Came UPS Yesterday.
As for low powder charges...the Manual states no more than 150 grains BP or Substitute, but no less than 80 grains.
I wonder why that is. No way 60 or 70 grains of Blackhorn is going to leave a sabot lodged in the barrel.
Haven't gotten to shoot at all yet, but I can give a first impression...it is quite hefty. By which I mean both heavy and sturdilly built. Literature calls it 7#7oz...but it feels more like nine pounds. I'll have to get a scale.
The pistol grip of the stock has a large and somewhat square-ish cross section and, while comfortable, would be a stretch for small hands.
The Williams Fiber Optic sights are beautiful, as is the case hardening of the receiver.
The stock and foregrip are coated in a tacky black-rubber skin...would be almost impossible for this to slip out of a gloved hand without taking the glove with it.
It has both Half-Cock and hammer block (push button) safeties. However, both pushing the safety to Fire and coming to full cock do make much more noticably loud clicks than my Marlin Lever Action. For deer - I'd already have the safety off and Ease from half to full cock slowly to avoid a major mechanical sound when sighting on a buck.
I have not yet tried to disassemble it at all...the instructions for disassembly start with dismantling the firing pin mechanism. I can't figure why they'd bother...the primer goes into the breach plug (at about a 15-20 degree downward angle), then a primer cover (containing the firing pin mechanism) slides over from the left side. The hammer strikes the firing pin. This primer cover appears to be held on by one screw used as a pivot. Seems this would be removable as a unit without dismantling the firing pin mechanism itself (and avoiding, as the manual put it, "PETENTIAL TO LOSE A SPRING AT THIS STEP").
Then a screw needs to be removed beneath the receiver and the barrel and forestock come off as a unit.
Cabelas states the breach plug is removable - but the manual never mentions this fact. There are flat lands on both sides of the 'breech plug' that would appear to be able to take a wrench, but I suspect it is also screwed in through the bottom as well...as there is only one position the breech plug can be mounted for the primer cover/ firing pin mechanism to line up.
As I intend to use only Blackhorn 209, most cleanings will be without disassembly. However, I do want to be able to adequately clean the primer residue out of the breech plug itself.
Hope to write more after sighting it in. May be a while before i can get out.
So far I like it a lot...reminding myself it cost $99. continues to make me laugh.
I will say that I wish the stock was angled downward and not straight back from the receiver. Using the sights with the stock square to the shoulder requires craning the neck downward almost to the point of discomfort to line up. A scope with sight-through rings elevating it an inch or so above the barrel may alleviate this problem.
But I've never yet been a scope user...
