8-25-22 ULite + .458x260 Sabotless Shoot

[sabotloader]

Well FINALLY! It cooled off enough that i felt comfortable to go out to the Rock Pit and get some shooting in! But I did take a fire extinguisher with me just in case.

The goal was to shoot this new 45 and make sure it was ready for the upcoming rifle deer season. Plus I needed to verify which primer might work best in the Bestill 2 piece breech plug.

This was the bullet I was shooting. A sabotless bullet at the time made by Lehigh Defense. I have shot this bullet a little bit last year. It was a very accurate shooter. Today I wanted to verify what I thought.

I really felt I would not have a lot of time before it warmed up so much that I would want to shoot any longer. The Basalt Pit warms up very rapidly. So planned worked out in my mind was to shoot 5 rounds. So I placed 5 birds on the rock wall came back in and set up the shooting bench and accessories! After that it was time to remove my long sleeve shirt - it was warming up quickly.

This is a composite picture of this morning activities.

After the five shoots, I quickly packed up and headed back to the house. Now I am trying to decide whether I even want to clean the rifle because it is suppose to be a good day for a morning shoot Tuesday morning. I really would like to do some more shooting!

 

[ElDiablo]

Looks like they shoot well! Are you resizing those .458s or do they fit your bore at that size?

 

[sabotloader]

The bores on the new Knight 45's are tighter than I was accustomed to. So I do resize the drive barbs around the bullet but there is no need to resize ogive to fit in the tight Knight bore. I would be unable to easily resize the ogive as this type of copper is very hard.

 

[MeatMachine]

I bought the 240gr version of those bullets only because they didn’t have the 260gr in stock at the time. The 240’s shoot great also.

 

[sabotloader]

I bought the 240gr version of those bullets only because they didn’t have the 260gr in stock at the time. The 240’s shoot great also.

I am unable to load the 240's in these newer Knight bores. They loaded very well in my older Super DISC's.

 

[MeatMachine]

Are the 240gr hollow base cups larger in diameter than the 260gr? I just checked one of mine and the shank was .450 and the cup close to .452

 

[sabotloader]

Are the 240gr hollow base cups larger in diameter than the 260gr? I just checked one of mine and the shank was .450 and the cup close to .452

YES! I cannot get them down the newer Knight 45's

I thought I had the measurements, but I cannot find them right now.

I have indicated they will load in the older Super DISC 45's and they are a good bullet.

OK - now you have me curious! I mic the outside of the powder cup @ .452. So now I am going to get the .451 resizing press out and see what happens.

Powder cup of 240 before resizing. Will not even start in the new 45 bore. Measure really close to .452. The Mic tends to oscillate back and forth.



240 after resizing. Still will not start in bore



Factory .458 x 260 CF-HP powder cup. Inserts with a little pressure through the crown of the bore.

 

[sabotloader]

Update! with the 240 resized with the .451 dye - I can get it started through the crown of the SS 45. Haven't tried to push it all the way through yet. I need to take the BP out.

 

[sabotloader]

UPDATE: the .458x240 resized to .450.5 will not go down the bore of this new Knight ULite. I can get it to pass through the crown but the land-to-land is just to tight. If you insert the bullet upside down in the crown it will easily pass through the crown to the powder cup. At that point it needs to be driven through the crown but will only go down about an inch.

 

[MeatMachine]

I would get a .449 or adjustable die and push the bullet tail first to size just the cup or farther if you have to. The other option is just shoot them in your older gun.

 

[sabotloader]

Yep! on both suggestions. But since I have the .458x260 Sabotless - the 240's are not as important.

 

[bronko220002]

Dang Mike. I'd love to try those all copper bullets but have a fear of them getting stuck in my bore.

 

[sabotloader]

Dang Mike. I'd love to try those all copper bullets but have a fear of them getting stuck in my bore.

What rifle might you use to shoot these full bore bullets?

I know when I go to try shooting a full bore bullet, I remove the bolt and breech plug so that I can always push/tap the bullet back out of the barrel if I need to.

When I was shooting these 260's in the older Super DISC, I did not need to re-size them at all. Pop them through the crown and push them down with the rod. But... with the Ultra-Lite the powder cup is a bit too large to go down the bore smoothly. After re-sizing the cup diameter and the Drive Barb diameters are reduced to .451/.4515 and they load very well in both U-Lites. They shoot really well also.

To get the bullets through the crown I use a homemade 'bump stick'

I am sure a common 'short starter' work also.

 

[bronko220002]

Mike I would either use the 260 Lehighs or a Barnes TSX in .458 sized to .451
These would be out of my Mountaineer

 

[sabotloader]

Mike I would either use the 260 Lehighs or a Barnes TSX in .458 sized to .451
These would be out of my Mountaineer

The 260's would/should really well from your fast twist Mountaineer. You will need to re-size them to .451

PM me your addy again and I will send you a few re-sized bullets to try.

mike

 

[Dioni]

Nice shooting!