Sabots and smoothbores

[evildog]

I've heard from a couple other cannon shooters that accuracy with a smoothbore can be significantly improved by adding a sabot to the ball.... not that they have actually done this themselves. Have any of you sucessfully used sabots in your smoothbore? If so, I would sure like to hear how you went about it.

 

[donk]

I only have a one inch gun and I have always patched my balls but I do know someone who does use sabots on his two inch Parrot Gun. He makes them out of Bondo or auto body filler. I believe he uses a piece of PVC pipe to mold them in and uses a ball to form the end. When the bondo is cured he cuts them in half down the center and peals the PVC off.
when shooting he uses a tin foil powder charge and slides the split sabot together down the barrel on top of the charge and then rams the ball on top of that and tamps it with the ram rod to seat the ball.
When the gun is shot the sabot splits apart as it leaves the barrel leaving the ball to fly on it's own. (I'm told if you don't split the sabot that it will stick to the ball and will effect the acuracy of the gun.
I have never seen this person shoot with out the sabot but I know it is very acurate with it.