OT .50 CAL SABOT

[joachim slim]

im going to start shooting a .50 cal muzzle loader. id like to have opinions of differant shooters that use the.50 cal sabot. i dont reload or make my own bullets so it will have to be over the counter store bought ammo.

[Chuck 100 yd]

You just have to buy sevaral different ones and give em a try.
The Knight sabot with 300gr. lead bullets are the only ones I have used due to the local laws about ML and hunting.
Yhey are accurate and easy to load. I have seen some at the gun club that were very hard to load and almost impossible to load a second shot without cleaning first.Guns and sabots and bullets vary insize and nobody can tell what will work in your gun.

[oldgerboy]

I have friends who use the sabots and like them and some who don't. I also have friends who use the power belt bullets and like and don't like them.

Both types work well as long as your rifling twist and groove depth are not of the round ball type.

[Chuck 100 yd]

If you shoot a muzzle loader YOU ARE A RELOADER !!

[Scott64A]

LOL Chuck is right...

Those front-stuffers ARE the cartridge.

I use Hornady XTPs in my .50cal TC, and they shoot GREAT over 90gr Pyrodex. When I say great, I mean I had a 3/4" group at 50 yds and two were touching.

It's always going to be tougher to get shot no. two loaded, but if you aren't a limp-wristed pansy, you shouldn't have any trouble. I cover my hand with my coat to push the rod down and seat the second shot, which is hardly ever needed on a critter.


The XTPs knock 'em dead, too.
I hit a doe in the ribcage and she just fell over. She sort of stood there shaking, and then flopped over. Another, I hit in the neck at 50yds and she dropped. Pretty effective for such an "outdated" mode of bullet delivery.

I remember shooting at the range and having to mop out the barrel after 5 or 6 shots.

The TC sabots are good, too.

I haven't gone over to powerbelts, simply because I have a very accurate and deadly combination as is, so why mess around?

[iceman]

I use Hornady Great plains lead bullets. I have tried sabots but my rifle doesn't like them. You can't go wrong with a 50 cal 385 gr soft lead bullet.

[Bigahh]

I also shoot the Hornady XTP sabots out of my front stuffer. My gun has a 150 grain pellet capacity (most do now) but my gun shoots better with 100 grains of pellets. I don't shoot long range anyway. But as mentioned earlier try a bunch of different brands 1st before you decide on one brand.

[cas]

IMO... .50 hole in barrel... .50 bullet.

If you want a .45 then get a .45


But then I don't see the attraction to caseless centerfires. I still say it's like kissing your sister.

[Old Time Hunter]

They all work, so it is just personal preference. Sometimes I use a .495 round ball and .010 patch (the .495 gains a few grains over the .491), some times 300 gr power belts, and sometimes Hornady XTP's. I have harvested game with all three. My next hunting bullet will be the Lee REAL bullet.

[joachim slim]

whats a powerbelt bullet? what the new Lee Real Bullet?

[Old Time Hunter]

The power belt is a .50 cal, slightly undersized (mics .499) with a skirt, kinda makes a hollow based bullet out of it. You do not need a sabot or wad. The Lee REAL bullet is a lead "minnie ball" style with progressively larger rings around the outside of the bullet to "bite" into the rifling (same effect as the skirt on the powerbelt)

[Chuck 100 yd]

I use the Lee R.E.A.L. bullet in most of my ML bullet guns. I started shooting them around 1970.
They are good shooters and they will pass through a large deer like a fanny burp through a burlap bag!
My .54 cal Mowery rifle shoots them like a match rifle.

[jbm1968]

I started my muzzleloading with a MK-85 Knight in-line as a way to extend my deer season. I used the Knight .50 Sabots (don't remember the weight) and they were VERY accurate out of that rifle with a 100GR load (if I remember the charge correctly). More accurate than my centerfire of the time at 100 yards (Marlin 30-30). I never even got a shot off at game in those days but it sure was accurate and fun to shoot. I am looking for a traditional flint rifle for the sheer fun of it now!

[Lloyd Smale]

I will only use the knight sabots now. Using heavy loads i had alot of accuracy problems with the cva sabots and found that the pedals were breaking off in flight.

[Hobie]

My .54 cal Mowery rifle...

That there is a pretty rifle!

[Hobie]

My son-in-law uses the Knight Red-Hot 250 gr. saboted bullets. They kill deer right now and are accurate in his Knight rifle. The bullets are Barnes (right?). He tells me that WalMart sells a "generic" version that is just as good but doesn't cost as much. I couldn't find them so I got him the real thing.

[JReed]

For starts what sort of ML is it and what is the twist rate of the BBL?
Have you checked out the Hornaday Great plains bullets they are all lead and you are actualy shooting a bore diameter boolet. Or my favorite the patched round ball.

[Nath]

Boy I love that Mowrey, never see'm over here
My fav is a patched ball or a slug. Plastic don't seem right in a M/L for me but thats just me. I would still like to see you connect with the modern alternative though

[Pete44ru]

I too, will use only the Knight's in my T/C .50 - but I make sure to buy them as a set, sabots & matching bullets.

Ya see, you got to be careful, if you buy the sabots separately - as some .50 cal sabots are of the thickness to shoot .44 JSP's (.429)and others are set up for .45's (.454) - and if you put the wrong combination(s) together by accident/ignorance, the load will either be inaccurate or very hard/impossble to load.