sabot and the 44 cal wadcutter

[white eagle]

how do you think a 44 cal wadcutter saboted in a 50 cal muzzleloader would perform on whitetail deer
I shot some today at the range and they grouped really really good
I believe they weigh around 210 gr or so

[koger]

I have cast up 200 Semi wadcutters for a friend, Elmer Keith style, they weigh 265 grains. The wadcutter would not do well long range. He has killed several deer, here in KYand in Tenn. with them, no issues and short blood trails, if any at all! I could send you a few to try!

[Good Cheer]

white eagle,
Here's just about the only wadcutter penetration data I could offer outside of hunting bunnies with a Security-Six.

198434

These were all soft lead fired with 25 grains of Black. The test medium is stacked and bound paper soaked in dish soap water overnight to the point that the binder in the paper becomes gelled. The #41026 is full wadcutter about 200 grains. The full wadcutter nose pretty much behaved as a parachute, expanded and penetrated half as far as other bullets weighing approximately the same.
Honkin' out of a rifle and into a deer broadside your wadcutter might be awesome. And you can harden the bullet with sabots, not like the percussion revolver that I'm shooting.
So having had a cup of coffee I'm thinking (slow but sure!) that forty plus caliber rifles kill deer and enough weight of lead will make it to the other side but can you do some penetration tests? Seeing what that bullet does at speed is the best way to know.

[Moleman-]

Don't see why not. I've shot a little less than two dozen with a .430" 240swc in a .50" sabot over 90gr pyrodex or lately 777 and they passed through each time. Two have been angling away rump shots that exited the opposite shoulder. When I first started using a Hawkins for hunting I never would of though they would perform this well with just "lead" bullets. How well it performs is why I got a 444 Marlin.

[mooman76]

WC would do good up close but I would think of farther distances like 70-100y the accuracy would probably drop off quick. A SWC would probably be a better choice but only testing would tell. I have a odd 54 cal TC mould that is a RB on once side and a Maxi on the other. The maxi is basically a WC. I haven't had a chance to test it yet.

[OverMax]

I shoot wad cutters from a renegade 54. Its the only rifle I have that is a dedicated Maxi & sabot shooter. When they were available. I purchase a good amount of T/C's Break-a-way sabot for the Renegades primary use. As {at the time there wasn't a whole lot of market place choice.} My decision to purchase a Lyman swc 255 gr 44 cal bullet for use with the Break-a-way seemed to be a logical match to its sabot. Thinking a soft lead cast having a slight amount pewter blended without a doubt will start expanding upon impact at any distance I'm comfortable in shooting. Which happens to be around the 100 yard mark and a tad more.

Lots of wallop that sabot combo has at 100 yard distance when sitting atop a charged of 90 grs. Frankly: I think such a sabot combo due to its bullet fit and sabot known Break-a-way performance is quite capable of a 200 yard launch with down range accuracy still carrying a considerable amount of shocking energy.

To this day I have not found another marketed sabot that compares too or betters the Break-a-way's performance.