- Location
- Napanee, Ontario
Has anyone ever experimented with sabots in their Snider Enfield. I'm going to experiment with some in the near future, just wondering who else has given it a whirl.
Sabots for a Snider
- Thread starter smokindonuts
- Start date
tactical870
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Buckhorn, Ontario
I'm curious to see how this works. I'd imagine the slow twist of a snider would cause stability problems but keep us posted! If it works it'd be a real cheap way to load for my sniders.....
Sabots in a Snider - wot! I did it a few years ago and posted on the British Militaria Forums. http://britishmilitariaforums.yuku.com/topic/1101/t/Using-Sabots-in-the-Snider-UPDATE.html
Anyways, here are some quick tips:
- Magtech makes 24 ga brass shotshells that are sold by "Rayner Shine";
- Lee makes 1 1/4" dies;
- Fiocchi makes plastic 24 ga shotshells that provide a lot of fun if you keep the pressure to about 12K (450gr bullet at about 1000 fps);
- bullets are of course cast which is where the problem lies. Your barrel will likely slug somewhere around 0.587", so the common 58 cal 0.577" molds will proabably not shoot well unless you paper patch them;
- I came up with the idea of using a 54 cal Minie bullet inside a 24 ga shotcup in the 24 ga Fiocchi hull, which acts as a sabot, and brings the overall diameter to about 0.590". No lube needed. I didn't try it in the Magtech brass and then sold the gun, but it should work fine; and
- I also made my own 0.590" bullet mold by drilling out a 54 cal mold and tapping to 5/8" NC. I then sized it with a homemade sizer made by drilling a 15mm (0.590") hole through some 1 1/4" threaded rod. Spiral lube groove and works well. See details at the "Cast Boolits" Forum: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...ghlight=spiral
The fun never ceases with Sniders.
Anyways, here are some quick tips:
- Magtech makes 24 ga brass shotshells that are sold by "Rayner Shine";
- Lee makes 1 1/4" dies;
- Fiocchi makes plastic 24 ga shotshells that provide a lot of fun if you keep the pressure to about 12K (450gr bullet at about 1000 fps);
- bullets are of course cast which is where the problem lies. Your barrel will likely slug somewhere around 0.587", so the common 58 cal 0.577" molds will proabably not shoot well unless you paper patch them;
- I came up with the idea of using a 54 cal Minie bullet inside a 24 ga shotcup in the 24 ga Fiocchi hull, which acts as a sabot, and brings the overall diameter to about 0.590". No lube needed. I didn't try it in the Magtech brass and then sold the gun, but it should work fine; and
- I also made my own 0.590" bullet mold by drilling out a 54 cal mold and tapping to 5/8" NC. I then sized it with a homemade sizer made by drilling a 15mm (0.590") hole through some 1 1/4" threaded rod. Spiral lube groove and works well. See details at the "Cast Boolits" Forum: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...ghlight=spiral
The fun never ceases with Sniders.
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tactical870
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Buckhorn, Ontario
Andy, What was your accuracy like with the "saboted" snider ammo? I've been shooting .590 roundball from plastic fiocci brass for almost a year now with good results but not having much luck finding a mould and .590 roundballs are hard to get....
What does your bore slug to? I bet it's between 0.585 and 0.590", in which case a 0.590" ball is far too small. Remember that it's a sphere, not a cylinder (lie a bullet) and it is at 0.590" only at the outside edge, at most for a thou or two. Use the 0.600" Lee round ball like I did, and your accuracy will improve immensely. Use pure lead, and you might need to trim the brass back a few thou for it to chamber, but the improvement in accuracy will be very noticeable. Press the ball in with your thumb, and once you're sure it's secure, dip the ball's exposed surface into molten bullet lube (I use a beeswax concoction).
As for "accuracy", the sabotted round was about as accurate the round ball. This was a Cadet Carbine I had, and "minute of target" at 100 yds was all I expected.
As for "accuracy", the sabotted round was about as accurate the round ball. This was a Cadet Carbine I had, and "minute of target" at 100 yds was all I expected.
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tactical870
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Buckhorn, Ontario
I have been using candlewax dripped into my cases to seal the ball in.... Seems to work well and keeps the fouling soft.
Andy; As for "accuracy" said:That's pretty lousy accuracy. I have no trouble hitting a eight inch gong every time with my cadet carbine. My three band Snider had no trouble destroying a boulder in our backstop, 230+ metres away. The boulder was about the size of a human head, and three Snider shots crushed it!
