Sabotless shooting

[sw]

These have been my observations. First off, I have 3 Sav based 45 cal MLers and 1 40 cal. All 3 45s have different land to land dimensions. The first one was one of the inconsistent sized barrels which was 0.4535" so a 250/300SST would fall thru. Considerable knurling must be done to even shoot these and no chance with a Parker. Haven't tried a 250TMZ and need to do so. 2nd barrel is appx 448 and I just shoot saboted 40 cals thru it. 3rd is a barrel RB painstakenly lapped to 0.450". Some Parkers will go thru with considerable effort but occasionally one gets stuck. Harley sized some 275BEs for me and they shot very well after knurling. My 40 cal is appx 0.401" and Barnes need considerable knurling while the 200SSTs/XTPs need only some knurling. I am absolutely convinced that a bullet slightly undersized and lightly knurled to a snug fit(too much knurling with a very tight fit looses accuracy) with a wool wad under it will give the lowest std devs, greatest accuracy, and NEVER get wedged in your barrel. The non-knurled/"exact size" bullet will have more inconsistent loading, occasionally wedge which is a real pain in the neck, larger std devs and not be nearly as accurate. I find that duplex gives a quicker obturation and greater accuracy with sabotless and is more impt than with saboted shooting. Undersizing and knurling up is THE way to go, IMO. I stay with my thought that the 40 cal sabotless offers the most in smokeless MLing. Now if Parker would make a 235-250g 40 cal bullet. The market would be significant, likely, among a # of us 40 and 45 cal shooters. We need some BC. At 2700-3200'/sec I believe the 200SST has somewhat over a 0.265BC, the best I've found. Have never come close to losing a deer to the 200SST, nor the 300SST. So much for now. Knurl up!

PS For those of you new to sabotless shooting with knurled bullets. The bullet will load easier the deeper you push the bullet down. It can feel like you have a bulge, but it is just the knurled surface getting slicker. The bullet will not have the smooth, consistent loading pressure of a saboted load. SO, this is why I think duplex is even more impt with sabotless: get it quickly obturated so some pressure can quickly rise and get to working pressure.

[Harley]

"I am absolutely convinced that a bullet slightly undersized and lightly knurled to a snug fit(too much knurling with a very tight fit looses accuracy) with a wool wad under it will give the lowest std devs, greatest accuracy, and NEVER get wedged in your barrel. The non-knurled/"exact size" bullet will have more inconsistent loading, occasionally wedge which is a real pain in the neck, larger std devs and not be nearly as accurate."
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That says it all, Steve, and it's what my experience would say, also; at least the part about knurled bullets. This new approach with smooth one-pass bullets remains to be proven, and I am worried, also, about stuck bullets. It will all depend on an effective between shot swabbing routine, and I don't know at this point if that will ensure success. We'll see.

If the smooth bullet idea doesn't work, the smooth adjustable Swing-Lock die will still be of considerable value in establishing a final check for the knurled bullet.

I don't think I'll ever try it, but maybe the rifled Swing-Lock die, sized from a given barrel drop, will be the ultimate answer to simple, reliable and accurate loading.

Harley

[chuck41]

So glad I got my PacNor 40 before they discontinued them. SW, your advice on that one is possibly the best I ever got from any source!
Chuck