sabot vs. conical

[BugleminToday]

What are the pro's and con's of each ? I am thinking more and more about this type of hunting...try to convince me out of getting the .338 win. mag. ! :-}

Justin

ICQ - 156040317

AOL - [email protected]

 

[MrBaitnFish]

no person should have to choose just one type of weapon only to hunt with. It just isn't right. Get the .338 and a muzzleloader, and a bow if you haven't got one. A couple of handguns to hunt with would be a good idea also. Personally I shoot conicals. I cast them myself from sheet lead at the plumbers supply store and a lee bullet mold. Then I just lube them up. Great accuracy and I can shoot a lot before the barrel needs cleaning. Most sabots are hard to load, especially after you foul the barrel with a shot. If you do shoot sabots stick with 300 grainers and heavier. lighter bullets shed energy way to quickly. If I were getting a new muzzleloader and I am thinking about it, I would go with the Omega. It's a slick gun and about the easiest to take apart and clean. That does count for a lot. Plus it has a 28" barrel, that will give you more velocity. Decisions Decisions.

 

[BugleminToday]

I have a bow, varmint gun, deer gun, and am about to take your advice and just say " the heck with it ". Buy them both...LOL. Whats wrong with having more then one weapon for the upcoming seasons ?

I really like the Omega....but am still looking at the Knight muzzie's.


Justin

ICQ - 156040317

AOL - [email protected]

 

[stinky]

Welllllll, basically The conical will blow a hole through anything on this continent. On some of those animals you MAY, ALMOST be able to see through them. They have a reputation from depositing extreme energy onto the poor critters on the sending and the receiving end of the gun. If I was after a BIG BULL, in the rut, this would be my choice.

They have a rainbow trajectory, after about 125 yaards they are dropping like a rock.

A sabot is the ballistic equivelent of a .44 mag rifle. The .44 grain bullet has the same energy as a .44 Mag pistol at the barrel, after the ML sabot bullet has traveled 100 yards or so, so it still has plenty of energy for elk and it will shoot real flat, to farther than iron sights should be used (200 yards or so) (look at .44 mag rifle ballistics on the Remington website) and it does kick ALOT less. I agree, use the heavier bullet.

I have not found that they take an excessive amount of time to load...They can be hard to load, but I takes a long time to load a conical anyways and if you miss, whatever it is is going to bound away or watch you reload, I don't see 10-20 seconds longer (than normal) really mattering.

Don't overlook a roundball on critters. On my 3/8" thick steel plates they leave a NASTY crater. They have a rep for excellent energy transfer and bullet becomes a pancake after hitting. I've heard several people say that deer just fall over dead (and if I remember right, they find the ball against the far side's hide). They have about the same ballistics as a conical (rainbow) and kick about like a sabot and at about 75 yards or so are shedding fps like water on a duck and after that, they don't hit all that hard. They are very adequete closer than that, on critters upto a cow elk (or so I've heard, Myself, I wouldn't test the theory past 50 yards or so) and they'll knock deer down out to about 125 yards or so...don't be surprised if somebody responds and says that they've used a ball, on bulls at 100 yards or more, w/good results.

My last cow hunt was in AZ and I used a 255 lead SWC .429 (I cast em and I like lead bullets). I now live in CO, where sabots are verboten and I use the RBs on deer (and maybe cows, depending on the distance I expect) and a conical on bulls. I'd probably use a roundball and a sabot interchangably, if I had the choice, depending on the range.

 

[MBM]

In the past I have used conicals out of my .58 cal T/C Bigboar. I killed a cow elk with is a few years ago and I blew that bis conical through both shoulders at 75 yards. She went right down.

This year I got a new Knight 50 cal inline and tried the 300 gr XTP Sabots out of it. They where very accurate in my gun. Deer hunting I hit a nice 3x3 in the shoulder at 50 yards and I think I got no penatration.I trailed that thing for a half a mile and never found him. I saw him once and he was bleeding from the middle of his shoulder down his leg. I saw him again a couple days latter and he was in pretty good shape.

I have no dought if I was using a conical I would have blew right through that shoulder bone. If I use sabots again I will be sure to aim behind the shoulder instead. I am thinking of trying a No Exuceess conical or a Powerbelt next year although I might just stick with the sabots and rethink my shot placement. My shots are under 100 yards so the loss of trajectory of the conical is not that big of a deal.

Mark