Ah Shoot! Tom, I think I got you and Art mixed up - I was thinking he was the one with the big conicals

Would you consider shooting a few of those 538's in a sabot from the White? That much weight on the sabot may be the problem probably will have to reduce the charge - I would just be interested if the twist will stabilize them - I honestly think it will considering that Doc likes to shoot his 660 grain monsters.

I still think 1-24 might be the best of both worlds or maybe even Scott's 1-22

I have a 1-20 DISC coming on loan and hope to find out something from that also.

mike

I have some 410 gr .410 conicals for my .410 white. I was going to shoot them in a 1:20 twist in a sabot but the sabot didn't look like it was long enough. At least the bullet didn't want to stay in there very well. I could send you some 538 gr but they are sized to .448 so they would probably be a little loose in a .45 unless you fouled the barrel good with a couple squib loads. I doubt you could get them to stay in a sabot to shoot them from a 50 cal due to the length

No I think the length would be OK... Doc shoots those 660 grain lead conicals from his 50's all the time in fact he once told me they were his favorites... can you imagine how big a 660 would be. I think the problem would come in the fit into the sabot - they would need to be tight - so you are probably right they would not work.

The Traditions Tracker .45 is a fairly inexpensive way to test out how the 1:20 will perform with heavy bullets. Performance is never guaranteed just like with any group of variables. There's more involved than simply the twist rate. But it would be fun to experiment without spending a lot of money just to find out.
It's the same with the 1:30, under certain conditions it may work better than expected due to certain variables. With muzzle loading, performance will always be hard to predict.
A little wobble may only result in a few inches of difference at practical hunting distances. Then there would need to be a baseline of accuracy established using another twist rate to compare the baseline to.


Traditions Thunder Bolt-Action 45 1:20

Traditions Tracker 209 45 1:20

T/C Black Diamond Super 45 1:20


http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/blac...ist-rates.html

Thanks AC, I have a Knight 1-20 coming for some testing thanks to another member on this forum.

Sometimes performance with different twist rates is simply a matter of adjusting the velocity.
Just like when firing heavy conicals from slower twist rates, or patched round balls from fast twist bores.
Muzzle loading can be so unpredictable, and formulas can only indicate so much.

How true, but I believe most when shooting a 45 are looking for max or near max velocity from a sabotted bullet... which then leads to the wobble in a lot of the pistol bullets that were not ment to be twisted that fast.

Ain't that the truth. I have shot bullets in rifles that were never "suppose to shoot". But no one told the rifle(or the bullet).

I have seen big conicals shoot in alot of slow twist rifles. As well as round balls shoot in faster twists.

However I would still like to see a 45 caliber 1 in 20 twist rifle. That might cause me to buy another MZ. And I really don't need one. But that might do it.

I have several good 45 caliber molds. Both .452 and .458, along with a .451 Whitworth(not hexagonal) mold. Tom.

Sabotloader i actually wanted a 1-24 but after a long search i couldn't find one. I got the 1-22 to tinker with for a great price. Mainly for smokeless and 2600fps+ with common bullets. Its a VERY common 458 barrel twist that has 8 lands and grooves so that is why it became popular. Plus it handled many sabotless applications well.

IMO 1-24 has proven itself in a 50cal so it should do as well in the 45s with current bullets. I would love to see PR make their Dead Centers and QTs plated instead of just soft lead. Bullets upto 40-260 should be really nasty if you want a long range 45. Those actually fit current sabots so that helps. Its also the 50x40 PR recommends for a 1-24 50cal.

I would also bet a 1-24 will still sling big lead pretty well for those that prefer that option. Maybe not as heavy as a White but heavy enough.

I have noticed that 90-100 grs. of BH-209 did shoot tighter groups than 110-120 gr. loads, but I would still go with the 120 gr. loads for hunting just to have alittle more energy & FPS. That was with the SST's & ShockWaves. sabot, 1-20 will be on it's way the first part of the week.