ezearl

Just walked in from firing off my new T/C Impact twice. Never owned a muzzleloader and have only shot one twice in my life. Now that y'all know about my lack of experience here's my dilemma. I'm shooting .45cal 250gr Hornady XTP's(.452") w/Harvester Crushed Rib (red) sabots. They are EXTREMELLY hard to seat. I've read that tight is good but I think this is beyond tight. I've watched others load their muzzleloaders and they went through nothing like I just did. What to do?

BuckDoeHunter

If the sabot is red, it was designed for smokeless rifles, maybe that's why they load so hard. I would think a black crush rib and an XTP would load fairly easy.

ezearl

This rifle must have a TIGHT bore. SUPPOSEDLY the red sabot is for .452" bullets and black for .458" bullets. So the black would/should be thinner? Black might work IF I can locate some. THANKS

super_hunt54

Wrong sabots my friend. These are the ones you need. https://www.muzzle-loaders.com/bulle...al-h15045.html My daughter just got that TC Impact and she uses these with both the .452 240 grain TC Cheap Shots and the .458 Lehigh CF 220gr in the same sabot. The .458 loads a little tight but not too awful bad but the .452's load nice and firm but not hard at all.

ezearl

Well that's two votes for black. Your link shows out of stock and this one doesn't say:
https://www.cheaperthandirt.com/prod...3491150457.do#

Doubt if I'll find them local as we don't have many shops around but I'll try. At least my SIL's CVA Wolf handles the red sabots well so no waste of component.

What powder charge/charges does your daughter use?

Gm54-120

The Harvester red measures over .507 loaded OD which is HUGE for a T/C bore. You want either Harvester black smooth (for under 300gr bullets) or the Black Crushribs. Those measure .503-.504 loaded OD.

BTW the black is not for .458s. Im not sure where you got that idea. The description is right on the website and pack. You can however use a .458 in the black crushrib if you have a loose bore.

ezearl

It felt HUGE trying to get it seated. Only reason I got it done was I had bought a T/C palm saver. Guess I hit the local shops and see what's available.

THANKS all.

cayugad

Harvester BLACK crushed rib sabots are normally for the .452 diameter bullet. MMP also makes some thinner sabots. The red sabots can be in .452. I purchased a bunch of Barnes bullets and all of them came with red sabots. They were .452.

Green sabots are generally for the .430 or the .44 caliber .430 bullet. Did you swab between shots when you discovered it was hard to get the second sabot down the bore?

ezearl

Thanks. I may need an alternative to Harvesters if I can't locate some locally. I completely degreased the rifle yesterday as it is new. Lightly lubed some spots but did nothing after degreasing the bore. I'm using BH209 so I didn't swab after the first shot figuring the second would load easier. Not to be. Both loads seated with the same difficulty.

Semisane

This is the one you want.

http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/...productId/5465