Help finding suitable sabot

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mike nelson

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I'm using Barnes .50 cal/240 gr. Expander MZ bullets that consistently measures .451 dia. The Barnes supplied sabot (black) is terribly hard to start and seat in my Ruger 77/50. The Harvester crushed rib (black) seems perhaps too loose for hunting. Any ideas would be appreciated.
 
I'm not 100% positive but I think Barnes uses the MMP HPH-12 sabot on those bullets. Maybe try a MMP HPH-24 sabot they are a smaller diameter.
 
Try the Harvester 300 grain or less what we call the short black. it should be in about the middle between the MMP sabot and the crush rib.
Check the stickie and look at the different combinations. 6 down from the top of the page you come in on.
 
ponsness said:
I'm using Barnes .50 cal/240 gr. Expander MZ bullets that consistently measures .451 dia. The Barnes supplied sabot (black) is terribly hard to start and seat in my Ruger 77/50. The Harvester crushed rib (black) seems perhaps too loose for hunting. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Read through this an see if it might help..


http://barnesbullets.com/muzzleloader-tips-tricks/
 
---to Lee9, I've been all over that website and would really like to find that "sticky" and read the info. Help is needed, thanks.
 
Thanks guys, as a long time shotshell reloader for trapshooting I had the primer info. But the bullet/sabot info is interesting and I can see someone did a lot of work to put this together. Even though the charts do not reference my Barnes Expander MZ it does show bullets of identical diameter and I think I can figure out the solution from there. I've now got Harvester Red and MMP HPH-24 coming and will try them. Toot & Toot & Tuck (Norwegian for "thousands and thousands of thanks)
 
250gr Expander MZ does or at least did come with the HPH-12 sabot which is around .505 or a little more with a Barnes bullet. The Barnes bullet is a bit smaller caliber than say..... a XTP or SST even though both are listed for .452 applications. So loaded OD will be a little smaller than what is listed in that chart.

HPH-24 will be a little smaller and should be a good choice for that bullet if your bore is really tight. Its the same sabot that comes with the Barnes TEZ. Harvester black Smooth is also nearly identical to the HPH-24 in loaded OD.

Harvester Red will be a tiny bit larger loaded OD than a HPH-12 but it may feel easier to load.
 
Received the MMP black HPH-24 and the Harvester Red crushed rib sabots and they both start and seat with my Barnes .451 dia. Expander MZ bullets in my ruger 77/50 as I was hoping for. This is exactly what I was looking for in a Hunting scenario and was a small price to pay. Thanks to you guys for the advice.
 
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