A possible silly sabot question.

[bernie]

I shoot a .50 caliber Remington 700 ML and have shot it for years, I love this rifle, but I do not experiment with it much.

I generally shoot a 250 gr. Hornady SST pushed by 100 grains of Pyrodex, but I ended up with some 200 gr. Shockwaves with the .50 caliber sabots. Will these shoot better out to 200 yards in theory (flatter trajectory)? Also, I read somewhere in the past that thicker sabots can cause trouble in cold weather. Will temperatures in the 10 degree celsius range cause trouble with this sabot?

Thanks.

 

[Patrick White]

The 200 SST will shoot flatter than the 250 if it shoots out of your rifle. As to cold weather and thick sabots I've not experienced it. Of course I don't shoot sabots thicker than the 44/50 sabots. The 40/50's might have a problem but the only way to be sure is to shoot them in the cold. Though Del might know the answer for sure.

What I would do is see if they shoot in your rifle. Don't adjust your zero and save the target if they shoot. Then stay with the 250's this year and sometime this winter make a range trip with the 200's. Load your rifle like you would hunting and lock it in your vehicle overnight so the rifle is cold. Go to the range and check the impact. Then shoot a couple more shots before the barrel warms up. Compare the first target to the cold target and see if there's much difference. You'll have your answer.

 

[choc-dog]

I have shot both the 200 gr. and the 250 gr shock-waves at 200 yards and the 200 gr shock-waves have abot 4 inches less drop.

I hold the intersection of the thin and thick cross hair at 9X on my 3-9 leopold and the 200 gr. shocck-waves hit dead center with 95.0 grains of 777 powder.

chocdog