Sabot too long?

[buckeye hunter]

I ordered 50/451 black mmp sabots to use with .451 200 grain xtp bullets.  The sabot extends nearly to the end of the nose of the bullet.  Will this affect accuracy?

[Biff Mayhem]

Not mine!

I even have shot some that extended beyond the bullet without any loss of accuracy. I just use a smaller jag (45-cal) to seat the bullet with those - so I don't fold over/deform the plastic sabot tips when seating the bullet.

[harvester]

i'd say yes, too long.. but your gun may tell you different.

i've used MMP HPH24 sabots with 250 grain XTP's, and its a similar problem - petals too long.

try this test - trim a number of the sabots with a pair of fingernail clippers - i use the post in the clippers as a stop, and trim them all the same length.  shoot those and compare to results with untrimmed. 

basically, the petals only need to be just a few thousands of an inch beyond the start of the shoulder of the bullet.

[simonkenton]

Those long sabots get caught in my loading jag, so I just trim 'em with fingernail clippers.