BPI's new sabot for 500 S and W bullet

[Dixie Slugs]

Again......there is nothing wrong with the older gray or the new blue sabot......if you load a firm foundation base under them to keep the bullet from lblowing forward off the sabot! A minumum foundation under the sabot would be the .250 (1/4") hard nitro wad from Circle Fly. This on top of a X12X BPI overpowder wad works. Accuracy is based on the gun! Takedown shotguns, like the older takedown rifles, will ot group as well as a solid barrel.
After all, what kind of accuracy is being sought? Any rifled shotgun barrel that will stay within 5" at 100 yards is a deadly combo. We must accept the fact that chambers on most factory rifled barrels are not correct in the forcing cone....that are too long.
Just some thoughts....James

Different powder are still being tested, but it looks like the slower ones are best.

[eye shot]

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s...borclub002.jpg The lower right 3 shot group is the old grey sabot loaded with a 420gr. hard cast bullet of .510. Using a 24" Hastings barrel at 1300fps and RL17 powder. With this slow powder the sabots looked like you could use them again. As Dixie suggested a heavyer bullet yet would even work better. I used no cards or anything but the bullet. IMO the key is a slow burn powder.

[Dixie Slugs]

I certainly agree about a slow powder! Steel is the slowest we have used in our Tornado load, but it just makes sense to start the sabot/bullet with less chamber pressure. We are using two Hastings barrels, both 20", and found that any bullet weighing less than 400 grs did not light off well with even Steel. All were loaded in 12 gauge 3" Cheddite hulls......James

[Carryacolt]

Fred 1324 on post #14, asked if anyone made the sabot for 20ga.

Does Winchester make all their own sabots for the slugs they make and sell? I have been shooting the winchester partitions in my 20ga with 1in groups at 50yd and 2in groups at 100yds. The sabot is yellow and looks very, very, similar to the one talked about here. It (winchester) has a small metalic disc molded(encased) in the base for added support of the boolit. Recovered ones look just like the ones that Ajay shows when he opens one up with a felt marking pen. They are all in one piece and I have yet to find any with missing legs. They look almost new and unused. I am saving some of them and will reload them later to see how they perform second time around. I have not found a single one that has had a blown out base or damaged in any way. I shoot the 3in rounds and the boolits are 260gr and are rated at 2000fps on the box. I haven't yet run them thru the speedometer so I calulate my ballistics using 1650fps.
If winchester would sell them as components, it would be a real benifit to us that reload. Obviously they won't be doing this as long as this would reduce the retail sales of the loaded sabot rounds.

If BPI would put a small metalic disc at the bottom of the sabot they make, I suspect it may cure many of the problems incured with it as described here.

[DODGEM250]

I have been wanting to try these gray/blue BPI sabots, but, I have not been able to bring myself to actually buy them. I would love to buy 20 from someone to test a few of my own loads with them using my muzzleloader bullets that I cast myself. Does anyone have a handful they'd sell me ? I think BPI sells them for .30 cents each now is what the lady at the "front desk" told me.