Catus Magnus

Greetings all, this is my first foray into this forum. I'm trying diff loads in my CVA Staghorn rifle, to which I've recently added a 1.75x4x32mm Bushnell Trophy (a very worthwhile purchase). Anyhow... one of the bullets I tried was the Hornady 385gr Great Plains conical. I'm inclined towards these because I like the idea of heavy bullets, & they're relatively inexpensive. I ran out of primers only four shots into those Hornadys, but the group was 2"-3" across, which pleased me. I shot all four from a clean barrel, as I'm trying to duplicate what I'll hunt with. I got very good groups with T/C 250gr PTX bullets, but only when I spit-swabbed between shots; from a freshly-cleaned barrel, they weren't all that tight.

I went to Hodgedon's website http://www.hodgdon.com/data/muzzlelo...ifle-sabot.php and note that in their chart they reference use of Triple 7 with "385 Gr. Hdy. Conical w/ Wad"

What kind of wad, and why? Will a 'wad' gain more accuracy when used with heavy conicals, or what? I simply shot them as they came from the box (little bore butter added) and they seemed alright. What will using a wad gain me?

Slamfire

It is possible that a wad might help your accuracy, but since you are happy with what you now have, why bother? Wads protect the base of a bullet from the hot gasses of combustion, and flat based bullets might be distorted by that gas. Hollow based bullets are designed to expand in diameter when the gas gets into the base, so wads are not a good idea in those. Sabots perform the same function as wads. Wads are typically made from felt, card stock, and/or vegetable fiber. Hornets nest is an option, if you can avoid the hornets. Good Hunting.

cayugad

Wonderwads are a 100% wool pad the is lubed. It is placed between the powder and the conical to protect the conical from the heat of the ignition, some claim to reduce the chance of leading, and to increase the pressure under the conical to make it more constant which in many cases will increase accuracy. The rule of thumb used to be a wad was used under any flat based conical. Well this is not true. Some rifles shoot better with them, some better with out them. Some people even wad a hollow based conical and claim they get great accuracy.

All I would suggest is if you can get your hands on some to try them. See if they improve the accuracy. You can buy them on line or make them at home out of construction felt as long as it is pure wool. I use them and my accuracy is excellent. Then again in some rifles I own I get better accuracy with out them.

good luck and it sounds like you got a good shooting rifle there. I have one myself and it is a good shooter....

bigcountry

Never seen that before.

Roskoe

There is also a one piece plastic wad called a Ballistic Bridge Sub Base (made by MMP) that I have used with good results. The 410 gr. Hornady Great Plains bullet really likes this setup in my Black Diamonds - possibly because the dome shaped front of the sub base matches up pretty well with the hollow base of the bullet. Worth trying with the 385 gr. . . . .

Mark whiz

I've shot the 385 Great Plains with & without wads in my Knight USAK and accuracy results were Identical.

The rebated base of these bullets tend to negate the affect wads have when used on flat based bullets like the No Excuses 460s. I can see why Hodgdon would recommend wads when using 777 - to try to prevent this hotter powder from burning & distorting the bullet's base. But I think that when using moderate powder loads (like the 80 to 90gr loads I used), that the wads are a non-issue.

Now using those sabot sub-bases like Roskoe spoke of is an intreging idea. Those should create a nice tight pressure seal and significantly increase velocity. BUT these big bulky bullets CAN be pushed too fast - so again, the sub-bases may not be cost effective either.

BTW I recently tested some of the 385 Great Plains without the wads and they registered an average of 1343fps with 85gr of 2fg 777 - giving accuracy as good or better than what you reported. Thats 1542ft lbs of killing energy at the muzzle - which is plenty good for hunting out to 100yds.

Roskoe

Mark - I have driven the 410 Great Plains bullets to 1702 with 120 grains of FFg T7, and gotten good groups. Recoil is stout, though. But without the sub-base, can't keep them in a group the size of this computer screen. My understanding is that these plastic "wads" were designed for use in the Savage ML with smokeless powder - insulates the bullet from the heat/pressure. And they aren't very expensive. Roskoe.

bigcountry

I love the subbases with 150gr loads and sabots. Never thought of using them for conicals, but hey why not. Have to give it a try.

Tahquamenon

Me too. I'm going to be getting some MMP sub-base's and I'll try them with hollow based conicals.

Cool, another gizmo to try!

FlDeerman

I'm going to be shooting some flat based conicals,sounds like a good idea to try.