Cleaning sabot residue in rifled barrel

Papaclaude

Papaclaude

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Hey all. I've got a Savage 220 bolt shotgun in 20 gauge. I just cleaned it, and no matter how often I run the bore snake, bronze brush and patches, using Hoppe's, Ballistol or Browning bore cleaner, my patches still come out somewhat dirty. I'm assuming it's from the sabot buildup. How do you guys clean them up?

Also, I am really disappointed with the accuracy considering all my other Savage guns' accuracy levels. It may be the scope - I just swapped it for another, but I can't get much better than 8" groups at 100 yards, with the Hornady SST slugs. I also tried a few other brands, with no better luck. Could the fouling be the culprit (although the rifling still shows very well). Ideas?
 
what shells are you shooting ,,I found that a slower slug worked better in my 20g ,I shoot the 2,75 inch slugs in all my guns as all you get from the three inch in slugs is a empty wallet ,I see better groups with the two and three quarter inch slugs in my 20g shotguns ,you could try some WD 40 t clean out the plastic in the barrel ,,,,,Dutch
 
Ed's Red which contains acetone is what I use to get plastic residue out of my shotguns. I use a mixture of equal parts ATF, acetone , mineral spirits and kerosene.
 
dutchhunter said:
what shells are you shooting ,,I found that a slower slug worked better in my 20g ,I shoot the 2,75 inch slugs in all my guns as all you get from the three inch in slugs is a empty wallet ,I see better groups with the two and three quarter inch slugs in my 20g shotguns ,you could try some WD 40 t clean out the plastic in the barrel ,,,,,Dutch
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The last batch, I was using Hornady SST in 2 3/4". But I tried several, and none are any better. I swapped scopes, so I'll see if the issue was the scope. This is really frustrating, because every Savage I've owned or fired in the last 10 years or so has been a real tack driver.
 
hunter5425 said:
Ed's Red which contains acetone is what I use to get plastic residue out of my shotguns. I use a mixture of equal parts ATF, acetone , mineral spirits and kerosene.
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Thanx, I'll make some up and give it a try. The only thing I need is kerosene, as I have everything else on hand. BTW, does Ed's Red work on copper fouling.
 
It doesnt work on copper unless you change the formula to add ammonia which I believe requires the use of a soap or detergent, there are recipes online.
 
Sabot clad projectiles, like the SST, are only accurate in rifled barrels. If your barrel is a smooth bore you should be using self-stabilizing slugs such as Brenneke or Foster. These have most of their mass in the front of the slug, and much less in the rear.

The aerodynamic drag on this type of slug helps keep the slug point on, rather than tumbling.

Ted
 
I never had very good luck with the hornady sst slugs ,but found the federal sabots and the fusion sabots to give batter groups same as rem accutips I only shot the short slugs no need for a three inch as you are really not gaining much when it comes to slugs ,,Dutch
 
Why not? said:
Sabot clad projectiles, like the SST, are only accurate in rifled barrels. If your barrel is a smooth bore you should be using self-stabilizing slugs such as Brenneke or Foster. These have most of their mass in the front of the slug, and much less in the rear.

The aerodynamic drag on this type of slug helps keep the slug point on, rather than tumbling.

Ted
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It's a fully rifled barrel.
 
dutchhunter said:
I never had very good luck with the hornady sst slugs ,but found the federal sabots and the fusion sabots to give batter groups same as rem accutips I only shot the short slugs no need for a three inch as you are really not gaining much when it comes to slugs ,,Dutch
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Hmm, I'll have to give those a try, however even slugs a gun doesn't "like" should do better than 7 or 8 MOA.
 
I find the OTIS shotgun blend plastic remover works very well. The smallest bottle can last quite a long time.

http://www.cabelas.ca/product/66287/otis-o12-pl-plastic-remover-liquid-2-oz

Once you have reconfirmed no issues with optics/mounts on your 220 - try Rem Accutips both 3 as well as 2 3/4 inch sabots (barrel stamp says to use 3in cartridges). Rem Accutips generally perform very well. Federal Premium Trophy Copper sabots also receive very positive reviews. So far, I've zeroed two 20ga Savages and both performed excellent with the 3 inch accutips. I'm sure your slug gun will do fine once you have the issues figures out.

I own one as well, however, I haven't had an opportunity to properly zero mine yet - the following target is from a range session I had with the Savage 220 somewhere last winter and I haven't had a chance to take that out since then ..... oh, BTW, Hornady shot awful in mine too.

 
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Ahsan Ahmed said:
I find the OTIS shotgun blend plastic remover works very well. The smallest bottle can last quite a long time.

http://www.cabelas.ca/product/66287/otis-o12-pl-plastic-remover-liquid-2-oz

Once you have reconfirmed no issues with optics/mounts on your 220 - try Rem Accutips both 3 as well as 2 3/4 inch sabots (barrel stamp says to use 3in cartridges). Rem Accutips generally perform very well. Federal Premium Trophy Copper sabots also receive very positive reviews. So far, I've zeroed two 20ga Savages and both performed excellent with the 3 inch accutips. I'm sure your slug gun will do fine once you have the issues figures out.

I own one as well, however, I haven't had an opportunity to properly zero mine yet - the following target is from a range session I had with the Savage 220 somewhere last winter and I haven't had a chance to take that out since then ..... oh, BTW, Hornady shot awful in mine too.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the great info. Mine is not grouping anywhere near that. Are those 50 or 100 yd. groups? Have you tried the Hornady SST's? If so, what kind of accuracy did you get?

The reason I wanted the SST's is that the same bullet in my 45-70 is a real good tranquilizer for critters.
 
Papaclaude said:
Hey all. I've got a Savage 220 bolt shotgun in 20 gauge. I just cleaned it, and no matter how often I run the bore snake, bronze brush and patches, using Hoppe's, Ballistol or Browning bore cleaner, my patches still come out somewhat dirty. I'm assuming it's from the sabot buildup. How do you guys clean them up?

Also, I am really disappointed with the accuracy considering all my other Savage guns' accuracy levels. It may be the scope - I just swapped it for another, but I can't get much better than 8" groups at 100 yards, with the Hornady SST slugs. I also tried a few other brands, with no better luck. Could the fouling be the culprit (although the rifling still shows very well). Ideas?
Click to expand...

Have a look at Savage's website, I believe that for your gun they actually recommend a specific sabot for it. One of my hunting buddy has your exact gun and I believe he only shoots Remington accutip sabots.
 
Papaclaude said:
Thanks for the great info. Mine is not grouping anywhere near that. Are those 50 or 100 yd. groups? Have you tried the Hornady SST's? If so, what kind of accuracy did you get?

The reason I wanted the SST's is that the same bullet in my 45-70 is a real good tranquilizer for critters.
Click to expand...

Target was shot @ 100 yards. The three vertical POIs (middle to top) visible at the left edge of the paper are actually Hornady SSTs.....never had good results with Hornady in two different Savage 220s plus an H&R 20 USH that I tried.
 
I use brake cleaner or carburetor cleaner to remove the plastic fouling from wads . Just be careful to keep them away from wood finishes, or plastic parts.
 
Ahsan Ahmed said:
Target was shot @ 100 yards. The three vertical POIs (middle to top) visible at the left edge of the paper are actually Hornady SSTs.....never had good results with Hornady in two different Savage 220s plus an H&R 20 USH that I tried.
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Great to know. That's about the grouping I get with the SST's. Wonder if they shoot well out any gun?
 
The 220 is designed for 3" shells. This provides proper feeding from the mag as well as less bullet jump in the chamber. The manual specifically recommends 3" Federals and Accutips. My gun doesn't like the Federals at all but shoots 2 moa with the 3" accutips. I've never had any issues with plastic build up so I can't help you there.
 
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