Need sabot advice for the Endeavor

SWThomas · 03-15-2009, 05:32 PM

In the never ending quest for better accuracy I've decided to try some different sabots in my Encore Endeavor. I've tried Shockwaves, Barnes SFMZ's, and Barnes T-EZ's so far. All with the supplied sabots. The Shockwaves shot great but I'm not comfortable shooting them based on results a lot of other people have had on game. The Barnes SFMZ's were extremely hard to load. The T-EZ's shoot good and perform great on game. I've pretty much settled on the T-EZ as the bullet I want to use. Now I want to see if I can find a sabot that will increase their accuracy a little more.

Has anyone tried different sabots with T-EZ bullets out of an Encore Endeavor? I know there probably aren't going to be a lot of people that have so my question is this... What would be a good sabot to try? The T-EZ is .451 in diameter and I'm going to use the 250g version. I'll be firing it on top of 120g of BH209.

I'm hoping there's an easy answer to this question but I'm fully prepared to be told that I needto buy a bunch of different sabots and find out what works through testing.

P.S. I've tried Harvester Black Crush Rib sabots and they are way loose and don't shoot any better than the supplied T-EZ sabot.

Grouse45 · 03-15-2009, 05:51 PM

The short black harvester is the most accurate in two Endeavors i shot, but every ML is different. I should mention that was with the 250grn ShockWaves.

hunting junkie · 03-15-2009, 07:16 PM

The short works good in my pro hunter

SWThomas · 03-16-2009, 03:00 AM

Thanks fellas! It looks like I have some shooting to do...

bronko22000 · 03-16-2009, 05:12 AM

SW - you don't necessarily have to use the same sabots that came with the bullets. I switched the shock wave 300 gr .451" bullet sabots out with the Harvester black crush rib sabots and my groups shrunk by more than half.
I have found that consistancy is the key to accuracy and that the Harvester sabots, in all the different ones I have used are the most consistant. With others, like th SW sabots, I noticed that some load easily, some firm, and some are very tight.
Find a bullet you like and try different sabots with it.(for that size bullet). If you can't get that bullet to shoot to your satisfaction, try another using the different sabots. Also play with the powders and charges.
Sooner or later you will find something that your rifle likes.

lemoyne · 03-16-2009, 06:07 AM

SWThomas
Well, I have been accused of overdoing and being a perfectionist, and from their view point that may well be true. I like shooting and accuracy for there own sake and I go way beyond what is necessary for hunting, but you do learn things that way.
On the sabots with what Sabot loader likes to call the pointy bullets the short black harvester often does wonders; but in my TC barrels it does not do so well with hollow point. I always try 3 sabots the black crush rib and the MMP HPH24 [which is what comes with SW250 &300 gr]
SW FTX bullets usually best with SB Harvester the 230 gr XTP which I use for varmint hunting also
the 250 Gold Dot 250 with the Crush Rib
the Nosler 260 and the XTP 250 with the MMP HPH 24
While I do not expect all guns will like the same combinations, the pointy bullets usually do best with the SB Harvester.
My real point is if you use several bullets don't get stuck trying to make them shoot with one sabot, I believe it best to use 90 or 100 gr and try different sabots before I try different powder loads.
Lee

SWThomas · 03-16-2009, 09:06 AM

Thanks for all the advice fellas! I just called MMP and they recommended I try the HPH24. The lady I spoke with said that she wouldn't recommend the HPH12 or the regular black because they would be too tight. She said that T/C guns have tight bores and the HPH24 would be what I want. She did offer to sell me all the other sabots if I wanted but she was trying to save me some money.

Like I stated above, I've tried the Harvester Black Crush Rib and didn't care for the results. Do you guys think I would see any different results trying the regular black Harvester?

SHulion · 03-16-2009, 11:19 AM

I think the Harvester Short Black and the MMP HPH 24 will cover most bullets you want to shoot. My Endeavor loves the short black sabot and a T/C shockwave. I've also had good results with the new Hornady FTX .430 265 gr. bullet and the regular harvester green sabot. I'm also going to try the MMP HPH green sabot. I think it will fit a little tighter.

SWThomas · 03-16-2009, 11:22 AM

I'm not too sure the Harvester short black will work with the Barnes T-EZ. It's a very long bullet and I would be worried about proper sabot length. It's much longer than a Shockwave. I went ahead and had MMP throw a bag of HPH12's in with the 24's just in case. I'm also going to order some regular blacks from Harvester just to have something else to compare.

Thanks again fellas!