Cast bullet for my in line muzzleloader

[wendyj]

I'm shooting 250 grain Hornady jacketed bullets in my thompson center. What size cast bullets would be good in a sabot to hunt with. The Hornady bullets cost enough to zero in and keep a handful for hunting. I use BLACHORN 209 powder. Got to be a mold to make this cheaper and allow for more practice and range time.

[NyFirefighter357]

http://accuratemolds.com/bullet_deta...=45-250S-D.png

http://accuratemolds.com/bullet_deta...=45-255S-D.png

http://accuratemolds.com/bullet_deta...=45-295H-D.png

[kens]

If you are talking about a 45 cal bullet in a .50cal sabot, then that is easy.
you can put almost any 45acp bullet in a 45/50 sabot.
The Lee 45-230-TC does good for me, as does the Lee 45-FN bullets.

[Dusty Bannister]

I can understand the reason for suggesting a smooth side bullet, but since this is for practice why not something inexpensive like the Lee 452-255-RF? Cast of soft lead, no barrel contact so no lube concern, no leading concern. You might need to get a push through sizer to reduce the as cast diameter, but even then the mold and sizer are less than a custom mold would cost.

If you think that the lube grooves might be a problem, just look at the form of a similar maxi bullet. Or lube the bullet with a hard wax lube before loading. That lube will stay on the bullet until it gets to the target. Maybe not the "best" alternative, but certainly an affordable alternative.

[Elkins45]

I started out using the 300 grain XTP in my Savage, so I cast the Lee 310 from pure lead and use those to sight in, practice and also hunt with. If I ever use up the current box of 100 Hornadys I probably won't buy any more and will just use cast exclusively. That big flat nose in pure lead would probably punch through a bison. This is a gas checked design but I don't install checks on them.

If you normally use the 250 then buy yourself the closest weight Lee two cavity and try it. Hornady sells the black sabots in bags of 50 and I have found them to be the most temperature resistant of all the sabots I have tried.

The presence of lube grooves has no noticeable effect on accuracy. No need for an expensive custom mold, and my experience has been that you can use them as-cast without having to size them.

During one of his sales I bought a hollow point design 45 Colt mold from MP Molds. I think it casts around 270 grains, and I shot a big doe with one last year. Results were very good: she was recovered about 30 yards from where she was standing. It's the one on the bottom left. I think using a HP design isn't necessary, but I couldn't pass up the deal on such a great mold.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Why use a Sabot with a boolit?

I understand why you would with a J-word, but if I were gonna hunt/shoot a boolit in a ML, I'd choose the best Conical for the Rifle's twist rate.

With that said, I prefer the patched Round Ball to a Conical boolit. It is the most economical and is deadly enough on most Game in North America and fast and easy to load.

[Elkins45]

Why use a Sabot with a boolit?

I understand why you would with a J-word, but if I were gonna hunt/shoot a boolit in a ML, I'd choose the best Conical for the Rifle's twist rate.

With that said, I prefer the patched Round Ball to a Conical boolit. It is the most economical and is deadly enough on most Game in North America and fast and easy to load.

Almost all of the inline guns are optimized for sabots and have such fast twists that I have never been able to get a bore diameter lead bullet to group worth a darn with them. My Thompson Renegade is 1:48 and I can shoot a Minnie from it very well. I could never get a REAL or Minnie to shoot well out of anything faster. My Savage smokeless rifle is 1:28 and at 2200 fps they tell you not to even attempt anything except a sabot.

[ShooterAZ]

Hi Wendy,

The very fast twist (1/28) of most of the modern inlines is not well suited for naked boolits. You can buy 50Cal sabots to accommodate both 44 (.430) and 45 (.452) Cal cast boolits. Midway has them. I use both in my T/C inline for practice. They aren't quite as accurate as the Hornady 250gr SST that I use for hunting, but they go on target. Hope this helps.

[wendyj]

I e got an old smoke pole that I use round balls in. Tried several power belts without the sabot and accuracy just isn't there. The Hornady with a sabot is dead on. I've got a 45 mold that comes out 255. Also a Lee sizer to size to .452. Hadn't thought of trying one but worthwhile to do so. My alloy is pretty hard though. Around 14-16 I'm told. Don't know how that could make much difference than the sst because it's jacketed and hard. Not a lot of expansion within 75 yards or so but a big hole.

[Larry Gibson]

Not sure why a 1-28" twist ML isn't "suitable" for naked cast bullets(?) and a sabot is necessary with cast or jacketed bullets?

Here's 6 shots on target at 100 yards w/o cleaning loading from the speed loaders from my TC Black Mountain Magnum 50 cal. The naked cast bullet is a 375 gr MaxiBall cast of 16-1 alloy lubed with my own simple beeswax/olive oil lube. Velocity is 1575 fps with that load.

Attachment 223379

[ShooterAZ]

She could give it a try I suppose. She's using BH209 in her inline though, if that makes a difference. I too have a caplock and shoot RB and conicals in it, but I use BP for those. Getting stellar accuracy from BH209 and the 250gr saboted SST at 2100fps+.

[wendyj]

Ive got Goex for percussion rifle. Just choose not to use it in the in line. BLACHORN pros are I can weigh on a scale and clean with pretty much any cleaner. I use water and murphys oil in the percussion and run a lard patch or two through it to store. Now have switched from lard and bore butter to ballistol.

[Larry Gibson]

I was using Triple 7 FFFG (90 grV) with that load. Goex FFFG or Cartridge does as well but takes a bit more and doesn't burn as clean as Triple 7.

[wendyj]

Good groups. I like Swiss better but Goex all I can find here.

[richhodg66]

I've shot various .44 SWCs in sabots through a cheap inline I hunt with. I've settled on a Lyman that is nominally 300 grains, I can't remember the mold number now.

Most of my muzzle loader hunting has been with the Lyman Plains Bullet in a Hawken. I've been considering trying it in the inline and skipping the sabots.

[shortlegs]

I have killed several deer with 200 gr swc 45 acp boolits in sabots from a 50 hawken.

[wendyj]

I guess a lubed patch would work with a close to perfect diameter.

[kens]

Has anyone tried the .500 S&W cast boolit in a .50 ML fast twist?
I would like to know.

[Wayne Smith]

Get a copy of Ned Roberts (of the 257 Roberts fame) The Muzzle Loading Cap Lock Rifle and find out what has been done a hundred years ago and more before you claim a lead boolit can't be shot out of those rifles, or that real black isn't the best powder, either.