Dealing with Bore Heat and Sabots

[ET1]

Shooting with sabots the number one enemy is bore heat. Heat alters the characteristic of a sabot by slightly softening it. It’s one of those, that’s a fact of life you have to deal with if you want to maintain accuracy. For every consecutive shot the bore temp is increased by 3-4F depending on ambient temp. Now I have shot loads with sabots in the 80F range (bore) with no ill effect to the load.
Before I go further some are probably asking how I measure bore temp. I found out I could employ a Digital Infrared Thermometer to measure bore temp. Place the lens of the thermometer over the bore and give it a shot. I use the hand-held version.

The catch here is don’t try to take a heat measurement if the muzzle or the barrel are sitting in direct sunlight.


Now for bore heat, I use cooling time between shots. Of course, it can be a slow process so I aid the cooling process with an aluminum cooling rod. This cuts the cooling time in half. Instead of waiting 15-mins. I only need to wait about 8-mins. One other thing I do is never load until I’m ready to shoot and keep sabots out of sunlight.
To some, summer time shooting with an SML can be a pain in the . For me it’s just dealing with heat as necessary and shoot away. Having a good load resistance and knurled jacketed bullets helps.

[impact]

Good information.

In essence, one should sight in their ML in the actual hunting season of use and is also based on geography. The temperature range can vary greatly throughout the province of Ontario. As an example, next week is ML in WMU 65 where I will hunt. The forecast in December is usually below zero.

The conundrum I face is sacrificing range time for actual hunting opportunities. The hunt is only 1 week in duration.
From past experience, the deer within 100 meters have not noticed a significant difference in the ballistics of the sabots.

If your post is strictly about target shooting I agree as your points are valid in obtaining excellent accuracy.

[ET1]

Impact

I admire your resolve to test your load under hunting conditions and am in full agreement with this practice.
My post wasn’t intended to define accuracy but show factors that can affect accuracy. The level of accuracy needed is up to the shooter to decide.
And no, I’m not just a target shooter even though I haven’t hunted deer for a few years. All my harvested deer with the 10ML-II were one shot-one kill and under 100yds. In the past before I got the performance from my 10ML-II that I have today I had a beautiful buck present himself at 200yds. I didn’t have the heart of trying a shot that could end up with a cripple. Today off of a shooting stick I wouldn’t hesitate.

[Big Jack]

Just get rid of the sabot!

That truly is the answer.

Bore rider or full form takes all those variables away.

[impact]

Just get rid of the sabot!

That truly is the answer.

Bore rider or full form takes all those variables away.

"There is a limit as to what an unjacketed bullet can take without stripping from the rifling, and there is also a limit as to what jacketed bullets can take as well. Anti-tank guns use sabots, as the extreme tightness of the twist that would be required to stabilize these monstrous projectiles exceeds what jackets can withstand."

"For today's muzzleloading hunter, there is no doubt that a saboted bullet can clearly outperform the bore-sized alternatives on a number of levels, and it most always does. The trajectory limitation of .50 caliber projectiles is clear, and the already loopy muzzleloading performance level is diminished dramatically by shooting larger, blunt, aerodynamically deficient projectiles."

"A .40 to .50 caliber projectile in saboted form of equal weight and style gives you a huge benefit in trajectory making good shot placement that much easier. The bullet is not chewed up or deformed by the rifling, leaving the bore in pristine condition. Out of a muzzleloader, no jacket strength is compromised. Bullets of similar style and weight not only fly flatter, they retain more of their original muzzle velocity, which enables better expansion, better penetration, or both. Penetration, expansion, and precise shot placement all translate into faster and cleaner kills."


https://www.chuckhawks.com/sabots_better_bullets.htm

[ET1]

Just get rid of the sabot!

That truly is the answer.

Bore rider or full form takes all those variables away.

Big Jack

To me there are pro and cons with sabot or sabot-less. Not having shot sabot-less I can’t really give an opinion on this practice.
With sabots:
I have flexible load tolerances to play with.
I have no concerns about obturation.
I have no concerns about copper fouling.
I can put precision loads together with a sabot but also need to know what the sabot requires.

So I see no need to go sabot-less because I see no real advantage for me.

[mosquito]

Now, having looked for the sabotted rounds in 45cal many times in many shops.... the shop in Owen Sound has them in 50 AND 45!

My opinion is TBD based on future test of accuracy and MAYBE hunting depending on if they work in my Hawken. I thought someone else might be looking for them in 45 is the only reason for me to say anything. However questions I always have, so anyone shot them in a Hawken or Kentucky or just the modern muzzle loaders?

[MikePal]

However questions I always have, so anyone shot them in a Hawken or Kentucky or just the modern muzzle loaders?

I shoot a quasi sabot in my .45 Kentucky ..it's called a Butler Creek Poly Patch.

I did a thread on them in 2014:



https://www.oodmag.com/community/sho...5-Poly-Patches

They increase the accuracy of my Kentucky 10 fold. I still use them for all my Target shooting.

I recently found some .45 Minnie Balls (full bore conical) . They also shoot remarkably better than patch and ball. I'll have to do up a thread on them when I find a mold to make more of them in quantity.

[ET1]

MikePal

I'm not familiar with this sabot configuration and will follow with interest.
Out of curiosity does this sabot have a skirt configuration on the bottom?

[MikePal]

Out of curiosity does this sabot have a skirt configuration on the bottom?

It's a two-way cup, either side up/down. ..so yes the primary purpose is to prevent the gas from seeping around the ball.

They didn't do very well marketing these as guys were concerned the ball would roll out in a hunting situation. I've never had it happen 'accidently'..if you shake it inside down it will dislodge it from the cup, but there is enough friction to keep it in place for on the range.

Not sure if you can buy these anymore, I gathered them up off eBay for a few years...