Sabotless

[Battyboot]

The OP is shooting a muzzleloading rifle that uses smokeless powder so im not following what point or opinion you are trying to convey.

He needs a bullet he can shove down the muzzle without the need to resize the bullet. No 458cal bullet on the planet will help him.

Misunderstood, Mloader ok.

 

[Smokeyless76]

Get a Hankins sizing die and Pittman .452 bullets, follow his video instructions to size them correct for your bore and you're good to go.

 

[GM54-120]

Get a Hankins sizing die and Pittman .452 bullets, follow his video instructions to size them correct for your bore and you're good to go.

Pretty sure the OP said he wants options that dont require sizing.

 

[MeatMachine]

I'm shooting a converted TC Encore 45-70 barrel and would like to go sabotless. I do not have any sizing gear. I'm looking for recommendations for hunting bullets that would work without sizing. Hunting ranges here in Maine are fairly short 100yds max and very rare. My barrel is from the TC custom Shop when they were in NH.

I think your best option are these if you don’t want to mess with sizing. They are Lehigh controlled fracturing and shoot fantastic out of my Bergara barrel. They come in 245 and 265gr mine are the 245gr only because they didn’t have the 265gr in stock.

 

[GM54-120]

The Lehigh might work but i had to run mine thru a .454 Lee sizer if i didnt want to hammer them past the crown. Most of the bullet is right around .450- and only the barbs are .458 so it sizes pretty easily with my .454 die.

 

[Farmerboy78]

I think your best option are these if you don’t want to mess with sizing. They are Lehigh controlled fracturing and shoot fantastic out of my Bergara barrel. They come in 245 and 265gr mine are the 245gr only because they didn’t have the 265gr in stock. View attachment 28224

So I am curious about these, do you have any targets?

 

[MeatMachine]

No but they were all over lapped. They just need a jab with the bullet starter to form some grooves in the ribs and go down easy after that.

 

[MeatMachine]

I

The Lehigh might work but i had to run mine thru a .454 Lee sizer if i didnt want to hammer them past the crown. Most of the bullet is right around .450- and only the barbs are .458 so it sizes pretty easily with my .454 die.

didn’t see your post before my last post. My barrel is around .4525 at the lands near as I can tell. I have a 454 sizer also but didn’t need to use it.

 

[Smokeyless76]

The OP asked for a sabotless solution for a 45-70 SML conversion. In other words a 45-70 barrel converted to a smokeless MUZZLE loader. You will never get a .458 bullet down through the muzzle with .451 lands. Even .001 over lands and you better be a gorilla with a hammer.

Forgot about that. In any event, the OP is going to run in to barrel twist problems with any of the heavier and longer bullets. As others have stated, pushing a standard .458 bullet down the bore without previous smooth or rifled sizing will be tough. Arrowhead has no sizing required bullets. I shoot them and the small version is .4500-.4501. They start and go down the barrel fairly easy.

 

[MeatMachine]

I forgot to mention I’m using 38gr of imr4759 powder and it’s accurate and powerful. I did try to load this lehigh bullet into my apex 45-70 barrel that’s right at .450 at the lands and it is tight like gm54 said. I tried something different for some of those bullets.