Well the deed is done as far as successfully getting some lead flying!
I must say the entire process is a bit intimidating. Reading about all the things that can go wrong had me a bit hesitant about it. But as a reloader of pistol, rifle and shotgun I knew everything would be fine if I followed the proper steps.
Things I learned today:
Yes, sabot's leave residue which is a bit tough to get out.
It's dirty powder but does clean much easier than smokeless.
Recoil was less than expected but I started very low on charges/bullet weight.
A slight breeze is nice to remove the smoke in front of you
I started very wimpy at the lowest charge.
CVA Optima V2
Triple 7
Hornady XTP 240gn .431 in Green Sabot
Charge (by vol)/FPS
50gn / 1392
60gn / 1555
70gn / 1671
Not really sure what my target fps should be. As far as accuracy, who knows. I was sighting in a scope, paying attention mostly to cleaning and loading. I shot around 10 rounds and had a blast, literally!
I do have one question. The How often do you clean and apply grease/anti seize to the Breech Plug? I noticed it was a bit stiffer after a couple of shots but in no way getting to stiff I couldn't turn by hand. I was removing it and cleaning the bore after every shot because I wanted to stay on top of everything the first time out. Honestly I don't think I could shoot very many sabot's without cleaning, definite residue left behind and harder to load.
Good learning day.
Thanks to everyone here for the help and advise on many subjects!
I must say the entire process is a bit intimidating. Reading about all the things that can go wrong had me a bit hesitant about it. But as a reloader of pistol, rifle and shotgun I knew everything would be fine if I followed the proper steps.
Things I learned today:
Yes, sabot's leave residue which is a bit tough to get out.
It's dirty powder but does clean much easier than smokeless.
Recoil was less than expected but I started very low on charges/bullet weight.
A slight breeze is nice to remove the smoke in front of you
I started very wimpy at the lowest charge.
CVA Optima V2
Triple 7
Hornady XTP 240gn .431 in Green Sabot
Charge (by vol)/FPS
50gn / 1392
60gn / 1555
70gn / 1671
Not really sure what my target fps should be. As far as accuracy, who knows. I was sighting in a scope, paying attention mostly to cleaning and loading. I shot around 10 rounds and had a blast, literally!
I do have one question. The How often do you clean and apply grease/anti seize to the Breech Plug? I noticed it was a bit stiffer after a couple of shots but in no way getting to stiff I couldn't turn by hand. I was removing it and cleaning the bore after every shot because I wanted to stay on top of everything the first time out. Honestly I don't think I could shoot very many sabot's without cleaning, definite residue left behind and harder to load.
Good learning day.
Thanks to everyone here for the help and advise on many subjects!