.45 cal sabot + .40 cal bullet in rifle ok, but what about pistol?

[john@]

I plan to get a Martini Henry which I know I can load using a .40 in a sabot.

I also have a Belgian made "English Bulldog" in .450 or .455, I'd like to try reloading for this using the same sabot and .40 caliber bullet. Do you think this would work? My main concern is how well the sabot will make the transition from the chamber to the barrel as it has a full wadcutter profile, not a round nose. Could that cause problems?

FYI I want to use sabots and .40 cal bullets because I think I can use lighter loads that will be easier on the gun, and should be easier to reload because I can use comonly available materials with no need to cast bullets etc...

What do you think, will this work?

 

[undertaker]

have seen it done in kentucky type pistol, not in a revolver- no idea if it will work well

 

[tonyg]

sounds like an accident in the making........try a long string discharge a couple of times first.......use cardboard screens to check for flying pieces

 

[SaddleTramp]

I don't think it is worth the risk. You are going to get some serious plastic schrapnel from the cylinder face and forcing cone.

 

[john@]

Yeah, thats what I was worried about, not a big deal if plastic bits come out, but if the sabot disintegrates before it goes into the barrel the undersized bullet would probably do something unwanted.

 

[SaddleTramp]

I would think you might get some serious pressure spikes if the sabot got balled up. Sabots are great in muzzel loaders and the accelerator types have their fans in centerfires but hanguns I think are just too risky. I have never seen an article in a gun magazine that did that kind of loading. You wouldn't want to turn your handgun into a useless paperweight???...ST...