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Post by alleycat on Oct 9, 2014 10:35:11 GMT -5
So I have everything i need to go touch off a few rounds aside from time...darn kids. Anyway last night I thought I would shove a few different bullets and sabot comb's through the barrel just to get an idea of loading force since it was recommended you should have roughly 40lbs.. I was really surprised at how hard it was push them through the barrel except for the Hornady SST 300 grain ML bullets with orange sabot. I could easily push them through with like two fingers. Is that normal? The bullets i was experiment with were TMZ Barnes, SST Hornady ML, Harvester Scorpion PT Gold and Hornady FTX 325gr. For Sabots I tried the ones that came with the dedicated ML bullets as well as harvester black crush rib, red crush rib and harvester smooth black. This may be a silly question but is there a such a thing as too tight? Too loose? Am I doing anything wrong?
Cheers A
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Post by rangeball on Oct 9, 2014 10:42:38 GMT -5
The orange sabot is an MMP designed for .458 bullets. The SST is only .452, so it makes sense it should have reduced loading resistance.
The only time I think almost too tight is an issue is if you stress the sabot petals while loading, which could show up as reduced accuracy. Also almost too hard is no fun when it's cold.
Hard to determine which sabots came with which bullets you tried, but the harvester red crush rib is thicker than their smooth black and black crush rib, so it should load a bit harder.
If you feel your bore is on the tight side, you could try the MMP HP-24 black smooth, it's a bit thinner than their HP-12 and may give you the fit you're looking for.
However I'd shoot what you have and let the groups and recovered sabots tell you what you need to know.
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Post by alleycat on Oct 9, 2014 11:03:37 GMT -5
Thanks rangebull, None of the sabots were damaged so I guess i just have to eat more wheaties. lol Going to take a day off work to get some range time in. I'm hunting the week after next so I better get some shooting/testing in asap.
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Post by doc25 on Oct 11, 2014 23:20:11 GMT -5
Alleycat, my barrel is on the tight side. When I use the standard sabots they actually shave some plastic off the side when loading. So I bought some of the mmp hph 24's and the 3 pedal ez's. The 24's seem to be good for me, what would be about 40 lbs of force to load. Will try the 3 pedal after deer season but my guess is they will be too loose. You could try puttin a bathroom scale or hooking a fishing scale on to rod when loading to see how much force is necessary. It should be very firm to load.
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Post by ET on Oct 12, 2014 5:37:44 GMT -5
If I may make a suggestion here concerning ramrod usage? If you have the fiberglass ramrod replace it with a solid aluminum ramrod to eliminate any flexing that adds difficulty to loading. Secondly I would invest or make a palm saver that distributes the force over your hand instead of it being focused in a 3/8” area. It also is helpful for adding some compression after the load is seated. Here is an example of one type of palm saver, www.cabelas.ca/product/5524/thompsoncenter-flex-priming-palm-saverIf your are handy or a tinkerer you can make your own palm saver IMO preferably in a T handle configuration. Loading to say 40lbs is not difficult with the right combination. With the above combination I can do 40lbs 1-handed. Any tighter that requires 2-hands, no problem with a palm saver and aluminum ramrod. Hope this is helpful for someone. Ed
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Post by doc25 on Oct 12, 2014 10:45:55 GMT -5
My short starters have a hole in them for the rod to use as a palm saver. I think the rods with the savages are aluminium tube. Do you use solid alum rod or tubing? As always thanks for the tips.
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Post by ET on Oct 12, 2014 12:40:50 GMT -5
Doc25
Have never used aluminum tubing so I can’t vouch for their integrity. Since I started using solid aluminum ramrod have never needed to look for anything better.
Ed
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Post by esshup on Oct 15, 2014 0:38:59 GMT -5
I've used one piece aluminum tube on my .50 cal Savage for a ramrod when using a "T" handle. I noticed I started to split the tubing near the "T" handle. I have 2 solid Power Rods (don't know if they make them anymore). I've also used the collapsible aluminum tube on my .45 cal Savage, and a wobble with the bullet about 8" into the bore led me to bend the aluminum tube collapsible ramrod. Also look into getting a spin jag for the bullet end of the ramrod. If you are using longer sabots with shorter bullets (250g) watch that the petals of the sabot aren't squeezed/pinched between the ramrod and the bore. For moose, I'd want to use something a bit heavier (both weight and construction) than a 250g SST. But, that's all theory because I've never shot a moose.
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Post by alleycat on Oct 23, 2014 7:59:23 GMT -5
So I finally got to try my 10ML and the very first shot almost caused my cousin to wet his pants. I should also add it was a cool day, 39deg and cloudy. I loaded 67 grains of H4198 and a Hornady “low friction” 300g SST with its orange sabot. I really should have known better as the bullet and sabot required almost no pressure to seat. When I touched it off all I heard was phuut followed by my dear cousin laughing at me then picking something off the ground about 8ft in front of me. The jerk says “I think this is yours” as he hands me my still pristine sabotless bullet....a-hole. The sabot and powder charge remained in the barrel. Next load was 67g of H4198 and a 325g FTX in a black crush rib sabot. This one loaded like it should and went bang. 3 inches low and dead centre at 20yrds. Not bad for no bore sighting. I finished sighting in and shot a couple groups that were about 3 inches. I had my chrony going the whole time. The 67g of H4198 under the 325 FTX gave me 2350 to 2400 fps and my cousin who also shoots a 10ML was avg 2090 fps with his book load of 43g of sr4579 under a 250g XTP.
Look forward to more testing/shooting but I’m good enough to hunt at least
PS....Thanks for all the help and advice fellas
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