50cal Sabotless?

[unloaded]

I see this on Barnes site:

54 CAL .500" 275 GR EXPANDER MZ
and
54 CAL .500" 325 GR EXPANDER MZ

Both are listed with sabots here:
barnesbullets.myshopify.com/collections/expander-mz/

Has anybody tried shooting these sabotless in the stock ML10? I always start feeling that itch when reading about the guys going sabotless with the smaller bores but I'm not ready to take the plunge on a new barrel. I've seen a few posts about the Hornady FPB and the Thor bullets but I don't recall seeing these mentioned. I'm wondering if it should be alright or is there a reason I don't see them used? Any input accepted even if it's just opinions.

peace.
unloaded

[rangeball]

I've shot the thors and hornady 300gr .50 FTX sabotless from my .50, but not these bullets. Once the proper sizing is found I don't see why they couldn't be shot sabotless. If they aren't much less expensive than the thors though, so far the thors work great from my gun.

[boarhog]

I tried a couple of .500 bullets. Couldn't knurl them up enough for even minimal loading pressure in my Savage barrel.

[rangeball]

That's a great point. I think one reason the pacnors et al shoot so well is they are held to really tight bore specs, as is my SMI douglas .50 barrel. A .50 bullet pushes down with low resistance, so I only need about .0005" knurling to get the seating pressure right. The more you have to knurl if your bore is over spec, the less accurate I think the results will be.

[onecardchuck]

They are probably not going to work for you in a Savage and boarhog hit the nail on the head. These bullets measure .500 and the few Savage barrels I have slugged and measured measure around .503 on the lands and .508 on the groves. Therefore knurling this much is not going to give you good groups. The only bullet to date I have had any luck with sabotless is the THOR bullet, but I am working on another bullet that I can get to work sabotless. I will post my results when and if I can get it to group.

[unloaded]

Thanks for the info guys, I figured there might be a reason people weren't using them, just didn't know what it was. I'll use the money for more BO's.

peace.
unloaded

[rangeball]

Jan 6, 2010 9:37:21 GMT -5 unloaded said:

Thanks for the info guys, I figured there might be a reason people weren't using them, just didn't know what it was. I'll use the money for more BO's.

peace.
unloaded

I wouldn't give up hope just yet

It's not too hard to slug your barrel and see what your individual specs are. Who knows, maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones with a tight enough bore?