Gents!
I have tried to work up to a seal hunting - varmint load for my .375HH. I have used the load data from hodgdon and the BLC-2 powder together with their data for 200gn bullets.

All things done by the book.

I fired 9 cases before giving up.
Out of those 9, 4 simply clicked, I had 2 hangfires and 3 "normal"shots.
No signs of high or low pressure. The shots that did not fire did push the bullet 1 mm forward by the force imposed by the firing pin.

Chrono-data shows signs of low velocity.
Incomplete combustion and lots of smoke after shooting.

Trying to find out what went wrong I have shot other loads and bullets without any problem.
VV-N150, H4350 and Norma factory loads with different bullets and weights have been tested.

No problems whatsoever and good accuracy with SFN 200gn and vv-N150, Norma Oryx 300gn and h4350, HDY 300gn fp FMJ and h4350, Norma factory with 300gn SAF.

The only thing that is different is the BLC-2 powder.
I have also taken 10 primed cases and fired them. All went off as they should.

I am puzzled.
I have mailed Hodgdon without getting any reply, and calling over-seas is not an option unfortunately.

Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions are welcome.

Sincerely
Daniel

What's your load density with BL-C2?

Have you used Magnum primers?

Use H- or IMR-4895 for your intended use - very light bullets and lower to moderate velocity.

Mag primer, like a Fed 215, may cure the problem.

Gents!
Thanks for replies so far.

I am not interested in moderate velocities in this case.
The sole purpose of using BLC-2 is to squeeze out the maximum velocity for a 200gn bullet.
For other bullets I use other powders. All depends on the purpose.

As I said earlier, this is a varmint (seal) load.
The purpose of this load is to blast a seal skull to pieces without giving any richochets. The bullet shall disintegrate totally at first impact of water, ice or any other substance it encounters.
Thus the choice of a bullet made for .375 Win velocities and not for 378wby speeds.

Therefore, moderate velocities are not of any interest here. I need a trajectory that is within 2" from the line of sight between 0 and 250 yds, and with enough energy to convey the message with a marginal hit. Only BLC-2 is listed to give velocities that meet this requirement.

Load data is as stated in Hodgdons manuals and on their webpage. Started 78gn, 3 rounds per group, then 1 gn increase in charge up to 86gn, then 0,5 gn between 86-87gn as is stated as max.
I stopped after 9 shots and will pull the remaining bullets.

Primer is a large rifle magnum primer(PMCNTLRM) that has not failed any other charge up until now. I have not seen federal 215 available here in Sweden.

The retailer/general agent for Hodgdon here in Sweden is as puzzled as me.

Sincerely
Daniel

Try another lot of BL-C2.

Ball powder does require higher ignition temperatures than extruded powders, but what you are describing (using mag primers) is out of this world.
I suspect a bad lot of powder.

I've had excellent success with BL-C(2) in the .223 but avoid it in other places because I've never been successful getting good performance out of it.

This is not to say that one can't but I haven't and I reserve it for the .223 and a few other similar rounds.

Update on powder lot.
1040708
643
I do not know if there has been other problems with this lot, but I suspect that it is the gunpowder that is to blame here.
Its only when BL-C(2) is used that the rifle goes "klick". All other combinations go "Bang!".

Sincerely
Daniel

Do not use BL-C2 or any other similar ball powder in the .375. Many of the spherical powders are hard to ignite and require a nearly full case. If you do get it to ignite it will produce a tremendous muzzle flash and terrible concussion from the muzzle blast.
Use extruded powders and you will be much happier with the results.

For what it's worth, I tried BLC2 in my .350RMag and had similar problems. I gave up on it.