sabots and cleaning

[hiram]

I'm thinking of trying sabots in my 50 cal rifle with 44 cal bullets. The twist is 1-66. I read this isn't the correct twist, but trying is part of the fun. What do you use to clean plastic from the sabot which rubbed off in the bore?

[corvette8n]

I use a blackpowder water based cleaner, then some Hoppes, never did have a problem. You are right the 1 in 66 twist is for round balls, not sure how it will shoot maybe sideways.

[Kuato]

You'd be better off sticking to patched ball. Besides, you wouldn't need to clean plastic out of your bore. If you want to experiment, try using conicals. 1-66" is too slow a twist to be viable for sabots. Just my $.02..

[missionary5155]

Good evening.. I had a 50 CVA some years ago and it would NOT shoot Maxis... Never tried Pistol but this was 20 years ago. The slowest twist I remember for 44-40 was 1-36. My 50 would shoot RB far better than I needed. I can not imagine much up there in NY that a .490 Rb at 1600fps would not CRUNCH. I moved up to 58 zouave and a 54 flinter and other 62-74 smootbore flinters.
But I totally agree with the EXPERIMENTATION FUN.

[hiram]

Kuato---When you say conicals, are you referring to Lee REAL??

[Maven]

hiram, Conical bullets refer to Lee REAL's, T/C Maxi-Balls, T/C Maxi-Hunters, Minie Balls of various designs, calibers and weights, some of the bullets Dan/Bullshop sells, Buffalo Ballets, etc. Btw, I tried the .50cal. REAL @ 25 yds. in a 1:66 rifle I have and wasn't impressed with the accuracy at all. RB's at the same distance, using the same powder charge, will go into 1 big hole.

[mooman76]

I've shot the Lee reals with the 1-66 twist and got limited good results. It shot good enought for a hunting loads since the regular MLs have a pretty short range anyway. I couldn't get consistancy though. I would get several good shots and always seemed to get a flier. I'm sure it is do to the enstability with that particular twist.

[Kuato]

Hey Hiram. Actually Maven answered the question for you. My 45 cal 1-66" ML shoots Maxiball Really well. I have a 50 cal that does well with LEE reals also. You have to experiment with the powder charge to get the right velocity for the projectile you're shooting. So, a charge that shoots good with patched ball most probably won't shoot well with a conical.
Sometimes the conical has to be driven faster to stabilize, sometimes it has to be driven slower. Every gun is different, so you'd have to find what load works for your particular rifle/bullet combination.

[LqChrome]

brownells has sabot cleaner. does fine in my ss nef .50

[10 ga]

Eds Red is a formula available somewhere here on the bullitin boards. I've known Ed since he was a matriculating Hokie. His cleaning formula really does a good job on plastic in a MZ bbl and in shotgun chokes and is a pretty good all around cleaner for firearms. I made up a gallon a year or so ago and tried it and it is nice stuff and cheap too. As for the sabots in a 66 X .50 cal it dosen't work out so well. I tried a bunch of bullets and sabors in 2 different 66 twist guns. None of the bullets could come close to the accuracy I got with RBs. 1.5 MOA with RB to 5+MOA with bullets just dosen't cut it. My $.02 10 gauge

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Lube the sabot. You would lube the patch, eh? Pick a short bullet, it's really the lenght that's twist important. Make loading easy with a softer, smaller bullet. It will slug up. Some times a wool felt wad or two to seal the bore well is important with deep grooves . Sometimes fouling residue is related to powder granulation , thus accuracy. Good luck. BVT

[Maven]

hiram, Take a look at MMP sabots: Easy loading, no sabot-fouling, great selection and prices.

www.mmpsabots.com