375/45 Sabot?

[alphaburnt]

I had emailed Speer about the 235 Spitzer performance parameters and this was the response:

we load the bullet in both calibers at 2067 fps in the 375 Win
and up to 2948 in the 375 H&H. While the Win rounds were loaded singly
and I expect did not expand a bunch at longer ranges, they still made a
0.375" hole in the target/animal.

Personally, I do not like the thought of the bullet not expanding. Wayles, I will be anxiously waiting your test results. By the way, in patching with the emory- arent you scared the grit would contact the rifling between the petals if you do not index the sabot perfectly?

 

[alphaburnt]

Are the Knight Disc Elite .45s 1:30 twist?

 

[wayles]

MQ

I plan to index the emory but it really won't matter, the sabot completly protects the barrel.
Wayles

 

[lane]

Are the Knight Disc Elite .45s 1:30 twist?

Yes

 

[alphaburnt]

Emailed Speer again, about the .375 235 Spitzers performance launched at .375 velocity:

Assuming the muzzle velocity was 2067fps, at what ranges/velocities
could I expect this bullet to mushroom/expand reliably on deer sized
game?


Their response:

bullet performance is tied to bullet construction, bullet
velocity and what the bullet strikes, hard things like bone will open
the bullet, soft things like paunch may not. Look for an impact
velocity about 1800 fps and hit a bone.

I really dont like shoulder shots and it sounds like that is what it takes to make this one work. Wayles, can you speculate how the 200 grain .375 Sierra FN bullet would perform? I would email them, but I couldnt find their email addy on their website.

 

[wayles]

.375 in the .45?

I assume you have looked at the bullet on their web site?.837 long x .375 dia nose tapers and then flattens with lots of exposed lead. I believe twice dia. expansion could be expected
Wayles

 

[alphaburnt]

That is exactly what I would want. Thank you. Found the email for Sierra, sent them a question as to the performance window for the 200 FN.

 

[alphaburnt]

Wayles, I received a reply today from Sierra. Here it is:


The velocity range is perfect and right on par with the bullets designed application. I am certain that you had better sharpen your knife.

Looks very very promising to me.

 

[wayles]

.375 in the .45?

WELL ALRIGHTY!!
Now then, Lets hope it shoots accuratly!
Wayles

 

[jjvw]

235 speer

I used the 235 bullet in my 15" 375 JDJ. Expansion was NOT reliable in deer.
Never recovered a bullet from 25 or 200+ yds. Exit holes never as big as pinky size. Your ml veloicity should be about the same.

 

[alphaburnt]

jjvw, the post I made above is about wayles bullet a Sierra 200 gr FN and earlier in this topic I was talking about the Speer 235 gr SS. When I emailed Speer about the SS, the fella pretty much said it would not expand but leave a .375 hole. That was kind of a bummer because with its .317 BC it would have been a seriously flat shooting mz bullet that had 250 yard potential.
Do you think the .375 hole w/o expansion is good enough for deer in your experiences, were the blood trails pronounced?

 

[NimrodRx]

.375 dia hole through the lungs = dead dear.

If it shoots, I'll take it.

 

[alphaburnt]

After quite a wait from Grafs, I received the Sierra 200gn FN bullets today. I then got out the micrometers and began measuring them, the length that Wayles measured were the same at .837", which is good- Greenhill formula states a 1:25 twist which is in the ballpark. Then I found out they actually taper along the flat ( I assumed) bearing surface of the bullet. The bullet is .375" diameter at the shank and just above the cannelure it is .368" diameter. This is a length distance of roughly .40" and it tapers .007", the bullets will sit about .480" deep in the Harvester light blue sabot. I hope paper patching makes up for some of the discrepancy- I was not expecting this!

 

[wayles]

.375 in the .45?

Mq
The sabot will form to the bullet if you patch tight. It will not be an issue.
Wayles

 

[NimrodRx]

MQ,

Why don't you start a new thread with the details on where you are with this. It deserves a seperate subject.

Good stuff!

 

[alphaburnt]

Nimrodrx, Im still in the "wanting to shoot it" stage. When I get a chance to get my .45 lined out and some stable weather, Ill shoot it and then start a new thread if it shoots lights out. If it doesnt work or is a disappointment I will post results here, so nobody has to go down the same road. Now, if the SST is redesigned, this may be all for naught.

 

[alphaburnt]

Wayles, have you made it out yet? I know I have not, winter weather and storms have been a major factor. I still need to get a scope for my .45 too. I am thinking about a Burris Fullfield Bplex

 

[wayles]

.375/.45

MQ
I have not made it out yet . Western Nebraska weather has not permitted when I was not workin. Its been real cold and Wind has been terrible. I am ready! I cut the QLA off of my TC encore .45 barrel and found a new Burris 4.5 to 14 ballistic plex priced right. Its mounted and ready. I have 120 gr, 110 gr , and 100 grain loads of BH 209 weighed up and waitin in lanes tubes. The TC is a 1 in 28 and I think the Knight extream is a 1 in 30. I believe the TC has the best chance of succeding. I hope the TC works for me as I prefer the TC gun over the Knight as it has a better trigger[2#] and the priming /unpriming as well as the cleaning is easier for me in the TC platform. With that said the Knight .45 has been a phenominal performer with the .40 sst useing the 4.5x14 burris.
Let me know if you make it out to shoot.
Wayles

 

[alphaburnt]

After a much longer wait than expected, I finally installed a Sightron 2.5x7 SII on my .45 and began shooting. I started with 77 gn by wt BH and 200 gn SW. I got it sighted in, took it home and cleaned it. Yesterday I began to work on loads with the 200 gn .375 Sierra FN paper patched in the Lt blue Harvester. I started with 77 gn by wt BH and shot twice. I went downrange to inspect target and found both shots had missed the 2' by 3' target! Puzzled and walking back to the bench, I found the sabots. I now know what "drilling" is. One of the sabots blew the cup completely off and left only the petals, the other had a hole through the bottom. At this point I decided to abandon the idea and stick to the .40 diameter bullets. I managed to shoot a real nice 5/8" 100 yard group with 83.5 gn by wt BH and 200 gn SW in a lt bl Harvester sabot and am very satisfied. Tomorrrow begins WV muzzleloader season, hope to post a kill soon. Anyone want to buy about 48 .375 Sierra FN :lol:

 

[Underclocked]

Based upon my own experiences, Greenhill is best taken with a grain of salt. Some of these rifles refuse to study the math.