Originally Posted by
josh...just josh
I'm getting the itch for a new muzzleloader again (you guys probably don't know what thats like do you?), and I can't help thinking that I want a .45 again, if just for something different. The problem is, a .50 should be able to shoot everything the .45 can, plus the plethora of .430, .451, .452, and .458 bullets that the .45 cant. But I wonder how well the thick .40/.50 sabots work compared to a gun shooting .40/.45.
So I know that on paper, the .45 should shoot .40 bullets much better than a .50 would. The thinner the sabot, the better bullets should technically work, but things don't always work out the way they're supposed to in the real world. The only info I have been able to find is smokeless guys having problems with blowing sabots. Does anybody have any experience shooting .40 200 gr sst's or 195 gr barnes expanders in a .50? .45's produce higher pressure, but does that necessarily mean less velocity in a .50?
.40 cal bullets can be very accurate in a .50. I've used the .40 cal XTP with success. Because they produce higher pressures, .45's do produce higher velocities than a .50 with the same powder charge.