.44 bullets green hornady sabots

[cnymuzguy]

I have some .430 dia., 265 gr Speer soft points. All I can find to shoot these bullets are the green Hornady sabots, I'm going to use RL-7 powder. Do you think the green sabots are tough enough to hold up to the smokeless powder? Has anyone had good performance with .44 bullets? I'm not looking to set a world record for velocity, but would like to get 2000 fps. I know RL-7 isn't the perfered powder with lighter bullets, but it is what I have at the moment.

 

[SW]

I believe this is a bad plan. You will likely experience mis-fires, be shooting a very low pressure load(in order to maintain the integrity of the sabot), what could be gained? 429 bullets/Sav 10-ML/ML-2s have proved to be bad combinations when using smokeless propellants.

 

[cnymuzguy]

how about using a sub-base under the sabot? I figured the 265 gr is pretty heavy for the .44, and people rave about 240-250 gr .45 bullets. I don't want to get into the 300 gr bullets, as most people complain about the heavy recoil. Just trying to find a "happy" medium.

 

[big6x6]

If you're bent on using the RL-7 you have...personally I'd go with a 300gr .451-.452 bullet(XTP or SST) in a good sabot.

If you're bent on using the .430 265gr BULLETS you have...go with an MMP High pressure sabot and try 40-44gr SR-4759 or AA-5744 instead of the RL-7.

I can't see you having much luck with the combo you've mentioned either.

 

[jims]

I agree with SW. In the beginning I tried all kind of combinations before I got on these smokeless sites. The .429 bullets did not do well. I got squib loads and quickly gave up on them. If you want a lighter bullet the 250 grain SST's in .452 work well for most.

 

[RBinAR]

Oh shoot 265 grains weight is plenty of weight to shoot RL#7 I do it all the time with about 65 to 69 grains of powder.

The problem you're going to have has nothing to do with RL#7 it has to do with the undersized bullet. RICK's rule states that "a bullet under .060" the size of the bore will be difficult to shoot to any speed if loaded in a sabot".

If you had 45 caliber bullet in 260 or 275 grain weight work as well with RL#7 as any other powder.

 

[big6x6]

Oh shoot 265 grains weight is plenty of weight to shoot RL#7 I do it all the time with about 65 to 69 grains of powder.

REALLY? Oh man I had a bunch of misfires using 250gr XTP .452 about 3 years ago. I attributed that to bullet WEIGHT because when I swapped to 300gr .452 XTPs...no more misfires. It WAS cold when I was shooting AND I didn't keep breechplugs as clean THEN as I do NOW..both of which MAY have been issues.. I WAS using Fed 209As too...

 

[RBinAR]

REALLY? Oh man I had a bunch of misfires using 250gr XTP .452 about 3 years ago. I attributed that to bullet WEIGHT because when I swapped to 300gr .452 XTPs...no more misfires. It WAS cold when I was shooting AND I didn't keep breechplugs as clean THEN as I do NOW..both of which MAY have been issues.. I WAS using Fed 209As too...

I would have to admit that's surprising to me because I've shot maybe three pounds of RL7 much of it with the 250 grain SST and the short black Harvester sabot (which is an easy loader) and never had a misfire.

In fact for some time I was thinking how much I preferred #7 over a powder like Imr-4198 which I can make misfire with a loose sabot. I never had H-4198 misfire that's why most the people who shoot 4198 use the Hodgdon variety.

But you never know I learn something new every day.

 

[cnymuzguy]

Looks like I'm going to have to make a few component changes. Its tough to get a good choice of muzzleloading supplies in my area (NY state), everyone carries a little of the "pre packaged" stuff, but not much selection of individual components. Any good choices of 265-280 grain .45 dia bullets out there? I looked at the "major" bullet makers, didn't notice anything. I really don't want to use a hollow point pistol bullet, I perfer bullets that tend to punch through rather than expand harshly. We do have some heavy deer in the region, and would perfer something that offers penetration. I know, go with a heavier bullet, but I'm also trying to minimize recoil. Any suggestions? Thanks for all the previous posts.

 

[SW]

Looks like I'm going to have to make a few component changes. Its tough to get a good choice of muzzleloading supplies in my area (NY state), everyone carries a little of the "pre packaged" stuff, but not much selection of individual components. Any good choices of 265-280 grain .45 dia bullets out there? I looked at the "major" bullet makers, didn't notice anything. I really don't want to use a hollow point pistol bullet, I perfer bullets that tend to punch through rather than expand harshly. We do have some heavy deer in the region, and would perfer something that offers penetration. I know, go with a heavier bullet, but I'm also trying to minimize recoil. Any suggestions? Thanks for all the previous posts.

The Haz Mat fees are usually more than recovered by the cost difference of ordering vs buying locally. Parker Hydra-con and Ballistic Extreme bullets will likely provide just what you want in a bullet. VV-110 and H-4198 will give great performance. 5744 will give much less recoil at recommended levels but with a 200-300'/sec penality. Likely just shooting 36-40g VV-110 and getting the same velocity would work but possibly some temp sensitivity would work in with the reduced load of VV-110 whereas the 5744 at recommended levels is relatively temp insensitive.

 

[cnymuzguy]

Well, you were all right. The .44/275 gr. and 58-64 gr of RL7 were very inconsistant. They looked promising at 50 yds, out at 100 everything went crazy. Best groups were 4-5 inches with the 64 gr. I didn't experience any ignition issues. I tried sub-bases, which did help the base of the sabot, but not accuracy. I did learn the Savage must be cooled completely, or your groups will walk. I haven't bought new powder but moved up to .45/300gr bullets. I'll see how that goes tomorrow.

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[schoolmaster]

If most of your components are prepackaged why don't you try the Barnes 250 MZs the ones with the big hollow point. They come with the MMP sabots and have been excellent performers on game up to and including elk, big wild boars and will go through the shoulder bones of big deer no problem. You get good expansion without exploding shrapnel and about a silver dollar sized exit. Have been known to shoot through deer lengthwise.

 

[cnymuzguy]

I like the Barnes bullets, but they didn't have any locally so ended up buying a 50 pk of .451 Speer 300 gr FP and a 50 pack of the black MMP sabots. I only have $20 bucks invested, and can shoot several different loads. If this doesn't give me a good hunting load, I'll look for a new powder (5744 or VV120) and drop to a lighter bullet. My concern with light bullets (hollow point) is the radical expansion at 10ml speeds. I prefer deep penetration, and less expansion.
Hopefully, these 300's will be ok. Another comment about RL-7, it definetely has a little "MULE" in it.

 

[dwhunter]

Instead of trying to find stuff locally why not order?

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/

http://www.midwayusa.com/