then I realized that some of this knowledge and help was lost in the move to our new website. So I moved it this new site you are reading now… Troubleshooting our Remington 700ML 209 sealed breech system
If you need more help, please review the owners manual, the installation instructions, web page of installation instructions, and owner’s instructions provided with the kit, and then go to our 700 ML resource page and work through all the information there. It’s probably in black and white and can help you if you have internet access. That said: Go ahead and call, ask, submit a contact form, email… whatever, we’ll help you. We don’t mind, and are totally ok with helping you.