.54 cal in-line and sabots

[Two7D]

I've been given a Knight .54 cal muzzleloader. I was thinking of shooting .451 caliber bullets in a sabot. Anybody try this? What kind of accuracy did you get? I've mostly shot .50 cal and .45 caliber rifles. This will be a first with the .54 for me.
Thanks

 

[jeremys4]

I assume you have a mk85? You should try blackhorn around 90 grains at first then go up in 5 grains. See what shoots best with the rifle. Blackhorn is by far the cleanest running powder I’ve tried and currently use it. It seems to me that you should shoot .54 cal being that’s what the rifle requires. I was told by a coworker that one loaded.270wsm in a .300wsm and was way off target. So I assume your smaller caliber bullet would give you less than an accurate results. Good luck be safe.

 

[jhudson1]

It has worked well for me, 3 elk and 2 deer. Shot 300 gr .45 caliber Hornady pistol bullets out of a black knight. Nothing further than 100 yards, one shot each. Hope this helps, good shooting!

 

[Doublegunner]

I assume you have a mk85? You should try blackhorn around 90 grains at first then go up in 5 grains. See what shoots best with the rifle. Blackhorn is by far the cleanest running powder I’ve tried and currently use it. It seems to me that you should shoot .54 cal being that’s what the rifle requires. I was told by a coworker that one loaded.270wsm in a .300wsm and was way off target. So I assume your smaller caliber bullet would give you less than an accurate results. Good luck be safe.

He wants to shoot a sabot load which is a smaller projectile, usually 45 caliber, surrounded by a plastic sleeve that is the bore diameter of the rifle, in this case 54 caliber. This is common with shotguns and muzzleloaders. Not very common with rifles. It allows for higher velocity and flatter trajectories. On a side note don't ever shoot a different caliber in a rifle such as 270wsm in a 300wsm as that can be very dangerous. I don't want to seem preachy but I would hate to see someone get hurt.

 

[Two7D]

It has worked well for me, 3 elk and 2 deer. Shot 300 gr .45 caliber Hornady pistol bullets out of a black knight. Nothing further than 100 yards, one shot each. Hope this helps, good shooting!

I to have had good results with Hornady XTPs in a sabot out of a .50. What kind of accuracy do you get? I was thinking of trying 250 grain Barnes TMZ or TEZ with a Harvester sabot.

 

[jhudson1]

2 inch at 100 will do for me. I have been using mmp sabots, .45 cal 300 gr. hornady's and 90 gr. of aliant black mz in my .54. I have to say that one deer was a 90, everything else was from 40 to 60.

 

[Two7D]

2 inch at 100 will do for me. I have been using mmp sabots, .45 cal 300 gr. hornady's and 90 gr. of aliant black mz in my .54. I have to say that one deer was a 90, everything else was from 40 to 60.

I appreciate the info! I'll probably try the Hornady bullets if the Barnes don't shoot accurately. Any reason for the MMP sabots?

 

[jhudson1]

Just chance. When I started hunting with a muzzleloader in 2005 I didn't like the pre-made lead bullets, so I tried a .44 caliber sierra pistol bullet and mmp sabot in my .50 caliber thompson center firehawk and it worked great. They have worked well in all the other rifles I have tried them in including my pair of .50 caliber Gonics which I just couldn't take the 540 gr home cast bullets. The only rifles that I don't use mmp sabots on are my TC hawken and my White rifle. Patched round ball and 475 gr home cast slip fit. Sorry for the yammering, hope this helps. Let us know how it works out.

 

[Steve Petersen]

I’ve not tried a sabot in my Traditions .54 just in my .50 so this is some good info.
I am shooting 425g lead conicals over a wad and 105g Goex FFg in the .54 and I’ve got open sites on it so 100y is my set limit. Also have 100y as my zero.

 

[azelkhntr]

Knight rifle barrels have a faster twist rate and were designed for sabots. Powerbelt bullets also work very well in them.

 

[Two7D]

I finally got to shoot the gun. It's an LK-93 w/22" barrel. I used 80 grains of 777 powder. Got a 2" group with 295 grain powerbelts at 100 yards and about 2.5-3" groups with Barnes TEZs. With the Barnes I used Harvester sabots. I was surprised at the felt recoil, it was harsher than I was hoping for. The stock does not have a recoil pad, or removable butt plate, so a slip-on would be my only option thus lengthening the length of pull...something I did not want to do. I'll be trying some 200 grain Hornady FTX as soon as I can find some in stock.

 

[Buckskins&BlackPowder]

Make sure your rifle is able to shoot blackhorn209 before spending $50 on a 10oz can. The knight mk85 - lk93 and the likes are not suitable for blackhorn209 due to their open breech design.