Getting in In-Line Can you use a cast boolit with a sabot?

[stubshaft]

Most definitely! I generally shoot 44 caliber boolits out of my Knight 50's and Tewksberry.

[FergusonTO35]

So, I'm having a problem. My Traditions Pursuit XLT is not getting along with 200 grain Lee .44 RNFP boolits in Harvester sabots and 80 grains T7. No accuracy whatsoever, as in like 5-7 inches between shots at 60 yards. I'm not much of a marksman, but I'm not that bad! Could the 1:24 twist be too fast for this rather light boolit? Should I bump up the charge to 100 grains?

[Edward]

So, I'm having a problem. My Traditions Pursuit XLT is not getting along with 200 grain Lee .44 RNFP boolits in Harvester sabots and 80 grains T7. No accuracy whatsoever, as in like 5-7 inches between shots at 60 yards. I'm not much of a marksman, but I'm not that bad! Could the 1:24 twist be too fast for this rather light boolit? Should I bump up the charge to 100 grains?

Nope just use a bore rider sabots not needed /along with a Dura Felt wad over the p0owder to protect the base (it steers the bullet) !!
and get a 400 gr+ bullet/Ed

[FergusonTO35]

Ok,so you mean I should switch to a conical boolit?

[35 Rem]

I use the Lee 310 grain 44 bullet (.429) and two 777 50 grain pellets with Harvester sabots in my NEF 50 caliber muzzle loader. It shoots well under 3 inches at 100 yards and as far as I'm concerned this is my muzzle loader deer season load for life. Not sure about velocity but figure/guess it's something like 1,600 ft/sec. I did use a 200 grain 40 caliber TC jacketed bullet for years but decided to no longer be dependent on availability of a factory-made jacketed bullet. Both bullets load very easily with very little force on the ramrod. Maybe it's because I leave a coat of Bore Butter in the barrel after cleaning??

I've only killed one deer with it so far using this cast bullet so not a lot of experience there but who really doubts how well a 310 grain 44 bullet will kill deer?

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks alot. Now that I think about it, I was using sabots that had been in tight fitting speed loaders since last year. Mebbe that compressed the sabot enough to make it undersize?

[CastingFool]

I use 50 cal forester sabot on my inline, I've noticed bevel base bullets fit better in the sabots. Flat base bullets make the sabot bulge out

[FergusonTO35]

Hey, does the T/C 370 grain Maxi Bullet tend to shoot well out of modern fast twist inlines? I wouldn't push it too hard, maybe 70 grains of T7. I have a line on this mold for a very good price and wonder if anybody has tried it in an inline.

[FergusonTO35]

Went ahead and bought it. Very nice condition with a new set of Lee handles for $35.00 bux total!

[metricmonkeywrench]

Been toying with my in-line and cast bullets… the secret is use wads with cast bullets! It more or less has to do with the slightly oversized bores and faster twist rate of a modern inline.

Powerbelts work great, though they are supposed to. About all of the sabots also worked well for me. I went BH-209 and never looked back.

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...h-cast-boolits

[Loudenboomer]

Harvested a lot of deer with the swaged Hornady 240 SWCHP in a sabot.

[FergusonTO35]

Been toying with my in-line and cast bullets… the secret is use wads with cast bullets! It more or less has to do with the slightly oversized bores and faster twist rate of a modern inline.

Powerbelts work great, though they are supposed to. About all of the sabots also worked well for me. I went BH-209 and never looked back.

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...h-cast-boolits

Thanks. So, just any .50 cal.wad will work? Should I glue it to the bottom of the boolit? Or just put it under the boolit at the time of loading?

[archeryrob]

I just shot two last Thursday in early muzzleloader season. A buck and doe and the bullet on both entered the left side and stopped on the skin at the right side with no exit wound. I use the Lee 452-255-RF 6 cavity mold to cast my bullets and I size them to .452 and I tried it without sizing and no consistency. I figured the sabot would make up for that, but no. Once sized they fly great. The pure lead kills great, but no exit hole and less tracking blood.

I cast some more test bullets from wheel weights (10 bhn) and some half and half mixed allow (7-8 bhn) and plan to try them in December and water test them to compare against what the lead did. The one I shot into a barrel looks just like the one recovered from my buck. Story and pictures are here. https://archeryrob1.wordpress.com/20...e-loader-2023/ and data on expansion of new alloys to come later on.

[metricmonkeywrench]

Thanks. So, just any .50 cal.wad will work? Should I glue it to the bottom of the boolit? Or just put it under the boolit at the time of loading?

Based on a recommendation of another member I used .54 cal wads dry. I put the wad in the barrel first and pushed it down about a bullet length with the bullet starter to ensure it was flat across the bore until the bullet picks it up for the rest of the journey down the barrel.

Hope this helps

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks so much, will give it a try.

[charlie b]

If shooting full caliber slugs I strongly recommend the use of at least a lubed felt wad and lube the bullet. I go an extra step and put a card wad over the powder, then the lubed felt, then the bullet. The bullet is cast soft and is sized to just slip in the bore. If hunting you might want it a hair bigger to slightly engrave. That way the bullet won't move if you carry the rifle with the muzzle pointed down.

The various factory slugs all seem to work. I like the Great Plains bullets for my .50cal. They like a stout charge behind them, ~100gn black (or equivalent). FWIW, slugs do better with a faster twist. Most inlines will be ok. Beware, that load has a stout recoil even in my 9lb rifle.

My other preference is for paper patched bullets.

[35 Rem]

I just shot two last Thursday in early muzzleloader season. A buck and doe and the bullet on both entered the left side and stopped on the skin at the right side with no exit wound. I use the Lee 452-255-RF 6 cavity mold to cast my bullets and I size them to .452 and I tried it without sizing and no consistency. I figured the sabot would make up for that, but no. Once sized they fly great. The pure lead kills great, but no exit hole and less tracking blood.

I cast some more test bullets from wheel weights (10 bhn) and some half and half mixed allow (7-8 bhn) and plan to try them in December and water test them to compare against what the lead did. The one I shot into a barrel looks just like the one recovered from my buck. Story and pictures are here. https://archeryrob1.wordpress.com/20...e-loader-2023/ and data on expansion of new alloys to come later on.

Looking forward to your test results.

[archeryrob]

So I filled the barrel up at lunch time and shot off a few round.

Previous lead bullet - .933 wide on largest spot - 252.44 grains
1/2 and 1/2 bullet - .807 widest spot - 257.72 grains
Wheel Weight bullet - .769 widest spot - 254.66 grains

So below,
Left - Pure lead and what I use that did not exit.
Center - 1/2 and 1/2 lead 7-8 bhn
Right wheel weight allow - 10 bhn

[35 Rem]

Interesting that weight retention is practically 100% for all 3, they just curl back more or less. The 50/50 should add enough penetration to get 2 holes for better blood trails.

I've used 50/50 CoWW/pure to cast the Lee 310 grain 44 bullet and fired it in my 50 cal muzzle loader with a sabot on top of two 50 gr Hodgdon 777 pellets. I don't recall if I tested them up close or not but I did some water jug testing at 100 yards and they expanded somewhat less than your WW bullet on the right.

Oh yeah, if I hadn't seen the photo where the lead flowed between the petals of the sabot I wouldn't have believed that could ever happen.

[FergusonTO35]

Well a buddy gave me some .44 factory slugs to try, 240 grain Hornady. Also gave me some 240 and 260 grain cast slugs. Hopefully can try 'em soon.