Any tricks to getting cast pistol bullets to shoot in sabots?

[rickt300]

I have had crappy luck trying to get my cast 45 caliber bullets to shoot well enough to suit me. Same with some coated and swaged Berry's bullets. Should I knurl them with a file? Could they not be getting enough friction in the sabot to take the twist? I am not trying to send them off all that fast either. 70-80 grains of 3F real black and Pyrodex out of my Encore 50 cal. Basically plinking loads. The bullets are LEE's 255 grain flat nose and the Berry's are.451 200 grain flat noses. The sabots are Harvestor Blacks. Is there a particular cast bullet out there that does really well in sabots?

[1Hawkeye]

Try 90 grs of 3 fg with the lee 255 gr and swab with a lightly dampened patch between shots.

[AntiqueSledMan]

Hello rickt300,

I've been shooting my RCBS 45-300-FN with the MPM Orange Sabot in my Lyman Great Plains Hunter w/1:32 twist.
Bullets sized to .458, over 100 gr of 3F Triple Seven.

We also tried the LEE 452-255-RF with the Harvester H15045BR in the Thompson Center Hawken w/1:48 twist.
Bullets sized to .452, over 100 gr of 3F Triple Seven.

Also tried the LEE 452-200-RF with the Harvester H15045BR in the Lyman Great Plains w/1:60 twist.
Bullets sized to .452, over 100 gr of 3F Triple Seven.

All seem to shoot well, no tumbling.
I don't know what your rifling twist is, but I'm sure it's a quick twist so maybe you need a longer bullet.

AntiqueSledMan.

[pietro]

.

When my oldest Grandson was young, I set him up with a .45 H&R Huntsman, using .45cal sabots holding .357" boolits - which worked very well, indeed.

AFAIK, most .45 sabots are set up to accept .357" slugs.

.

[Maven]

rickt300, You may want to look for a different sabot, e.g., these: https://mmpsabots.com While you're on their site, scroll down to Recommended Bullets, which include lead/cast designs. Also, for some strange reason, my 1:28 twist Green Mountain bbl. prefers FFg or Pyrodex RS rather than the finer granulations. Perhaps you should experiment with those as well?

[rickt300]

I will order some MMP sabots and give them a try. I also have a RCBS mold that casts a Keith type bullet at 250 grains. By not well enough to suit me I mean 4 inches or so at 100 yards.

[Tatume]

Sabot quality is very important, as is fit. MMP is the best company, IMHO. I've shot 45 caliber cast rifle bullets, and cast pistol bullets with excellent results. Just be aware that they use different sabots. Also, I've found that the MMP "high pressure" sabots perform the best.