Sabots...in ML pistols, also .58 Calibre

[Mad Reloader]

Hello all!

Decided to run THIS one by the MML crew, mind I'm kinda getting into a gray area here.

Subject: Saboted projectiles.

Me & one of my co-worker buds are both re-enactors (he's Civil War, I'm WW1 & Cowboy shooting) and we both have ML/cap & ball weapons.

Let's hit up the Rifles first. I have a .50 Knight Inline (using the ORANGE Original DISC, not the new red 209 carriers) He's got an Armi-Sport 3-band Enfield in .577 (.58)

Now, I tend to go with either 130 grains and a 230-245 projo (Powerbelt or sabot) or 100 grains with the heavier Powerbelts.

Mostly, he's been using 265 grain patched round ball with 70 to 90 grains Pyrodex RS...with the occasional 500-555 grain Conical.

His only gripes with his current selections are:

Patched round ball...takes forever to load compared to conicals/minies. Especially driving the projo down that crucial last 1/3 of the barrel.

.58 calibre conicals (storebought) cost an arm & a leg compared to roundball.

(AND: He's not interested in setting up for bulletcasting. Having a tough enough go of it w/r.t. his wife raising eyebrows at the budget & his various hobbies as is!)

Now, if he REALLY wanted to shoot that 3-band 100% authentic, it would be 70 grains powder and a 460-505 grain Minie (which he'd have to cast himself since neither Hornady nor the others sells these) with a --slightly-- undersize diameter (skirt blows out upon firing for obturation)

This thought occured to me--a net 405 grains of projo comes MUCH closer to the original bullet weight of the 1860's. Precast 405 grainers are inexpensive, & easily found (Laredo Bullet Co. is about 1 1/2 miles due south of where I live!)

Stuffing sabots down my "Knigget" is nice & quick, and when we're both doing our ML's, I can put down "twice the rate of fire" he does with roundball.

Anybody here ever used sabots in a Traditional ML rifle (Hawken, Zouave, 3-band, 1861/63 Springfield) ?

And: Where's the best pricing on .45 in .58 bulk pack sabots?

Lastly--he's also going to get a Great Plains .54 ML pistol, per his Regimental Commander it will pass THEIR version of a "50 foot rule" in regard to resembling a martial single shot of the M-1842/M-1855 ilk (heck, just screw in some inexpensive small sling swivels into the forend & butt of that and it REALLY looks like some sort of 1830's-1840's "Konig Leopold" type Horse Pistol what might have turned up in a crate of Lorenz rifles!)

I KNOW sabots are available in that calibre...

Anybody ever tried ML sabots in a single shot pistol?

(Wonder if I can persuade him into us both putting in permits for ML Elk next year????)

[Twanger]

I've shot 180 and 220 gr saboted loads in my White Javelina 45-cal ML pistol... about 1500 fps or so. They are quite accurate - about 3" at 50 yds, and most of that shake is me. On the heavier side, White makes a 350gr PowerStar for the 45-cal that would make a dandy pistol bullet, but I've not tried it yet.

[Jack]

MR, I would wonder if you'd run into twist problems here....
The firearms you mention may not have a fast enough twist to stabilize a saboted projectile.
Only sure way to find out is to try it, though.