reading patches

[smokestak]

I just read the post "reading patches" and have seen several others like that . I was wondering if there was a general idea on what a sabot or power belt cup should look like after a shot.
  I was shooting my .54 knight 1:28 this week after doing a lot of barrel work to it ( lapped it with a poured lead plug ) because of rust pitting.I was using PB 348HP all lead over 60,65,and 70gr. T7 ffg . The gun shot decent 50yd groups all loads seemed about the same.After shooting I picked up about 10 of the cups out of 30 shots.Some of them were scalloped on the trailing edge some were smooth all showed rifleing marks on the sides none seemed melted or burned.I dont know wich ones were from wich load.
 Can you tell anything about your  load by inspecting these thing?

[savageT]

I just read the post "reading patches" and have seen several others like that . I was wondering if there was a general idea on what a sabot or power belt cup should look like after a shot.
  I was shooting my .54 knight 1:28 this week after doing a lot of barrel work to it ( lapped it with a poured lead plug ) because of rust pitting.I was using PB 348HP all lead over 60,65,and 70gr. T7 ffg . The gun shot decent 50yd groups all loads seemed about the same.After shooting I picked up about 10 of the cups out of 30 shots.Some of them were scalloped on the trailing edge some were smooth all showed rifleing marks on the sides none seemed melted or burned.I dont know wich ones were from wich load.
 Can you tell anything about your  load by inspecting these thing?

I thought (read somewhere) that the petals on the sabots should remain after firing and the base flaired out into the rifling. This was always true until I purchased some saboted polymer bullets from Precision Bullet.com  These 50cal sabots were for 40cal bullets and had stepped cone shaped bases.  After firing, the petals broke off so that only the bases were left.  I called Cecil at Precision Bullet and he confirmed that these sabots were designed to do just that.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that it depends on the particular sabot.  But, you stated some pretty low loads 50-70gr of triple 7.  I don't see where you're putting any great gas pressures on them so they should stay pretty much unaltered until you raise the loads up to max. 110grains.  As long as the accuracy is there use what works.


savageT