Sabot's Downrange
 

I put my scope on my new Knight Long Range Hunter. I think it is going to be a keeper. I went to the range today for my first shots. I shot The TC Shock Wave Super Glide bullets. The bullets shot arond 1-1/2 to 2 inch groups at 100 yards(90 grains 3F BP). The funny thing was it printed two holes a few times. I am assuming the sabot's were going downrange to the target at 100 yards. Has anyone had this happen to them??? I also shot a 405 grain cast bullet(for my 45-70) in an orange sabot. This bullet shot two groups at 1-1/2 inches at 100 yards(with 100 grains of 3F Blackpowder). I was pretty happy with these groups right out of the box. The Knight catalog says to shoot the Barnes sabot's and bullet's. Has anyone shot these bullets?? In the catalog's the bullet's have blue tip's. I was thinking of ordering the 250's. The catalog also says to shoot loose 3F-triple 7. I guess I will have to get a pound of that also. I have a pound of 3F-triple 7 that I opened three or four years back, but barely used. I read it was good for one year only, does that sound right??? Tom.

RE: Sabot's Downrange
 

I find it had to believe the sabot stuck with the bullet that long, but I guess it could happen. I have found most sabots about 20 yards down range. My Knights also shoot Shockwaves very well.

I cast the 405 grain FP .457 diameter bullet and shoot them out of the orange MMP sabots. They shoot real well. The bullet normally weighs 423 grains and has trememdous down range thump.

If your Triple Se7en powder was kept dry and is not chunked.. it should be fine. I would sure try it before I get rid of it any other way. Although a new pound would be a good idea as well.

It sounds like you have a real good shooter there. I have shot the Barnes 300 grain and 250 grain Expanders. They shoot excellent out of my Knights and you can really put the powder to them and they do not fly all over. Their big problem is they are over a buck each... I hate to shoot them for practice.

RE: Sabot's Downrange
 

I have shot alot of sabot's over the years, and this is the first time I have seen them go down range. If the bullet holes were oblong I could see the bullet tumbling. But the holes were perfectly round, It only happened twice this evening, but as you said I have never seen it before either. I can not imagine what else it could be??? You are absolutely right about the price of those darned Barne's bullets, but I have seen some tremendous advertised groups with them. One guy was showing 1-1/2 inch groups at 200 yards. I want to shoot my 45-70 bullets at 200 yards first. I casted them from a Lyman .457 mold, but I did not weigh them yet. If I can keep them in a 3-4 inch group, I will probably go with that load. The ones I shot this evening had lube on them, I am going to size some tomorrow without lubing(then weigh a couple). I am guessing that 405 at 1700 to 1800 fps with 100 grains of BP. I am going to try 100 grains of 3F Triple-7 this week.

I also bought one of those Lee REAL bullet molds you talked about. I am going to try to cast some tomorrow. I am curious to see at what diameter they drop. My Knight slugged at .501.

I just checked out the opened Triple-7. It is clumped up. I have it in storage with 40 pounds of other powder. None of the other opened powder's show any signs of moisture. Who knows, Tom.

RE: Sabot's Downrange
 

ON the 777 only being good for a year, that is not true. How long is it on the shelf at the store in some places? As long a moisture has not gotten to it, it will be fine. As for Barnes Bullets, they are excellent holding together and accuracy, they are also costly. I like to shoot my guns in with the factory recommended load and bullet and primer, since that is basically what the design engineers designed the gun around. If that won't shoot accurately then you got a problem right away. I would say a 1.5 to 2" group right out the box is excellent shooting. You could stop now or your could experiment around with different bullets, I have tried all of these in my new rifle (a Savage with Smokeless powder):
Hornady XTP 300g Mag (factory recommended)
Hornady SST 300g
TC ShockWave 300g
Barnes Spit Fire TMZ 290g
Knight Ultimate Slam 285g (made by Barnes)
Harvester Scorpion PT 300g
Parker Ballistic Extreme 275g

Of all these bullets the TC SW and the Parker Ballistic Extreme shot the best, my testing of these are here:
http://www.the-gleasons.com/this_is_my_savage_10_ml_page.htm

I intent to shoot those two bullets for best grouping at 200 yards and then quit, which ever one is most accurateI will use as my hunting bullet this year and next when I go to colorado forelk (not in ML season but in rifle season).

I will try a different sabot in the Harvester PT Gold 300g since the Crushed Rib it came with the bullet was so loose in my gun. So my recommendation is buy several different bullets and try them in your gun, it is fun to experiment around and get to know your gun and what it likes. I shot 5 shot groups just to make sure of grouping, I shot the same load, he same primer and the same powder in all my testing, only the bullet was different. Chap Gleason

RE: Sabot's Downrange
 

I've shot the 250 gr.barnes expanders, but not the polymer tipped TMZ's yet. The expanders shot great out of my knight KRBusing a 110 gr. charge of 3F 777. Most groups were just under1 1/2"with a few running 1 1/8"and 1 1/4". I just need to find a cheaper alternative, that shoots similar,for plinking and practice. I've also got some 300gr expanders I'm going to be testing on my nexttrip to the range.

RE: Sabot's Downrange
 

If your shooting the Expander MZ's a alternative is the Knight Red Hots in 250 and 300gr. They are made by Barnes and packaged for Knight. A little cheaper.......I'm shooting the 250gr and planning on trying the 300 grain.

RE: Sabot's Downrange
 

The 300 gr Barnes original all copper shoots great out of my Disc and they do a good job on deer...I wanted a 150 yard set up, so I went to the 250 Shockwave...I did some testing and the SST/Shockwave shoots flatter than the Barnes...For some reason my gun didn't group the 250 Barnes well...I have gone to the Shockwave...I am sighted
2 1/2 high at 100 and 2 1/2 low at 150, groups at 150 are about 3 inches...Using 90 grains of Pryodex R-S or 90 grains of Goex FFF...

I've killed 7-8 deer with the Shockwaves and a buddy has killed 5-6 more...It is a fairly hard bullet and I get full penetration with this powder charge...We have had some deer run 100 yards or so on a double lung shot, so if I need to drop them right there I go for a high shoulder and it does the job...Good Luck

PS...I will say this about inline muzzleloaders...If your shots will be within 100 yards, I believe you will get better, faster expansion by choosing a hollow point, like the Hornady 300 XTP or the Barnes copper hollow point...But, if you are hunting over a field where shots could be longer, select a bullet with a sharp tip which will be more aerodynamic as it does make a big difference...

RE: Sabot's Downrange
 

Head0001 - nice shooting. You said you were shooting at the "range" when you had multiple holes and suspected the sabots. Is it possible someone else shot at your target? If they happened to be on your rythm for a couple of shots it could be hard to notice.