BrushPopper

First of all, it's a new gun (.45 Optima) and I'm shooting the 200 gn XTPs over 2 ea.50 gn pyro pellets.

The sabots I'm recovering downrange are losing petals in-flight. 50 yd groups are about 3"... at 100 they are all over. Powerbelts not much better, accuracy-wise.

Rough barrel? Too much juice? I've used soft-scrub to help lapp out the barrel with the last two cleanings.

Wet patch after every shot. This is my first inline but I've been shooting sidelocks for many years. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


Best BP forum I've yet found!

'Popper

Roskoe

I have never has issues with sabots shredding with only two 50 gr. pellets. Powerbelts usually shoot pretty well with this charge too. So I would suspect you have a rough barrel as well. Might use JB paste or USP Bore paste with the Scotch Bright pad patch, as Cayugad described in detail fairly recently. Also, shooting a bunch of lead conicals out of a gun has a lapping/smoothing effect on a barrel. That probably wouldn't hurt either.

sabotloader

BrushPopper

I gotta tell you when i read your title, I was more than a bit worried that this might reall be a big problem...

I tried to look back and find the article on sabots that explains this it is on the the hpmuzzleloading site someplace but since i can not locate the article - you could call MMP Sabots and talk to Del personally, he is really good about helping.

Broken/missing petals on a sabot are no longer a sure sign of sabot failure. By the time this happens to a sabot the bullet is normally long gone. This breakage can often happen on the thinner sabots and of course is seen less in the thicker ones. If you look at the leading edge of an MMP sabot you will see that eash petal is beveled into the bullet. Thesebevels will aid the opening and stripping of the sabot from the bullet. The greater the velocity the sooner the stripping and flowering of the sabot.

Since PB's, which are normally very good paper punchers, are scattering alsoit would indicate more ofa barrel problem to me than bullet/sabot problem. I am assuming you did all the barrel care procedures that you should do with a new rifle and if you have that leads to a whole different set of problems with a 45 cal. gun. A 100 grain powder charge should not be any kind of a problem.

Last comment since it is a 45 cal. I am not qualified to tell you about the barrel twist/bullet problems that people are encountering with the 45 - but it is not unusual. Some one that shoots that caliber will be able to relate more the to the problems. There are some really good shooting 45's out there but I not know the sabot/bullet combination that you might need.

cayugad

The blue Thompson Center Sabots that come with a 200 grain Shockwave with the .40 caliber bullet do the same thing. You shoot them and the petals are all over the place but the accuracy is exceptional. Like Sabotloader, I do not consider the sabot breaking up as a true sign of trouble. I would find the accuracy issue more alarming then anything else. Although personally, 3" groups at 100 yards is not as bad as some people obtain. I know one person that would sell their sole for that kind of group.

I will guess that because it is a .45 caliber and you are shooting a 200 grain projectile, perhaps it is a pressure issue. I do not feel the powder charge is out of line. 2 pellets should be a good load. Since I have never shot a .45 caliber I really can not offer any on hands experience. I would perhaps get some loose powder and start by cuttng the load back to 80 grains of loose Pyrodex and see if that makes a difference. Also as Sabotloader suggested, calling someone with far greater experience in the field would be a good step..

Good luck with your rifle.

lemoyne

You might run a cotten ball through from each direction to see if you have any burrs on the rifling if you do then let us know or look up one of the write ups on lapping. Lee