Boat tailed bullets-Tupperware 50
Jun 6, 2010 21:26:55 GMT -5
Post by boarhog on Jun 6, 2010 21:26:55 GMT -5
Last week, I didn’t have any luck shooting the Barnes 245 gr BT bullets in either of the two 50 cal rifles I own. I tried two new Harvester Crush Rib sabots, and one MMP, that are designed for boat tailed bullets. After the first shot, with the Harvester Orange, every load I tried shredded the sabot.
It was suggested by board members, that there may be plastic buildup in the barrels, making sabot failure more likely. Deadon suggested trying the solvent used for removing plastic fouling from shotgun chokes and barrels, and I thought that was a good idea. Unfortunately, I was unable to find this solvent locally, and didn’t have time to order it. I decided to concentrate on the Tupperware 50, since it has a tighter bore than the Thumbhole. Over the week, I scrubbed the bore with several different solvents I have on hand. One is a very strong ammonia concoction that you really want to use outside! I scrubbed many strokes with bronze brushes, and patches, and then lapped 100 strokes with fine lapping compound, and followed that with more cleaning. I am relatively certain that there was no fouling of any kind in the barrel when I was finished.
Saturday morning I had to go to work to meet an out of town customer so they could pick up a sax I repaired, and I needed to collect the money! My friend, George, called me to say he planned to shoot after the small bore match they had scheduled at the Jefferson County Gun Club range. I gathered my shooting gear, closed the store, and headed for the range at a few minutes after 12:00. It was already 89°. I started with some non BT loads to get a baseline.
I thought I would start with a load I had been intending to try for a while:
Target # 1- 325 Gr. Hornady .458 FTX, 70 gr 10-X, Harvester Black CR., CCI-209M.
AV-2242, ES-52, SD-27. 1-2271, 2-2221, 3-2232.
The first shot almost centered the bullseye, and George said “WOW!” Shot #2, the primer popped, but failed to go bang. I checked with the ram rod to be sure the bullet was seated solidly, re-primed, and it fired that time. Shot #3 was a hangfire, with a slight delay between the primer pop and the bang. Accuracy wasn’t good, but better than I expected with the ignition problems.
Target # 2- 325 gr Hornady FTX, 6/60 duplex N-110/10-X, Harv. Blk CR, CCI-209M.
AV-2273, ES-37, SD-18. 1-2292, 2-2272, 3-2255.
Not good accuracy, but no blown sabots.
Target # 3- 245 gr. Barnes BT, 6/55 N-110/H-4198 (old lot), MMP Yellow sabot that comes with the bullets, and CCI-209M. For this group, I did not knurl the bullets.
MV-2215, ES-52, SD-26. 1-2242, 2-2215, 3-2190. 3= 2.5” Better than I expected, and no blown sabots.
Target # 4- 245 gr Barnes BT knurled, 6/55 N-110/H-4198 (new lot), MMP-Yellow.
AV-2241, ES-111, SD-48. 1-2299, 2-2200, 3-2280, 4-2239, 5-2188. 3= 1 7/8”, 5= 4 ¾”. Not good accuracy, but with some load fiddling, it might tighten up.
At this point, I thought I would try a book load of 42 gr 4759 with the Harvester CR yellow, or orange, they sent me to test. Even with a knurled bullet, the Yellow was very loose. I doubt there was enough resistance to get the load to fire. The Orange Cr Rib was very tight, especially with the knurled bullet. Unfortunately, the sabot shredded, and I saw the bullet hit the ground about 75 yds out. At that point, I called it quits with the Harvester sabots, and put the Tupperware 50 up.
I am bad about writing a book when a sentence would convey all the needed information, but the Harvester CR sabots made for use with boat tailed bullets would not work for me. I did not try using a veggie wad under the sabot, or any unusual method, to protect the sabot. Unless you consider reduced loads as unusual.
Boarhog
It was suggested by board members, that there may be plastic buildup in the barrels, making sabot failure more likely. Deadon suggested trying the solvent used for removing plastic fouling from shotgun chokes and barrels, and I thought that was a good idea. Unfortunately, I was unable to find this solvent locally, and didn’t have time to order it. I decided to concentrate on the Tupperware 50, since it has a tighter bore than the Thumbhole. Over the week, I scrubbed the bore with several different solvents I have on hand. One is a very strong ammonia concoction that you really want to use outside! I scrubbed many strokes with bronze brushes, and patches, and then lapped 100 strokes with fine lapping compound, and followed that with more cleaning. I am relatively certain that there was no fouling of any kind in the barrel when I was finished.
Saturday morning I had to go to work to meet an out of town customer so they could pick up a sax I repaired, and I needed to collect the money! My friend, George, called me to say he planned to shoot after the small bore match they had scheduled at the Jefferson County Gun Club range. I gathered my shooting gear, closed the store, and headed for the range at a few minutes after 12:00. It was already 89°. I started with some non BT loads to get a baseline.
I thought I would start with a load I had been intending to try for a while:
Target # 1- 325 Gr. Hornady .458 FTX, 70 gr 10-X, Harvester Black CR., CCI-209M.
AV-2242, ES-52, SD-27. 1-2271, 2-2221, 3-2232.
The first shot almost centered the bullseye, and George said “WOW!” Shot #2, the primer popped, but failed to go bang. I checked with the ram rod to be sure the bullet was seated solidly, re-primed, and it fired that time. Shot #3 was a hangfire, with a slight delay between the primer pop and the bang. Accuracy wasn’t good, but better than I expected with the ignition problems.
Target # 2- 325 gr Hornady FTX, 6/60 duplex N-110/10-X, Harv. Blk CR, CCI-209M.
AV-2273, ES-37, SD-18. 1-2292, 2-2272, 3-2255.
Not good accuracy, but no blown sabots.
Target # 3- 245 gr. Barnes BT, 6/55 N-110/H-4198 (old lot), MMP Yellow sabot that comes with the bullets, and CCI-209M. For this group, I did not knurl the bullets.
MV-2215, ES-52, SD-26. 1-2242, 2-2215, 3-2190. 3= 2.5” Better than I expected, and no blown sabots.
Target # 4- 245 gr Barnes BT knurled, 6/55 N-110/H-4198 (new lot), MMP-Yellow.
AV-2241, ES-111, SD-48. 1-2299, 2-2200, 3-2280, 4-2239, 5-2188. 3= 1 7/8”, 5= 4 ¾”. Not good accuracy, but with some load fiddling, it might tighten up.
At this point, I thought I would try a book load of 42 gr 4759 with the Harvester CR yellow, or orange, they sent me to test. Even with a knurled bullet, the Yellow was very loose. I doubt there was enough resistance to get the load to fire. The Orange Cr Rib was very tight, especially with the knurled bullet. Unfortunately, the sabot shredded, and I saw the bullet hit the ground about 75 yds out. At that point, I called it quits with the Harvester sabots, and put the Tupperware 50 up.
I am bad about writing a book when a sentence would convey all the needed information, but the Harvester CR sabots made for use with boat tailed bullets would not work for me. I did not try using a veggie wad under the sabot, or any unusual method, to protect the sabot. Unless you consider reduced loads as unusual.
Boarhog
