Are there saboted rounds available in 458 SOCOM, LW.499, or 50 Beowolf?  What caliber, type and grain are they?  Are the componants available for reloading?

Also, have poeple had success running one of these type weapons w/ a beta or 90 rounder mag?  

There are reports that a sabot exists for the .499 but not for public consumption.  As such it should fit the .50 Beowulf.  Both of these are .50 diameter (not .510 like the .50 BMG) and you may be able to use some of the BP sabots for .50 diameter barrels in them.

In the .458, we just tested the Barnes .400 cal MZ (a .45 cal sabot with 195 gr .40 diameter MZ bullet).  The load we tested fed from the magazine, cycled the action and discarded the sabot.  We did not test for accuracy or velocity, but predicted velocity is about 2300 fps from a 16" carbine.  They can be bought from Barnes or any dealer carrying Barnes components.

None of these rounds will function in the .223 Beta-C magazine, the .458 and .50 Beowulf have been successfully used in the MWG 90-round snail drums.

There are tons of 50cal sabots available for muzzle-loaders.  Has anyone tried them with their Beowulf?  I had heard that the hard cast rounds were not good for the gas port - don't know what the sabot rounds would be like.

This site www.mmpsabots.com/ has 7 different .50 sabots available for loading the .50 down to anything from .399 to .458.

Quoted: There are tons of 50cal sabots available for muzzle-loaders.  Has anyone tried them with their Beowulf?  I had heard that the hard cast rounds were not good for the gas port - don't know what the sabot rounds would be like. This site www.mmpsabots.com/ has 7 different .50 sabots available for loading the .50 down to anything from .399 to .458.

Reginhild,

You may not want to entirely give up on the cast bullet.  I did some limited testing in my 458 with Cast Performance bullets, and had no problems.  I probably tested a hundred or so rounds, and just fired regular jacketed bullets to keep things clear.  Not that I found any unusual accumulation of crud.  The bolt area looked to be no worse for the wear.  I would say that if you are looking for a cast bullet to perform, try them out.  I do not have longterm experience, but I would say that if you have a particular hunting application in mind, give it a try.  The premium cast bullets are probably too spendy for extended use anyway.  Just pick a reputable brand, and stay away from the softer bullets.

Craig

I would like to hear some range reports for using the Sabots in the .50.    

Doesn't anyone make a 30-35 calibur saboted projectile for a .50 bore?  

ask over here

you might find what you are looking for

Wait a second?  Is the bore of a .50 muzzle loader .50 or .510?

Fifty caliber muzzleloaders ARE .50" so you can reload using the bullets and/or sabots.  In fact, the Powerbelt reload data AA supplies with the dies ARE for muzzleloader bullets.  I see no reason why the sabots wouldn't work.  My brother has a .50 muzzleloader and shoots saboted bullets in it.  When loaded with three 50 gr Pyrodex pellets, it makes our Beowulfs seem TAME!  Of course, I can blast a mag of 10 before he can reload ONCE.  I would say the only challenge using sabots in the Beo is the reloading data.  I'm a little hesitant to experiment with my "baby".

Scot

so is a sabot what I want to disable a vehicle or just wildlife?

Those MMP sabots would give the Beowulf a lot of versatility!  I also am not knowledgable enough to chuck a 150gr bullet in a .500 sabot and dump some powder in a case and then fire it, but the possibilities are pretty good for using a WIDE range of bullet weights.  Seems you could extend the range quite a bit just in case you wanted to take your big bore to hunt something smaller without a lot of damage.  Mostly the 1/2" bullet passes right through of course, and Alaskan Moose have been shot at 200yds, but a light bullet might be a nice thing to have.

The nice thing about saboted rounds is that for two rifles shooting same weight and caliber projectile w/ same chamber pressures and same barrel length, the saboted round will have a higher muzzle velocity than the non-sabot b/c the greater surface area/pressure ratio accelerates the projectile more quickly.  Accuracy probably suffers from sabots though.  

I would like to shoot a saboted 30 cal 150-170 grain A-Max out of a Beowulf w/ 9" barrel w/ moderate charge of fast burn poweder and see what kind of muzzle velocity I can get.  

One potential problem with sabots is the use of muzzlebrakes.  I read on another forum about the use of SLAP ammo in .50 BMGs with certain muzzlebrakes being a BIG problem.  Specifically, the sabot opening before exiting the muzzlebrake.  

Doing a little measuring of my AA brake, it is about 1.65" deep.  I never looked that closely at my AA brake before, but it's NOT just a tube with holes in it.  The interior is actually cone shaped, going from slightly over bore sized at the muzzle to about .78" at the exit.  I suspect shooting sabots through this wouldn't be a problem, but am not will to take the chance!  I guess more research would be needed to find out how fast the MMP sabots open up.

I think the MMP sabots go down to .40 cal.  I'd like to try Speer's 10mm 200 grain TMJ.  I wonder what that would penetrate?

Scot

Quoted: One potential problem with sabots is the use of muzzlebrakes.  I read on another forum about the use of SLAP ammo in .50 BMGs with certain muzzlebrakes being a BIG problem.  Specifically, the sabot opening before exiting the muzzlebrake.   Scot

Interesting point.

I actually bought some .50 caliber muzzleloader sabots when I first got my Beowulf, but due to time and cowardice, I have done nothing with them.

It might be time to change that!

The Beowulf has a 1 in 19" twist, which should work fairly well for any bullet I think I would care to try.

A shortened .30 Carbine case can be necked to take a 55 grain M193 bullet.  Then this projectile can be placed in a Speer .38 plastic shotshell, which can then be placed in a Speer .44 shotshell, which can then be placed in a ml sabot, and then seated in a Beowulf case.

On second thought, I think I will try a .44 caliber Keith SWC.  I probably won't be able to find a load that provides any accuracy, but it should be fun trying.

Quoted: A shortened .30 Carbine case can be necked to take a 55 grain M193 bullet.  Then this projectile can be placed in a Speer .38 plastic shotshell, which can then be placed in a Speer .44 shotshell, which can then be placed in a ml sabot, and then seated in a Beowulf case.

I am not quite clear on what you mean by these .38 and 44 plastic shotshells.  Are you talking about snake shot type cartridges for revolvers of a plastic nature?  Are you saying that you can cannabalize these cartridges, cut a little cross scection of each of them and then put those sections together as you described w/ a 5.56 bullet and a ML sabot into a Beowulf cartridge?  

Imagine it!  What could the muzzle velocity of such a projectile be out of a 50 cal barrel of different lengths?  W/ Enough powder it could probably total vaporize a watermelon.  It would be like shooting a 5.56 out of a 4' barrel w/ 1 Oz powder charge.  

Do yo have a link, I can't find these speer shot shells.
Are you going to try this?  Tell me you will and you have a chrono.  

Shoot! Why not try this w/ a 12 gauge rifle barrel pump?  You could try it w/ 22 & 30 calibur projectiles.  

At some point the high velocity may cause problems with a sabot that was designed for muzzle-loader velocities.  That may be why you don't see sabots bringing the .50 down past .399 commonly available.

The brake can be a big problem as well as mentioned earlier.  My Beowulf has no brake currently - maybe in 10yrs when I hit 50 I'll want a brake on it!

Rightwingnut, the Speer shot capsules can be purchased as components.  You can fill them with shot, for their intended purpose, or you can play with them for other projectiles.  Midway, among others, sells them.

I have loaded 3 round balls into a .38 Special shot capsule.  Fired over a mild charge of Unique, they were interesting, the 3 balls striking fairly closely together at normal hand gun ranges.  Trouble is, I can't think of any application that requires such a load.

The .30 carbine with 55 grain FMJ was something I put together as an experiment in humor.  I have never fired it.  It consisted of the shortened carbine case necked down to hold the .223 bullet.  Then that combination was seated in a plastic .44 shot capsule.  I think I had to sand away part of the carbine case before it would fit without bulging.

If I load sabots for a .50 Beowulf, they will be fairly conventional loads, and I do not expect much in the way of accuracy.  It would be nice to find one that is reasonably accurate, though.

tag

The muzzle sabots with stubby pistol type bullets have always worked well for me.  When you start looking at the 150-180 30 caliber bullets out of a big bore, the posted problems were always bullet yaw and centering.  There are several different sabot manufactures out there, but when you read the postings (on forums like this) accuracy is always the issue.  I never sunk any money into trying to reload for them due to this reason.   But hey, Marty will probalby get it to work, then watch out!