45 Colt with sabots

[JRR]

Has any experimented with using sabots to shoot .358 or .401 in a 45 Colt Win 94 or Marlin 1894? Somewhere in my old Handloading Magazines there was an article about this. I'm thinking that this might extend the usefulness or at least kill some time experimenting. Cast, of course.
Jeff

[kir_kenix]

This is a cool idea, and I think i read an article about doing this same thing. I dont know that it will extend the usefulness of your .45 colt. I imagine you would have to load with a higher BC boolit, at higher velocity to achieve any real range, and the sights/accuracy of your leverguns will come into play as well to prove usefulness. If you could get a sabot to load down to 338 (and you could load to OAL that would allow it to function), you could really load some long range boolits.

If you get this project up and going, make sure that you document your findings and post them here, as I would be very intersted in your results.

[Johnch]

I shoot 45 ACP rounds with a Lee .401 175 gr bullet in a sabot
I use max 185 gr jacketed data for Bulleye
Crimped with a LFC
I seat the sabot just proud of the case mouth
It is probely producing a fair amount less pressure with the slick sabot compaired to the copper jacketing

As I am getting a little over 1000 FPS
But the cases land a lot closer to me than my 200 or 230 gr cast loads

So IMO they should work fine in a lever gun

John

[Scrounger]

This is a very interesting subject. One thing that comes to mind is using a .30 or .32 caliber bullet in a sabot in a .357 or .44 Mag. Poor man's .327 Federal. Another aspect, taking note of the increased cost of lead, is casting projectiles for use with sabots out of zinc, maybe aluminum, or dare I say concrete? Just a thought, don't hit me...

[kir_kenix]

Concrete...i like it. I'll have to try that sometime out of a muzzle loader. My guess that it gets blown into pieces, either in the air or as soon as it hits the plywood that our target backers are made out of. I have 15#'s of zinc washers, I should give them a try as well.

[jimkim]

It is a cool idea as long as the sabot doesnt come loose in the forcing cone and get lodged in the barrel. I seems like it happened in that article. It could be the one where the made "safety slugs" using sabots, #8 birdshot and epoxy. I'm not sure, Just be careful. It could happen.
Think big 250gr 358 cal slug in a 450 marlin

[JRR]

Here is a link on Midway for Knight sabots. I'll need to contact Knight directly to see if they make other sizes such as 45>35 or 35>30 or 22.
http://www.midwayusa.com/esearch.exe/search?search_keywords=knight+sabots&category_selector=all_products&Click+to+Begin+Search.x=0&Click+to+Begin+Search.y=0&Click+to+Begin+Search=Search_Button

[Scrounger]

You could drive a CSI crazy with this stuff...

[RP]

If you use a sabot can they trace the boolit to the gun ( rifleing marks)???

[Christian for Israel]

If you use a sabot can they trace the boolit to the gun ( rifleing marks)???

no. also, thoroughly brushing the barrel will change the scratches enough that matching will be unprovable in court.

[yondering]

I've messed with sabots in my Ruger Blackhawks (45 colt) and Taurus .454 revolvers. Never had good luck with either one, finally figured out that the pressure was blowing out the center of the sabot. Accuracy was terrible, bullets were tumbling at 10 yards. These were with muzzleloader sabots though, and mid to hot loads. Never saw the point with mild loads.

I have used the .30 cal sabots with .224 bullets from E. Arthur Brown, those work pretty well. 4000+ fps with a .224" 55gr bullet seemed pretty impressive. Not much for squirrel hunting though, the one I tried it on pretty much disappeared in a mist. [smilie=1:

The difference with the .30 cal sabots is that they are hard plastic; the muzzleloader sabots are softer plastic, meant for the lower pressures of blackpowder. I'm sure a guy could make some hard plastic sabots and launch .358" bullets at unusually high speeds from the ol' 45 Colt, or whatever other big bore cannon you have. Maybe someone with some machining capability here can make some .452" cups from delrin, or similar material, for "experimental purposes"?

[Boerrancher]

no. also, thoroughly brushing the barrel will change the scratches enough that matching will be unprovable in court.

It is quicker to embed a few grains of sand on a couple of cast boolits by dropping them on the ground and firing them, or even better, dragging a fine piece of emery cloth through the barrel with a string one time. It is fast, changes the rifling characteristics, doesn't damage the firearm,and the local LEO's are looking for a gun that matches the bullet they recovered, while the shooter on the Fed payroll is packing a gun that no longer matches.

This works well with any firearm, even rifles as long as they do not eject fired casing like semi autos, or you can find your brass.

Best Wishes from the Boer ranch,

Joe

[Boerrancher]

If you use a sabot can they trace the boolit to the gun ( rifleing marks)???

Only if they recover part or all of the Sabot.

[Scrounger]

Use wooden sabots. Some of you guys might be old enough to get that connection...
Basically, paper-patching is using a sabot. Now if we use more paper, or maybe that plastic they use in meat trays at the market... Stuff works as filler and protects the base of the bullet like a gas check. lot of stuff to play with here.

[KCSO]

Scrounger

In the 60's there was a story about this in the old Gun Digest. A feloow used a range pickup bullet from his enemies gun and a sabot to killl a fellow and try and pin it on the other guy. They solved the case by derermning that the damage to the saboted bullet wasn't consistant with the wound, if I remember right.