Which Shockwave Sabot Bulet?
 

I am fairly new to muzzleloader hunting and am just wondering if I should shoot the Shockwave Sabot Bonded or just the regular Shockwave Sabot? What are the differences in them? Any input is appreciated.

Accuracy wise, I have had much better luck shooting the regular Shockwaves over the bonded. The difference is the bonded are designed to hold together better and longer for deeper penetration. For whitetails the regular should be just fine. But I have never shot a deer with one. All I have run is some very impressive penetration and expansion of bullet tests.

I agree! I have put several New York whitetails down with 250Gr. regular shockwaves through my Rem.700ML. Your gun might have different taste though!

Thanks. I know this is probably a dumb question, but are these (in the links) the EXACT same bullets? As you can tell, I am definitely a muzzleloading rookie.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shoot...3Bcat104547780

https://secure.tcarms.com/store/shoc...t-no-8238.html

The sabots might be different but those are all Shockwaves. Also you will see them listed as SSTs. They are made by Hornady.

For deer the bonded shockwaves are probably overkill unless you are shooting at very high velocities. The SST's are basically the same bullet, and usually priced cheaper. I've had very good luck with the 200 grain Shockwaves both in terms of accuracy and terminal performance on deer, but have not tried any of the other weights.

Shock Waves shoot with the best accuracy in all my guns. I use the 200gr. 50/40 for long range hunts and the 250 gr for practice and the bonded for hunting. The regular 250 Shock Wave is ok for broad side shots but a long angle shot or a shoulder shot needs the Bonded. My guns all shoot the 250 regular and the bonded to the same minute of angle group. I use 115 grains in the Triumph and 120 grains in the Endeavor.

Russell Lynch (maxmuzzleloader.com) has a video where he does different bullet tests and the non-bonded 250 bullet fell to pieces in ballistic gelatin. The bonded held up much better.
The 200 is a great bullet - shoots excellent groups in my Electra. I took a doe and my cousin took two bucks using them last year. They also shoot very flat. Only problem is they don't retain their energy down range so their knock down power out past 100 yards may be insufficient on deer.

This coming antelope season i plan to use the Omega 45 caliber loaded with 200g shockwave, 115g BH209, Harvester smooth sabot, W209 primer. Ballistics of this load from my rifle follow.







This coming deer season i plan to use the X7 loaded with 300g Deep Curl, 110g BH209, crush rib sabot, W209 primer. Ballistic of this load from my rifle follow.









These ballistic reveal the 200g bullet has 1257 ftlb energy at 200 yard, whereas the 300g bullet has 1202 ftlb energy at 200 yard.

At 350 yard, the 200g bullet has 805 ftlb energy, the 300g bullet has 795 ftlb energy.



The lighter bullet is a better bullet than the heavier bullet for long range shooting from my muzzle loaders. Myself, i shoot my rifles at 300 yard considerable. The 200g bullet is more accurate, and has more energy than the 300g bullet at 300 yard, thus the lighter 200g bullet is a better long range bullet out of my muzzle loaders.

So.........................where did the idea that light bullet are not as good as heavy bullet for long range shooting, come from? Answer is.............................in a given caliber, the heavier bullet normally has a better ballistic coefficient than the lighter bullet, thus retains energy better at long range.

I stand corrected :)

Thanks for the ballistic info Ron. Everything I read said the 200 grainers peetered out down range and didn't have the FPEs to effectively kill a deer. I believe your charts prove otherwise.