Sabot help for NW shooter

[Bearstopper]

Not new to muzzleloading, just saboted loads as my experience is in Oregon with full bore lead. My rifles are Knight MK-85 that I just aquired on here from mjac, and a brand spanking new Western model Extreme that I settled on from Sportsman's Warehouse instead of the Ultra-Lite I had planned to get. Both have GM barrels, and I plan to set one of the two up with a scope/sabots to use during any regular firearm or any weapon seasons such as Spring Bear. My goal is to stretch its legs a little for open country shots. The MK has a 24" barrel as opposed to a 26" on the Extreme and I will be using either #11 or Musket caps with FFG 777.

Can someone advise me on a starting point on a bulk sabot? I do cast my own pistol bullets and will experiment with .44 and .45 cast bullets but also bulk jacketed stuff as well. Not opposed to trying dedicated ML projectiles if the extra cost gives significant gain. Thoughts?

By the way, this MK-85 looks brand new and the Extreme looks pretty awesome in its T/H Tru Timber stock! I have owned and/or shot LK, Bighorn, KRB7, and another MK-85 as well as a Rem 700 ML and all were great shooters with full bore lead.

 

[GregK]

First things first, talk with sabotloader on this site. He has the NW edition I do believe & he has all the Knight experience & info that you will need.

As for bulk sabots both Harvester Crush Rib & EZ load work very well as do MMP sabots. Carlos at Ed's gun shop can fix you up with all the Harvesters you'll need & I'm sure he has access to MMP. He is another great source of info & always willing to help. You can call him at the shop 910 692 7936

As for bullets, the Lehigh 250, 275, or 300 offerings are top notch, but buy them from an outside vendor as Knight's shipping rates are ridiculous. My next choice would be Barnes T-EZ & full bore THOR bullets.

Good luck & keep us posted on what you come up with- Greg

 

[WV Hunter]

Nice choice on your guns. The good thing, imo the vast majority of Knights will shoot very well using (almost) anything you stuff down them. The GM barrels are excellent.

That said, my MK's shoot excellent with 240/250/260 gr bullets, and crush rib or mmp sabots over 90-100gr powder. I use the CR sabots now mostly, mainly because its a smidge easier to load and accuracy is very similar. I shoot pyrodex rs, others prefer 777. For me, I like the RWS caps best. They have a nice tight fit and are very hot. My go to hunting bullet right now is a 240 Deep Curl (.44/.429). It performs excellent, and is very accurate. BUT....many others will work great too. I've killed alot of deer with .452 Speers also. The .300/.452 DeepCurl is another great round that alot of folks love. XTP's and Shockwave/SST have shot very well for me also.

I would pick up a few different bullets/sabots and see what your gun likes (and you like) best. I know every .452 bullet I've ever stuffed in my Knights has shot lights out. Honestly, I don't think I've ever shot any load combination in my guns that wouldn't give me adequate hunting accuracy. Some just tighten up to very tight groups, vs being 2-4" groups @ 100.

Edit to say, my experience is with the knight plunger guns only. I don't own any of the disc/bolt models, but from what I've seen...they are very similar in what they like to eat if you are using #11's. Though most are using 209's and BH209 now in them.

 

[mjac]

While I didn't actually fire many bullets in the MK I did try a number of sabot/bullet combinations on the bench. The bore on that rifle is tight. MMP's black 3 petal worked the best on the bench and at the range with a Hornady .452 300g XPT #45230 and 90~100g 3f T7. I was swabbing after every shot.
Speers 300g GD's shot well also but not as good for me as the XTP's and I never got around to trying lighter bullets.
Hope this helps.

Mike

 

[ShawnT]

My 50 cal MK-95's have the same barrel as your Mk-85. I have best luck with the MMP HPH-12 when shooting .452 diameter bullets and 90 to 100gns of Pyrodex RS. I get the Sabots direct from MMP. Their price includes shipping. I also use the Purple MMPs in my .54's

http://mmpsabots.com/store/black-hph12-sabot/

 

[Bearstopper]

Thanks guys. That will get me started off with something close.

 

[dbowling]

All my Knights have shoot the green hornady sabot w/240 gr. XTP excellent, also shoot the 300 gr. xtp very well..tried others but always come back to the xtp`s.