super_hunt54

This barrel is 4 years old, I think, maybe 5 (you know us old farts and memory) and almost every new barrel or rifle I get except for my Shilens I either Paste or firelap depending on what I see with my bore cam (scope whatever they call it) I pasted this one a couple hundred strokes. The Orange MMP is the one that was too loose. By my standards anyway. Maybe I'll take it to the range and give it a shot. I just tried running them down the barrel in the shop. That barrel does tend to like them a little stiff setting. Not HARD really but a little stiffer. Man I would be so amped up if I could get something to use that bullet. For one I have over 1000 of them here that I haven't loaded up for the SOCOM yet. Hornady had a sale on them last year and I bought 1500 right on the spot! I absolutely love how they perform on hogs! Only recovered one from a 240 pound bore that was 135 yards off busted clean through both shoulders, obliviating the lungs and top of the heart, recovered it in the last layer of the off side skin. I'm sure I can load this bullet up to exceed the speeds with BH loaded up than I get with the SOCOM.

sabotloader

OK - I am not great at writing or explaining but - give this a thought.. the polymer formulation that MMP uses will compensate for being somewhat loose. If the bullet and sabot go down with about 25/30# of pressure you should be in good shape. When you shoot the load the 'drag' of the sabot up the barrel will cause the sabot to compress downward - it will then expand outward filling the grooves and sealing the bore. 'IF' the bullet does not slip in the sabot you should really be in great shape. You could also put a very slight knurl on the bullet so that it does grip the sabot and all your problems would be solved.

A friend of mine shoots SOCOM's from his ML and is really fond of them also...

Gm54-120

The 45s i used to own shot well with the MMP Tan sabot. My current 45s are way too tight for them. If anyone has a very loose bore 45, try a .41 210gr bullet and the Harvester light blue Crushrib. You may get lucky and 41mag bullets are in far less demand by reloaders.

Another thing to try is the Precision Rifle DC and QT lead bullets. The soft lead will obturate easier in the sabot when the powder ignites. They may fatten up enough to give you acceptable accuracy.

If all the off the shelf options fail, Knurl. It not hard to increase a bullets OD by .002 or even more. The knurling really grabs that sabot too.

Bullets made for 45/70 and 458SOCOM are a fantastic match for ML speeds. All the common 300gr 458 HPs easily expand even at 1300fps. There is no need to drive these HP bullets fast and they may actually perform better at speeds under 1800fps.

super_hunt54

I'll take it to the range tomorrow and give it a whirl after Physical Therapy.( If they don't kill me there, I HATE PT) Start out at 120gr BH with Win 209 primers. May take it to 130gr for a bigger bang to expand the Sabots. I'll also try a few file knurlings to see if it makes it a little better.

GM I have the Flat point 350gr from Hornady. I rarely, if ever use Hollow point for hogs. They just don't perform well in my uses. These are bullets I originally got to load up in my SOCOM rounds for hog elimination hunts. Been really wanting to try them out in the Muzzle loader but just haven't...YET!! Couldn't find a sabot that would fit well with them. Gonna give these orange MMP's I have a whirl. They feel a good bit loose but they don't "drop" down the barrel. Feels about like 12-14 pounds to push in. Maybe the knurling will increase that to around 18-20#

sabotloader

With that weight of bullet and your current suggested load that will be more than enough to get the job done.

GM54-120 is the guy I was talking about shooting SOCOMS. He has done a lot of work with them.

The Knurling will do exactly that - tighten the whole thing up... Here is another thought I shoot a Lehigh 458x305 grain 45-70 round (absolutely and awesome bullet) I call them the Buffalo Bullet cuz the guys shooting them in 45-70's swear by them for dropping buffalo in there tracks.



Oh and these do not operate like a normal HP expanding bullet.

But like you they have a smaller diameter and do go down the bore to easy as you are describing. So I use a MMP HPH-24 sabot which is a little thicker and meant for a 452 bullet. That tightens everything up just fine - makes all the difference in the world.

Gm54-120

Try a Harvester Black Crushrib with the .458s. Its made for .452 but many Savage owners with loose bores use the HBCR sabot with them. They will be noticeably tighter than the MMP Orange.

super_hunt54

That would be the one that I had to damn near stand on (And I'm well over 250) to get started. I went out to the shed to check which one it was. I THOUGHT it was the MMP Black but it was a Black Crush rib. Old age ya know

Gm54-120

Thats odd it would be that tight since you say a MMP Orange is fairly loose. A Lee .457 sizing die may be the answer then with the HBCR. Its a standard Lee sizing die. A .457 should still allow the bullet to be used in a 458SOCOM.

Remingtons 45/70 bullets are actually .457 if you want to try them.

sabotloader

Do you have any MMP 24's? They really work well in my Knight bores with 458 bullet designed for a real rifle - which is what I prefer to shoot anyway...

super_hunt54

I know GM weird aint it! But such is my world. Murphy's law is the most active law in my life!

No Sabot I don't think I have any MMP 24's. I'll look. I have so many different kinds of things in my shop it's just funny. Wife always on my rear to clean it up. She keeps swearing she is going to take a damn match to it one day if I don't clean it up.