ORIGINAL: Pygmy
Keith...I bought my 1-48 Hawken in 1973...I believe that was before sabots were in common use, and there wasn't nearly as wide a selection of conicals back then, either...I believe that the 1-48 twist in the T/C Hawken was made as a compromise to perform well with either round balls or conicals, specifically the T/C Maxiball...
I sort of forgot how long the 1-48 has been around. You are correct and the stabilization of conicals and most sabot bullet loads require faster twist than patched round balls (which can't take the fast twist without the patches tearing). Some sabot rifles however seem to not like conicals. Point in fact Omega and some Encore rifles (possibly due to the QLA).