Lightweight bullets anyone???

[fastnflat1]

has anyone tried shooting any 160 or 180 grn saboted 44 cal pistol bullets out of a 1 in 28 inch 50 cal?

 

[santoslhalper]

I haven't - the lightest was a 230 grain .45 cal bullet. But if you are looking to shoot a lighter bullet, why not use a .50/.40 sabot and shoot a 180 grain .40 caliber XTP or Gold Dot? You'll get better performance and they should shoot good out of the 1-28" twist. I use the .40 cal 200 grain XTP myself and it works great.

 

[sabotloader]

fastnflat1

I have tried a .40/180 grain Gold Dot - but did not get the best results... think the twist is to fast for those short bullets. On the other hand I have shot that bullet from my 1/30 Knight 45 cal and it shoots great....

 

[fastnflat1]

sabotloader, Im glad you mention the twist being too fast and with that could you explain.? I do some reloading for my varmint rifles and I understand that the heavier the bullet, the longer the bullet, and therefore the faster the twist needs to be to keep it from tumbleing. knowing that a bullet can be under twisted and tumble, what happens to the bullet when it is over twisted?


and who makes the .40/.50 cal sabot?

 

[sabotloader]

fastnflat1

what happens to the bullet when it is over twisted?

It is 'over stablized' and can suffer the same fate as 'under stabilized'

you mention the twist being too fast and with that could you explain

I am certainly not as good at this as other would be... but when talking only ML's.... the slower twist rates require a shorter projectile to maintain stabilization.

Probably the most common twist rate in a 50 cal is 1/28. This twist is very good for most projectiles made in the 44 - 45 cal bullet range. I have a White Model 97 U-Mag with a 1/24 twist rate - that little bit of extra twist allows you to shoot much longer bullets and acheive stabilization. You can shoot .5045/600 grain conicals from a White very accurately, yet I would think they would be to long to stabilize in a 1/28. Another example is a .40/200 grain Lehigh - a very long brass bullet. The opti,um twist rate to shoot that bullet is 1/24. To shoot it in a 1/28 or even a 1/30 twist you have to really drive the velocity up to achieve stabilization.

 

[fastnflat1]

sabotloader, thanks so much for the schooling!! what i am looking to do is flatten the trajectory. currently im shooting a harvester scorpion gold 260 grn over 90grn of BH 209 which will shoot a 3 shot 1 inch group at 100 yds out of my pro hunter. it is zeroed at 100 yrd and at 150 yds it is bout 5 inches low and at 200 yds it is about 18 inches low from point of aim. with a leupold ultimate slam scope i have harvested deer as far as 236 yds with this load but thought maybe i could flatten the trajectory by lightening up the bullet and increasing the powder a bit without increasing recoil much.

 

[sabotloader]

fastnflat1

Well you can flatten the trajectory with lighter bullets but remember they will not carry the energy as far out there as does a heavier projectile.

If you are going to shoot 200 yds and greater consistently then you might should consider the pointy bullets as they carry a better BC. I am not a fan of the pointy bullet at all because my ranges are not even close to 200 and greater, so in that case I prefer the old fashioned type bullets.

Another thing you might consider is something called 'point blank range'
I sight in all of my ML's with a 'point blank' range of 3". So basically that means when the bullet leaves the muzzle it will never be more than 3" low or 3" high on the way to the target out to its maximum range. Usually that means you are about 2.75/3" high at 100.

Here are a couple of examples...

Here is a ballistic sheet for a 40/200 grain Lehigh Bullet.

and then one for a 260 grain Nosler

 

[TJJ]

Sabotloader, what was the powder charge for the Nosler chart?

 

[sabotloader]

TJJ

In the Omega it would have been 110 T7-2f in a MMP HPH-24 sabot.

In the Knight's I do shoot 120 grains of T7

 

[fisher2072]

Fastnflat1,

Have you ever tried the 300gr Scorpion PT Gold? I shoot both the 260 and 300gr, and prefer the 300gr. I use 110gr of BH209 with the 300gr bullet to achieve the same velocity that the 260gr likes. With the velocities almost identical, the bigger bullet has a higher B.C. and shoots just a touch flatter. It carries more energy downrange and bucks wind better. Just a thought...

 

[tpcollins]

I've been shooting the 180 grain QT sabot by PR Bullet for years and is as accurate as anything I've ever tried out of my MK85. It's a .40 cal all lead bullet with a polymer tip. My furthest shot was a verified 150 yards broadside in light fog - he piled up at 40 yards. Good enough for me.