Sabots in a 48 twist ?

[RU shooter]

A buddy of mine ask me if I would make him a traditional looking flintlock said sure if you got the money , the thing is he wants to shoot sabots and Powerbelts and things like that , yes I tried to tell him about RB but that’s what he is wanting . So in researching barrels before I tell him yes or no on a build I haven’t been able to find any fast twist octagon barrels that would work , best I have seen are 48 twist , would it shoot sabots and the like acceptable for inside of 100 yds ?

Thanks ,Tim

[AntiqueSledMan]

Hello Tim,

It all depends on how long a projectile he's planning on shooting.
From my experience, short projectiles fly better with less spin.
I've tried Power Belts, not very impressed with them.
I'd ask him what he really wants, probably a god way to loose a friend.
I'm shooting a Lyman 1:32 twist, seams like my .45 cal RCBS cast 300 gr bullet might be a little long.
I've since switched to a LEE .452-255-FN instead.

AntiqueSledMan.

[LAGS]

Over the years , I found that a 1:48 barrel will shoot the Sabots or slugs good , but not great.
I found the projectels like the faster twist like in my Lyman GPR Hunter barrel with a 1:32 twist.
Maybe you can contact Bob Hoyt and see about getting a barrel Relined or rebored to a twist you like.

[RU shooter]

Another issues besides the twist issue is groove depth on most aftermarket barrels sold to builders . Not an expert on the sabots but isn’t the groove depth rather shallow on barrels designed for them say 4-6 thou. ? Most all the barrels I’m seeing are patched ball barrels 10 thou and deeper .

[Edward]

You might point out the wear factor ,erosion caused by heavy stuff . Other than round balls I think rock locks were
(designed for) ,bullets are not and perhaps on a lot of models breakage stock wise ?

[mooman76]

Maybe you could sway him to conicals.

[charlie b]

I have a Lyman GPH, 1:32. It was designed for sabots. I don't like sabots....but it does shoot PP conicals very well :)

When developing loads I tried some Powerbelts. I found out there is a difference in the different types. Mine shot the silver/black ones very well, but, the green belt ones did poorly. I didn't shoot many as they are a bit expensive for plinking.

[megasupermagnum]

How long of a barrel are you looking for? I see a number of barrel blanks for 45 caliber BPCR and even one for 50 caliber BPCR with fast twists that will be great with conical and plastic sabots. Lothar Walther has those, plus other odd caliber blackpowder barrels. The only hitch, they are 33 1/2"

[Moleman-]

Hunted with a CVA Hawken 50 with green Hornady sabots and 240gr 44 bullets for about 30 years now. No scope so I limit my shots to 150yds as that's the max I feel comfortable shooting any non scoped rifle at a deer.

[fastdadio]

This post just came up yesterday about a fast twist Hawken barrel. You might be able to work with it...
https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/648/1/GMT-50-C-TC-28-BX

[RU shooter]

How long of a barrel are you looking for? I see a number of barrel blanks for 45 caliber BPCR and even one for 50 caliber BPCR with fast twists that will be great with conical and plastic sabots. Lothar Walther has those, plus other odd caliber blackpowder barrels. The only hitch, they are 33 1/2".
The guy is wanting a recreation of a Pa longrifle and hes a bigger guy so 40” would be minimum . Me thinks this ain’t gonna be workable for me or him and what he wants .

[freakonaleash]

Hoyt will make you a barrel with what ever twist you want.

[indian joe]

A buddy of mine ask me if I would make him a traditional looking flintlock said sure if you got the money , the thing is he wants to shoot sabots and Powerbelts and things like that , yes I tried to tell him about RB but that’s what he is wanting . So in researching barrels before I tell him yes or no on a build I haven’t been able to find any fast twist octagon barrels that would work , best I have seen are 48 twist , would it shoot sabots and the like acceptable for inside of 100 yds ?

Thanks ,Tim

Tim
that 1:48 will shoot minies just fine (and patched ball if you keep the lid on velocity) but ya know what
If I was a builder of quality traditional style flinters - I could not do what your buddy wants - I would hate that thing the whole time I worked on it and it would leave the shop carrying a big load of my "attitude" - I would have to say "sorry mate I build em proper - cant do this one for ya"
just a thought!

Edit -I shoulda read the rest of the thread first looks like you already come to that conclusion

[RU shooter]

Tim
that 1:48 will shoot minies just fine (and patched ball if you keep the lid on velocity) but ya know what
If I was a builder of quality traditional style flinters - I could not do what your buddy wants - I would hate that thing the whole time I worked on it and it would leave the shop carrying a big load of my "attitude" - I would have to say "sorry mate I build em proper - cant do this one for ya"
just a thought!

Edit -I shoulda read the rest of the thread first looks like you already come to that conclusion. Yeah pretty much told him that on Tuesday night when I rant into him at the local watering hole . Thanks all

[ourway77]

460 no excuse 80grains black

[quilbilly]

I have a 45 cal T/C Seneca with a 1/48that I shot with sabots plus 358/355 boolits both SWC's and RN's many years ago. It shot particularly well with the .355 135 gr RN's and I used it on coyotes out to 200 yds (yes, 200 yards). I would not recommend the RN's for deer, however, although I got several with it. Patched round balls are much better for deer in my experience so switched back years ago even though I liked the long range accuracy with those .355's.

[T-Bird]

I've got a T/C Hawken 50 cal that the original barrel had a 48 twist and it shot the Ly 429421 great in a sabot. I wanted to shoot PRB tho so I bought a Green Mountain dropin 54 cal with a 66 twist. Bingo!