Arrowhead Rifles muzzleloader review thread

Steve O

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Module question:

I was thinking 209 primers are waterproof and large rifle primers are not. In reloading everything I’ve ever read or seen is DO NOT touch the primers as even the oil from your fingers can cause a misfire. Is this an old wives tale? I don’t see how LRP would be good in a Muzzleloader on a backcountry or say Alaska hunt? Could you elaborate on the robustness of this system with regard to being waterproof?
 

rayporter

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you should test the primers you use for water and oil. then you would know.

lay some out and spray with water and spray a few with wd 40 then go shoot them.
it is easy to put a few in a cup of water and load and shoot them. it is just so easy to do, every one should do it just to see how long they need to be submerged. i do think some brands will go a few hours or days longer than others.
 

ENCORE

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Just my 2¢......
Shooters have been loading LRP's for many decades and priming by hand in single stage presses. Never heard of a primer failure from handling them. I've never had a single issue with many thousands of CF loaded.
As for the module system, unless you fall in a lake or creek with the whole rifle, it'll go off. The primer is pressed into the module, the module is tight in the breech plug. I'd have no problem with the module system in either Alaska or the Amazon.
 

rayporter

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i have actually put primers in a cup of water and loaded them and then would try to get some one to bet me if they will fire.

it is possible to kill them but it takes a while.
 

LWH723

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That's a good datapoint, Ray.

Misfires have been few and far between for the Gen2 system. Majority of them have been from oil residue in barrel after cleaning that contaminated the powder. I did have one customer recently that didn't all of the Hoppes #9 out of his modules after cleaning, and that led to a misfire.

As far as when loaded, the gen2 is as reliable as anything else on the market. But I would definitely keep the extra primed modules in a waterproof container if hunting in wet conditions.

While can't speak to the moisture resistance of shotgun vs rifle primers head to head, I will say I dealt with many more misfires when I built 209 guns. That's not to say a properly setup 209 gun that be extremely reliable. I hunted in all kinds of weather--down to -15F with no problem. But there's a lot more that can go wrong with a shotgun primer. Some are much hotter than others. If you're shooting BH209 or smokeless, you want the hottest available--either FED209A or CCI209M. Another issue, is getting a reliable seal. Most of them aren't round and have varying lengths. In the end, life is just easier with a LR primer in a module.
 

rayporter

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the first time i pulled that stunt a bunch of guys were packing up in the morning and they would fire their rifle to clear it. i was drinking coffee and put a 209 primer in a full cup of hot coffee and kept drinking till i got to the bottom.
i loaded my primer in my rifle and asked for bets. no one took me up on it and they jumped a foot off the ground when it fired.
 
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