Sabots in 300 blackout

[FJ540]

Found my most pertinent post on my testing:

I loaded up and chrono'd several 110gr plated .30 carbine bullets with 3.5gr of Bullseye last week, and was getting a very consistent 930fps out of my 7.5" 1:10 twist pistol. ES was about 15 from what I noticed (didn't do a real work-up on them).

They're in the 9mm sound pressure range as might be expected. 16" carbine proved a little quieter, but not overly so. 960's for MV on that gun. Trail Boss was quieter. Neither will cycle the action of course.

Another tidbit: .32-20 is nearly identical to .300BLK for case dimensions and capacity. There's a bunch of gallery and "cat sneeze" loads out there for that cartridge, since it's been around so much longer.

[JJ]

Considering that most 30 cal game bullets won't expand at Blkout velocities, why not just work up a light load with a 150ish grain bullet? It is more than likely going to thru and thru with no expansion, leaving a .308 diameter hole, vs working up a sabot that will likely have questionable accuracy, and leave a larger than 308 exit.

[Ghost]

To be fair, it would be an interesting project and squeezing extra velocity might make for some fun results.

I'm not following where the extra velocity would come from? Are you saying the .224 projectile would have more velocity than the .308? I could see that but certainly it can't exceed a traditional 5.56/.223 in velocity as it's being shot from a bastardized shortened version of the original case.

[LumberZach]

To be fair, it would be an interesting project and squeezing extra velocity might make for some fun results.

I'm not following where the extra velocity would come from? Are you saying the .224 projectile would have more velocity than the .308? I could see that but certainly it can't exceed a traditional 5.56/.223 in velocity as it's being shot from a bastardized shortened version of the original case.

I am saying that a 300blk sabot will have more velocity than a 223/5.56. Or at least that is my expectation, I have not played with sabots at all but I do find them fairly interesting.

[Ghost]

To be fair, it would be an interesting project and squeezing extra velocity might make for some fun results.

I'm not following where the extra velocity would come from? Are you saying the .224 projectile would have more velocity than the .308? I could see that but certainly it can't exceed a traditional 5.56/.223 in velocity as it's being shot from a bastardized shortened version of the original case.

I am saying that a 300blk sabot will have more velocity than a 223/5.56. Or at least that is my expectation, I have not played with sabots at all but I do find them fairly interesting.

Ok, what I'm getting at is that a 300 BLK is made from a shortened .223/5.56 case so, correct me if I'm wrong as I'm not into BLK, you should not be able to load a 300BLK sabot with as much powder as a 223/5.56 which in turn would yield less velocity. Now on the other hand if you take a sabot filled with a .223 and load it in a 30-06 you would see some gains as far as velocity is concerned, I believe they used to be sold as accelerators for the 30-06. I think that's the flaw everybody is eluding to is that the 300BLK is made from .223 brass so going back is circular and not without loss in accuracy and velocity. But the question of the OP was if it's possible and it looks like it is. Fine with me if people try it.

Edit to add: Looks like you can buy 30-06 accelerators http://www.midwayusa.com/product/220009/remington-express-ammunition-30-06-springfield-accelerator-55-grain-pointed-soft-point-box-of-20

I also came across this and thought it should be mentioned as the muzzle brake could be an issue for someone.

E. Arthur Brown Co, Inc has 30 caliber sabots for reloading!

Big Accuracy Requirement - Before firing sabots in any gun, clean the copper and lead fouling out of that barrel. If you don't accuracy will suffer.
Big Safety Requirement - Never fire sabots in barrels that have muzzle brakes. Premature flowering in the brake could act as a barrel obstruction.
Use 50-60 Grain Bullets - The rifling twist rate on most .30 calibers is 1:12 or 1:10. For .224 caliber bullets, this twist rate is best suited to bullets in the 50-60 gr. weight range

[LumberZach]

Ok, what I'm getting at is that a 300 BLK is made from a shortened .223/5.56 case so, correct me if I'm wrong as I'm not into BLK, you should not be able to load a 300BLK sabot with as much powder as a 223/5.56 which in turn would yield less velocity. Now on the other hand if you take a sabot filled with a .223 and load it in a 30-06 you would see some gains as far as velocity is concerned, I believe they used to be sold as accelerators for the 30-06. I think that's the flaw everybody is eluding to is that the 300BLK is made from .223 brass so going back is circular and not without loss in accuracy and velocity. But the question of the OP was if it's possible and it looks like it is. Fine with me if people try it.

Last thing and I am done.
As I understand it, 1) 300BLK uses pistol powder to increase burn rate and usually increase velocity 2) The plastic on metal surface reduces friction greatly in the barrel increasing velocity as well. I do not doubt this is a useless goal with no practical applications, but I think if somebody were to develop some loads and report their findings I would be really interested to read into it some.

[LarryFlew]

223 and 300 are kind of apples and oranges when you compare powders like Varget for 223 and H110 for 300. Quite a boost as in my max 44 magnum loads are with H110.

[Seismic Sam]

Just to make sure that you're aware, because a lot of people aren't and your reply didn't make it clear whether you knew this, but 296 and H110 are the SAME powder. Made in one factory, one kettle, and then sold to Hodgdon and Winchester who put their own private brand on it. Same for HP38 and 231.

[FJ540]

My understanding was that the intent was to create a smaller wound channel with less pelt damage for small game while out hunting with the more powerful full strength 300BLK loads. Doing this is possible with a sabot and a .224 bullet. Accuracy and cycling, as well as what happens with the pedals once it clears the muzzle are unknowns.

I personally wouldn't go bare muzzle just so I could do this.

[Ghost]

Here's a blackout sabot.


I've found quite a bit of information on other forums about this seems many have done this with somewhat mixed results.

I do like one of the quotes I read though "seems like adding a body lift to a lowered truck"