Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
THE FAQ HAS MOVED TO OUR NEW WEBSITE: BADGER-RIDGE.COM
CLICK HERE TO GO THERE AND READ THE CURRENT FAQ
A: "We understand some just don't trust the internet, credit cards, websites, etc. If you want to get in touch with us we only ask that you use the "Contact" page (look under "More") to submit your questions and inquiries, or call us at the phone number at the bottom of each web page (9AM -8PM Eastern Monday - Friday, we may answer outside those hours, and you can always use our automated information system). If you leave a message: Be sure give us a telephone number or email address or it will be hard to get with you!!!
I promise you, if you submit a 'contact us' form with your contact info, or leave me a voice mail, we usually reply with in 48 hrs (often within a few hours... depending on if we are on vacation as listed in the TERMS of Use).
If you want to do business through the mail; we can oblige. For non-website sales, WE ONLY ACCEPT POSTAL MONEY ORDERS. Please browse the website like it is a catalog, write down what you want with the amounts and totals. If your order is under $100, add $7.99 for shipping. If you are in Michigan remember to add 6% sales tax to the subtotal (and shipping is taxed)! Make Postal Money Orders payable to Badger Ridge LLC, and mail them to PO BOX 223, Fostoria MI 48435
You can also initiate an email conversation with us through the 'contact' form under the "more" tab above, or call us at the phone number at the bottom of every page of our website.
While we are on Facebook, we don't check the messages there all that often. You will be best served by calling us, or using the contact form.
We are not set up to take credit cards over the phone (nor take orders): please check out on line if you wish to pay via credit card. We used to take PayPal until they went overboard with the politics and policing of commerce: Thus we don't accept PayPal anymore. Don't ask about it, you may not like what we have to say about the evil politically woke hive mind PayPal cartel.
If you checkout on-line: an invoice will be sent to you via email and it will have our physical address; so be sure to put an email address in the online check out form when purchasing installation!"
I promise you, if you submit a 'contact us' form with your contact info, or leave me a voice mail, we usually reply with in 48 hrs (often within a few hours... depending on if we are on vacation as listed in the TERMS of Use).
If you want to do business through the mail; we can oblige. For non-website sales, WE ONLY ACCEPT POSTAL MONEY ORDERS. Please browse the website like it is a catalog, write down what you want with the amounts and totals. If your order is under $100, add $7.99 for shipping. If you are in Michigan remember to add 6% sales tax to the subtotal (and shipping is taxed)! Make Postal Money Orders payable to Badger Ridge LLC, and mail them to PO BOX 223, Fostoria MI 48435
You can also initiate an email conversation with us through the 'contact' form under the "more" tab above, or call us at the phone number at the bottom of every page of our website.
While we are on Facebook, we don't check the messages there all that often. You will be best served by calling us, or using the contact form.
We are not set up to take credit cards over the phone (nor take orders): please check out on line if you wish to pay via credit card. We used to take PayPal until they went overboard with the politics and policing of commerce: Thus we don't accept PayPal anymore. Don't ask about it, you may not like what we have to say about the evil politically woke hive mind PayPal cartel.
If you checkout on-line: an invoice will be sent to you via email and it will have our physical address; so be sure to put an email address in the online check out form when purchasing installation!"
Q: What is a vent liner? Why and when do I need to change it? Why do you sell "Savage" vent liners for a Remington or Ruger rifle? How do I maintain and clean my Badger Ridge Hunter Breech plug with Lehigh Vent liner? Why do your vent liners look a little different from the one that came with my Savage 10ML-2?
A: The Ruger 77/50's and Remington 700ML's original breech plug's design cause prolific blow back. The kit we sell does away with the OEM breech plug. Our's uses a breech plug with similar design to the Savage 10ML-II's breech plug. These types of breech plugs receive a 209 shot shell primer to seal in the end end that abuts the bolt, and have a sizable flash chamber that is threaded at the end that abuts the powder charge. This threaded end is constricted when the vent liner is screwed into it. Thus the vent liner's constriction or "flash hole" 'focuses' the primer's heat into a hotter flame front and into the powder charge. This produces hotter, more consistent ignition. The 209 primer seals the breech producing more consistent and slightly higher pressures. All these effects tend to increase shot to shot consistency (accuracy).

Mr. Ball's design that most of us know as the Savage 10ML-II essentially set the standard for the vent liner's form, but most agree Lehigh improved it. So the vent liners we sell are manufactured by the ruminants of Lehigh (Lehigh Defense was sold, so we no longer call these Lehigh Vent liners). Bottom line is that our vent liners are 17-4 stainless and are interchangeable with the Savage. So they are often just called "Savage type" vent liners.
The Badger Ridge 209 conversions come with one vent liner. As the the rifle is fired, primer residue will build up in the flash chamber of the breech plug and clog the vent liner's interior orifice. Maintenance and cleaning are required between range sessions. The breech plug's flash channel can be cleaned by a little light reaming with a drill bit just smaller than the hole (DON'T REMOVE METAL). Solvents will also help carry away any remaining residue.
Blackhorn209.com also has a good section concerning general 209 breech plug maintenance
The Badger Ridge 209 conversions come with one vent liner. As the the rifle is fired, primer residue will build up in the flash chamber of the breech plug and clog the vent liner's interior orifice. Maintenance and cleaning are required between range sessions. The breech plug's flash channel can be cleaned by a little light reaming with a drill bit just smaller than the hole (DON'T REMOVE METAL). Solvents will also help carry away any remaining residue.
Blackhorn209.com also has a good section concerning general 209 breech plug maintenance

To clean the vent liner, we recommend buying torch tip cleaners from your local hardware store. In a pinch you may be able to get by with just a small paper clip etc. Once you locate the largest torch tip cleaner that can pass through, you can also measure its diameter and track the enlargement of the interior orifice (aka flash hole).
Each firing forces hot gases through the vent liner's constricting orifice and erodes it. Eventually the orifice enlarges too a point that pressure variations occur and accuracy suffers. Once a vent liner opens up too much, back pressure will become excessive and primer deformation will occur. See the pictures below for signs, but eventually the primer side wall will bulge excessively where not enclosed by the breech plug and/or split when the rifle is fired.
Each firing forces hot gases through the vent liner's constricting orifice and erodes it. Eventually the orifice enlarges too a point that pressure variations occur and accuracy suffers. Once a vent liner opens up too much, back pressure will become excessive and primer deformation will occur. See the pictures below for signs, but eventually the primer side wall will bulge excessively where not enclosed by the breech plug and/or split when the rifle is fired.

The exact number of firings one gets before the vent liner needs to be replaced depends on a lot of factors, such as powder charges, cooling times, primer types, maintenance performed etc. If you replace it when accuracy degrades, you won't have to deal with excessive pressures due the orifice being too large. The vent liner's orifice starts out at about .030 inch. Accuracy drops around .036. No one can tell you how many shots you'll get before your accuracy starts to degrade. But when it does; its probably time for a new vent liner.
That is why they thread into the end of the breech plug... They are relatively cheap and can be easily replaced. Most people find they can get somewhere around 50 to 100 shots or more out of a vent liner. But again, it depends on a lot of factors. Your mileage will vary. But don't worry; we sell replacement vent liners, and have the best price available!
That is why they thread into the end of the breech plug... They are relatively cheap and can be easily replaced. Most people find they can get somewhere around 50 to 100 shots or more out of a vent liner. But again, it depends on a lot of factors. Your mileage will vary. But don't worry; we sell replacement vent liners, and have the best price available!

Don't have the ability to measure your torch tip cleaners? Want to keep it simple and easy? You can also use .036 ZZ gauge pins to measure the orifice's diameter. Remember you want to replace the vent liner when it reaches .036. If you can't measure the diameter, replace it when accuracy drops. If you don't do it then, accuracy will continue to degrade and then you will begin to see unsafe pressures on your primers. Continuing shooting beyond .036 is not recommend. Unsafe pressures will develop.
Another way to handle the issue and not needing to measure anything: many hunters simply replace the vent liner at the beginning of the season before they check their zero. Then hunt through the season, shoot less than 50 shots, and replace it with a new vent liner a the start of the next season. Not necessarily the most frugal method, but it is safe and effective.
Note: the original all black Savage vent liners are slightly shorter than our vent-liners. If you don't clean the threads that the vent-liner screws into after removing one of the shorter vent liners, the new vent-liner may not fully seat. Some folks get confused and think our vent-liner isn't compatible: it is compatible, you just need to clean those threads! Try soaking in penetrating oil or ATF then either using a small wire brush or chasing the threads with a tap to get all the crud that impacted in the threads loose, then our vent liner should thread in and seat flush.
Another way to handle the issue and not needing to measure anything: many hunters simply replace the vent liner at the beginning of the season before they check their zero. Then hunt through the season, shoot less than 50 shots, and replace it with a new vent liner a the start of the next season. Not necessarily the most frugal method, but it is safe and effective.
Note: the original all black Savage vent liners are slightly shorter than our vent-liners. If you don't clean the threads that the vent-liner screws into after removing one of the shorter vent liners, the new vent-liner may not fully seat. Some folks get confused and think our vent-liner isn't compatible: it is compatible, you just need to clean those threads! Try soaking in penetrating oil or ATF then either using a small wire brush or chasing the threads with a tap to get all the crud that impacted in the threads loose, then our vent liner should thread in and seat flush.

Sure signs of unsafe pressure are:
-cratering around firing pin indentation on the primer
-flattening of the primer cup (loss of the round edge of the primer)
-warping, bulging, tears, etc in the side wall
-blow by getting past the primer that otherwise sealed fine (as the orifice erodes eventually the primer can't seal the pressure back and it bypasses an otherwise well sealed primer)
***Shooting without a vent liner installed is always a bad idea!!!***
-cratering around firing pin indentation on the primer
-flattening of the primer cup (loss of the round edge of the primer)
-warping, bulging, tears, etc in the side wall
-blow by getting past the primer that otherwise sealed fine (as the orifice erodes eventually the primer can't seal the pressure back and it bypasses an otherwise well sealed primer)
***Shooting without a vent liner installed is always a bad idea!!!***

I always recommend putting a little anti-seize on the vent-liner's and breech plug's threads after cleaning and before installation. But be sure to keep the interior of the vent-liner and breech plug clean and free of greases and oils to have consistent first shot ignition. I always take a look through the breech plug and make sure I can see a round spot of light through the vent-liner before I put it in my rifle and load. Also, some people discharge a primer through the breech plug before they load to be sure to clear it of any contaminates and ensure first shot performance.

Always clean your rifle soon after firing.
Never store your rifle with the breech plug in it.
Never store your rifle charged.
Even if its made out of 416 stainless IT CAN CORRODE
Q: Have you considered making a 209 muzzle loader conversion that can use a primed case instead of a 209 primer?
A: "Yes, but in the end it didn't make sense and did not make it off the drawing board."
Q: Then why does Remington use a '45ACP/30'06 like' primed case in it's new 700 Ultimate muzzle-loader?
A: "The 700 Ultimate is an entirely different rifle from the 700ML or the Ruger 77/50. The cases used by the Ultimate (similar to 30-06 cases with the shoulder cut off) have case head diameters that are too big for a proper breech plug in the 700ML or 77/50. Primer carrier ignition has been done in the customized 700ML's by using smaller cases like the 25ACP and 32ACP. A kit using this system would cost more to produce, and more complicated to stock/use. So what would anyone gain over what our current kit does with easily obtainable standard 209 primers? The only answer is that one who is set up to reload could save a small amount by using Magnum Rifle primers. Saving a little on primers with added kit cost, and complications like de-priming and re-priming hard to find cases isn't for everyone. So, it didn't make sense to produce a cartridge based primer carrier kit. A simple, solid, reliable, kit makes sense, so we are sticking with just the 209 kit we sell."
Q: What about 209 shaped primer holders that use magnum rifle primers (the holder is reusable)?
We decided our 209 sealed breech system comes out ahead, and dropped development of a cartridge case based primer carrier system, and urge you to stay away from magnum rifle primer to 209 adapters. Why fix something that isn't broken?
Check out the YouTube video above of our system in action. We think you will agree.
Check out the YouTube video above of our system in action. We think you will agree.
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