Just wanted to drop in again and report on the weekend. We went, and camped, but didn't get the chance to check out the performance of the Powerbelts on deer. Did load a few and checked out their point of impact in some informal shooting. Seemed to hit at same point of impact as other sabot loads, without having a real target session off the bench. Plenty of hunting accuracy. The loading problem was solved completely. He can now thumb start the bullet and can push the load steadily down the barrel without heroic amounts of effort. Still has some resistance, but now it seems to be about what one would expect in loading a ML, rather than the silly extreme tightness he was fighting before.

I'd say your advice was right on target. Thanks again for the help. The CVA is now a pleasure to load and shoot.