oldrookie

Boys, had a ball tonight getting scope dialed in on my Optima. Finally used up all my power belts so I thought I would try some hornady .452 xtp. They came with the black sabots. They shot real well but were a real tight fit. In fact, they were so tight, I bent my ram rod. Its a little flatter in spots but at least its straight.

Any problem using a little bore butter as a lube to help these sabots along?

cayugad

I've heard of people using a little bore butter, but Thompson Center in the manual advises there is no need to. I would instead go to a Harvester Crushed Rib sabot or a MMP hp-24 sabot.

oldrookie

Cayudad, are those the light green sabots? I know these sabots are color coded....I need to write it down!

sabotloader

oldrookie

If you bought a Hornady package of .452's and sabots, the sabots that you got are more than likely MMP HPH-12's their thickest .451/.452 50 caliber sabot. You probably should drop down to a HPH-24 or even a HPH 3p-EZ load sabot. You will also find it cheaper to buy a box of bulk bullets and a package of sabots... that fit you bore...

A lot of people do exactly what you are suggesting and seem to have no ill effects.... it would be my suggestions to follow cayugads lead and find some thinner sabots....


Of course I am not Dave but I believe he would tell you the most often the green sabots are .429/.430 - 44 cal.... most often but not always .451/.452 sabots are black.... These colors are a not always true from brand to brand....

cayugad

the .452 are normally black in color. I use the Harvester Crushed Rib with a lot of projectiles and have excellent luck with them. Then next MMP order though, I am going to stock up on some of the other sabots as well.

oldrookie

Thanks guys. Both of you have posted this info a million times. I wrote it down this time! I'll use a little butter to get rid of these loads and order some thinner sabots. Gander Mtn here only has the pre-packaged hornady and the sabots mentioned above.

I'll tell you, as far as accuracy, the hornady went toe to toe with the powerbelts in my Optima. I was using the 245g HP with 80g of 777 pellets.

Thanks again for the information.

gleason.chapman

They are NOT green, they are black. Here is the exact one I buy for the .452 Hornady bullets,online at MidSouth Shooter's supply:

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=00072H15045BR

Hint, when you order online at MidSouth, place the sabots and any bullets you buy in your Wish List, then when you need to order they are ready to go. They are only $5.00 for 50 of them. Cabelas charges $7.99 for the exact same thing.
Chap Gleason

gleason.chapman

I learn a LOT from this forum. When I learn something I print it to PDF with a FREE PDF writer SOFTWARE such as cutepdf:

www.cutepdf.com

Then I store it in one of my "hunting folders" such as Flintlock. If you bookmark the thread in your favorites after about 1 year it is gone from the server. In this way you have a printable copy and you know who said what on What day. Below is an Example of a few of the folders below my hunting folder.

Chap Gleason

gleason.chapman

And here is an example of the PDF of a Forum Topic, note that it is viewed as a PDF, not an HTML file. The free PDF creator works with ANY Software and is a printer driver in your Printer Folder. Hope that is helpful to you and others on the Forum.
Chap Gleason

oldrookie

Thanks Chap! You are one organized man. Yes, I have now started a binder to keep this information in. Ordered 3 bags of the crushed sabots. Now that I have a slightly flattened but straight rod.....it is destined for hunting purposes only. Suggestions on range rods? I know...I know this has been posted before but now I will print it and save it.