Light loads and sabots

[Confederate rifleman]

For a number of good reasons, I like light to modest loads in my muzzloaders.Recently, I found a load using the 230 gr Hornady .45 XTP that is a bug holer at 100 yards.My usual deer load is a 250 .45 XTP in a Harverster crush rib over 70 gr of 3f Swiss black. 1540 fps and superb accuracy.The 230 gr load uses a Harvester crush rib and 40 gr of 3f Swiss black.Havent chrono'd it yet, but I'm guessing mid 1300's.It shoots to the exact point of impact as the heavier 250/70gr load but it leaves alot of plastic hair like fouling in the bore.Swabbing between shots reveals it.Recovered sabots show evidence of gas blowby not seen with heavier charges.Heavier charges also lack any plastic fouling.I think that the skirt on the sabot is too rigid to fully expand and seal the bore with loads of this level.My question is : What is the best sabot for light loads?Although right now I use loads of this level for targets, they certainly have hunting applications for game large and small.I think a sabot with a thinner/weaker skirt would be a very useful thing.

 

[Semisane]

Well Confederate Rifleman, that 70 grain load with a 250 grain bullet shouldn't be giving you much recoil at all. It's what I would consider a light load.

Anyway, if your 230 grain (XTP?) with 40 grains of Swiss does indeed give you 1350 fps, it's velocity at 100 yards should be somewhere around 1050 fps, which is equivalent to the muzzle velocity of a hot loaded .45 ACP. I don't know anyone who would say a point blank shot into the heart/lung region of a whitetail with a 230 grain XPT out of a .45 ACP would not be effective.

Your problem may be the crush ribs. Have you tried the regular Harvester smooth short black sabots (H5045SB)? I don't know of any sabots that have a "softer" skirt than the Harvesters. You may have to try a buffer (ten grains of cornmeal?) between the powder and the sabot.

 

[Banerbird]

I haven't used them, but I've looked at Nosler's sabots. My Dad does use them. He was having gas sealing issues with sabots in his Lyman Mustang. What loaded snug in other guns, loaded really easy in the Mustang. He tried MMPs, Harvesters, and Traditions sabots with the same results. I found a bag of Noslers for him to try. Problem solved. He was shooting 130gr 777 with a 270gr Speer GD (not a light load), so we were puzzled why he wasn't getting good results with the others (he's used MMPs for ever in other muzzleloaders). He was getting 3-4 inch groups (at best) at 25 yards and didn't even try 100yds. With the Noslers, he kept them touching @ 25yds and got about 2 inch groups @ 100yds.

The plastic on the Noslers seems to be softer than the others and the petals are longer (for 44 cal). So maybe that's why they seemed to shoot better?

Using the Nosler sabots, I don't know how accurate he is at 150+ yards (typically he zeros at 25 yds, goes up 4 clicks and puts it away), but he took 2 does (bang flops) - one at 130yds and the other at 160yds.

 

[Confederate rifleman]

Semi, Havent tried the regular Harvesters again.My Black Diamond has a TIGHT bore.It has loosened up a bit after nearly 1000 rounds though.When I first got her I bent my 3/8" brass range rod ramming the first round! You're right , the 70 gr charge is not a heavy kicker, but economy does play a part ( 100 round per pound with the 70 vs 175 with the 40).You're also correct about the terminal effect.My daughter and I have killed a few deer (9) with a 40gr charge of 3f T7 and a T/C CheapShot( 1340 fps) out of a Traditions Tracker, at ranges from 15 feet to 115 yards and all save 2 were pass throughs( including the 115 yard) . All were 1 shot kills and no deer went more than about 50 yards after the hit.I'll hunt up some regular Harvesters.Thanks for the info!