Sabot rounds

W

Weird Guy

New member
I thought that Sabot (pronounced say-boh) round for muskets were similar to the rounds used in battle tanks. Tanks use sabots to fire small, but heavy metal darts out of large caliber tank cannons, like the M1 Abrams Rheinmetal 120mm cannon. The outer casing called the "shoe" flies off after leaving the muzzle, leaving the areodynamic dart to fly downrange.

Sabots for muzzle loading muskets are different, right? The plastic shoe does a different job, by being softer than the lead and engaging the rifling better, usually in a modern, plastic furniture musket with it's stainless steel barrel and mounted scope.

That is how it works, right?
 
A sabot, is a sabot, is a sabot. They all do a similar job and that is to launch a sub-caliber projectile at a higher-than-normal velocity - usually from a rifled barrel. Once launched the sabot falls away and the projectile continues on to it's target. A shot cup in a shotshell would also be a type of sabot in a smoothbore.

A sabot's primary job is two-fold.
One - it creates a seal to prevent propellant gases from escaping around the projectile and to prevent those same gases from melting the base of the projectile causing instability in flight.
Two - it reduces friction between the barrel and projectile to increase the projectile's velocity and range, it also imparts spin on the projectile (from a rifled barrel) for stabilization and acts as a cushion between the projectile and rifling to prevent engraving of the rifling on the projectile which aids in friction reduction.
 
Mtnboomer,
I just knew you had to be from OK. before I ever read your post or your where from. That is the onliest place I ever heard of Mtn. Boomers or have seen any. COOL name.

People laugh at me when I tell them about Mtn. Boomers that will attack a man on horseback. And for sure they gots a mouth full of teeth!! Tried to catch one once...until he stood his ground, turned around and I saw that mouthfull of teeth, then he chased me off..LOL!
 
Actually I had heard that the musket sabots were for use in rifles that have a very high twist in the rifling. The number I have floating around in my head is something like 1 in 48 twist?

The thing is I have some sabots for a Sharps 1863 I own (but have not shot, due to it being too poorly made for me to trust it). The only .54 caliber bullets I could find at my local store were sabots. Looking at them I can tell you that they really don't say, "Sub-calibre munition." They are more like fat hollow point slugs sitting in a shallow plastic cup.
 
The sabot will be 54 caliber, the bullet on the inside will be of a lesser caliber.
My 50 caliber shoots a 44 magnum bullet.
Sabots can be shot through any rifle of the right caliber, but were mainly made for rifles of 1-48 twist and tighter.
My Encore is a 1-24 twist and is extremely accurate with sobots.
I also own several 50 caliber rifles that are 1-68 twist, considered to be "'Ball Rifles" that the sabots will shoot through, but are not nearly as accurate.
When you use sabots, you are increasing chamber pressure so you should always reduce your charge in the older guns.
 
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