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Good place for custom turned bullets?
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I would like to have some custom bullets turned so that I can load them into 12ga sabots. Most of the sabots are .500 bullet diameter I believe, so .510 BMG bullets won't work. The idea is that I want an aerodynamic design with a boattail like a BMG. So I was thinking have them turned from steel since they won't engage the rifling, maybe around 500gr.

Does anyone have an idea of where I could go to have bullets like this turned at a decent price? They are just for fun and shooting steel (at a far distance) so I don't want to spend an arm and a leg on them.

Thanks.
 
Posts: 25 | Location: Ottawa, IL | Registered: 09 October 2007Reply With Quote
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who's making sabots with a bottail recess? I think the budget approach is cast bullets. See the Lyman or RCBS websites for spitzer moulds in 458. The botattail butt does not come into play until 300+ yards anywho...
You could have them cast out of pretty hard alloy.

Rich
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Posts: 23062 | Location: SW Idaho | Registered: 19 December 2005Reply With Quote
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Oh boy....

Let's see. If I recall, the 12 guage is approx. .770 and you want a slug that is .5... that leaves about .25, "quarter of an inch" to slop around in... How thick are those "sabots?"

And 500 grains of steel? Steel is not as heavy as lead, so you just might stick out of the sabot... No barrel contact? Awful tough plastic sabot to guarantee that.

"Boattail" out of a shotgun with a sabot? Why. "Boattail" comes into play when a high velocity bullet drops below the speed of sound, out around 300 yards or more... Speed of sound, 1100 feet per second. You think you will have that in the muzzle velocity of a shotgun? Might.

O.K. You want custom machine work. You go to a shop in the yellow pages and they will do it and you will need a bank loan to pay. On the other hand, what "schools" do you have in your area. This is simple machine tool work. Any high schools with "machine tool" classes? How about communtiy colleges? How about basement gunsmiths? There are men with lathes, etc. in their basements for their own amusement.

Actually, you could do it yourself with a drill and sandpaper or grinding equipment. You will not need perfect form for a shotgun with sabot. If you get something you want to work with, then you pay more for better quality.

If I had this "itch" I would look at roller bearings (or ball bearings). Variety of sizes. Hard as can be had, but you are using a sabot. luck.
 
Posts: 519 | Registered: 29 August 2007Reply With Quote
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Well...

12ga is .73 and just about all your sabot loads you buy at the store are .500 bullet diameter. So there is surely nothing wrong about that, leaving .115 thickness on each side. There is no slop, a sabot locks up tight when it engages the force cone. If it didn't there would be no spin transfered.

Ed Hubel showed that a certain 50BMG borerider can be cut down to use the remaining 400gr (roughly) front section which is .50 diameter instead of .510, in the sabot. But I believe that is a soft alloy. These are for penetrating steel. But I will do some of those alloy ones as well.

If there was any sabot that existed which allowed barrel contact of the bullet, it would have to be the most poorly designed sabot I have ever heard of. That's just not possible in any manufacturer's sabot loading.

What does the core weigh in a 50BMG AP bullet? I haven't weighed just the steel, but I can imagine .50 at 500gr would be similar length.

Yes a boattail helps pass mach transition, which is the generally excepted use. But, some reflected turbulence from the nose shockwave on a large long projectile like this will exhibit reduced base drag during flight well above mach transition. At what range does a 50BMG pass mach transition? As you can see most shooting occurs well before that range, yet the design is still used.

Length isn't a problem because there is no plastic crimp. It is full brass case with open end. It is 12ga FH. So, velocites will actually be above 3000fps @ 500grs.

I posted this because a local shop generally charges more per piece like this. I assumed that someone turning bullets on a regular basis would be setup to easily do these cheaply enough. I have a buddy with a crappy lathe and these are easy to make, I don't see how they could cost much at all starting from steel bar. The problem he has is his lathe is very low quality and tolerances aren't as precise. So I didn't really want to feed something that wasn't precise into such a demanding cartridge and lose valuable accuracy.
 
Posts: 25 | Location: Ottawa, IL | Registered: 09 October 2007Reply With Quote
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Use the 510's and have your friend take .010 off of the sabot.......


Third eye blinds the other two!
A bullet smith.
 
Posts: 61 | Location: ga | Registered: 06 January 2005Reply With Quote
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500 grains at 3,000 feet per second? O.K. I don't want to stand behind this one, but I am getting old.

Like I said, if you are ready to order 100,000 I suppose the price per would be quite low. For just a few, I have had luck with the basement types who shared the interest. (I wonder if in IL you need a permit to own a lathe??? ) Does your friend know someone with a higher quality lathe?

And using the boat tail to ease things along with a big bullet, might be worth while. In Mr. Corbins writings (Dave, corbins.com, couple of his books are posted for free exam or download) he seems to think it more trouble than it is worth unless you are making the most precise bullet for target work. But this is "your baby." luck.
 
Posts: 519 | Registered: 29 August 2007Reply With Quote
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Go to the cast bullets forum, check out my post "2 hours". Those are Lyman Sabot Shockers, a .670" wasp-waisted, flat nosed slug that, fits into a 1 1/8th oz shot cup. Weight is 510gr +/- and they will fly as fast as you can shoot them. Deadly 100yd medicine for deer.

Rich
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Posts: 23062 | Location: SW Idaho | Registered: 19 December 2005Reply With Quote
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Where are you getting shotgun sabots from?
 
Posts: 31 | Registered: 25 April 2008Reply With Quote
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BPI...
 
Posts: 13301 | Location: On the Couch with West Coast Cool | Registered: 20 June 2007Reply With Quote
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