Saboted Boolit in Muzzleloader

[wtfooptimax200]

Since I am going to begin casting for my big bore revolver, I would also like to cast for my muzzleloader. I think the prices paid for jacketed muzzleloader bullets is outrageous and unnecessary. I feel that a cast LFN or Keith would be lights out for whitetails out of my .50 cal. I plan on castng 44 cal bullets for the gun, but have a couple questions

1) Has anyone done this? Any comments? I think these boolits would be more than sufficient out to 200+ yards.
2) Is it worth buying a mold specifically for saboted boolits (e.g. an LBT mold without lube and crimp grooves and with a beveled base) or can I simply use a 44 cal LFN that will also pull double duty as a mold for 44 Mag?

Any help is always appreciated.

Thanks,
Branden

[frkelly74]

I did start to shoot some Lee 452 tc boolits in my 50 with sabots. The 230 gr nominal boolit came out weighing about 250 gr in close to pure lead. I need to work on it more. I got side tracked with one of the 50 cal modern mini molds that came across my path and a 50 real boolit. Even the sabots are about a dime ea which is a lot for a piece of plastic.

[Tammany42]

FRKELLY has a good point. Go with a Cast Boolit, forget the Sabot

[rp85]

hello;

sabots work great!!!! using either the hornady .44 cal., 300 grain bullet or a cast 265 grain bullet, hoch mold. taken deer with both, great results. using 100 grain of pryrodex r.s., speed is 1620 fps. very accurate load with both types of bullets.

lost a deer shooting the 240 grain hornady xtp. think speed is to fast, bullet blows up on a close shot. 300 grain will "squish", looks like a flat quater.

the 265 cast... no idea all bullets went through any deer taken with this bullet. leaves a nasty exit hole.

using the hornady sabot (green sabot)

rp

[GMT210]

I use a mihec 45-270saa, with an MMP hth-24 sabot and 100grns of Pyrodex, about to play with Blackhorn. deadly and surprisingly flat shooting.

[Tatume]

Veral Smith made a mold for me with one cavity that casts 350 gr Marlin bullets and another that makes a 330 gr bullet of the same profile but without grooves. The Marlin bullet is 0.4590" diameter and the ML bullet is 0.4575" diameter. (I know, it doesn't seem possible to claim the "tenth" precision, but it works out pretty close.)

Prior to requesting this mold I tested 0.429" bullets in MMP green sabots, 0.452" bullets in MMP black, and 0.458" bullets in MMP orange sabots. The 458s were easily the most accurate, followed by the 452s. The 44s were clearly not as accurate.

I've killed a number of deer with the LBT ML bullet, and each and every one has dropped on the spot. The performance has been so good that even I doubt it can continue, but so far there have been no exceptions. Further, with the same gun shooting Sierra 300 gr 452 and Remington 300 gr 458 bullets, meat damage has been excessive. The LBT bullets cause almost no blood-shot meat.

If you order a mold from Veral, be sure to send him a sabot. He will fit the base of the bullet to the sabot you plan to use. I highly recommend the MMP orange and the bullet I'm using.

Take care, Tom