Remember the Accelerator line of cartridges?

[Varmiter71]

I bought some sabots to shoot in my 30 carbine.
But before I got too it I bought a 5.7 Johnson so I never did anything for it

 

[Mike Matteson]

I often wonder about them, and what happen to them. At the time I didn't have rifle to use them in either. Glad I didn't have a rifle that would work.

 

[akdad]

it's amazing how much has changed since they came out. Now we wouldn't dream of using same twist barrel for 100 gr difference in weight let alone 1000 fps but we all tried them back then

 

[Lefty G-gear]

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=30-06+accelerator+load

CLICK ON LINK

 

[Lefty G-gear]

"DISCONTINUED"

Technical Information

• Caliber: 30-06 Springfield
• Bullet Weight: 55 Grains
• Bullet Style: Pointed Soft Point
• Case Type: Brass
  
  Ballistics Information:
• Muzzle Velocity: 4080 fps
• Muzzle Energy: 2033 ft. lbs.

Remington Express Ammo 30-06 Springfield Accelerator 55 Grain Pointed

The classic "Green-box" ammunition that shooters and hunters have trusted for years. Remington makes ammunition for nearly every need. This ammunition...

www.midwayusa.com

 

[Lefty G-gear]

ROLL YOUR OWN

Sabot Loaders Starter Kit includes 100 sabots and a sabot seater die

www.eabco.net

 

[Lefty G-gear]

HOW TO ROLL YOUR OWN

 

[M1A1ABRAMS]

I think that sabots and a smaller diameter lighter weight bullet would work ok if you looked at barrel twist rates and M V for the weight of bullet . played with seating depth and the powder you were using to push the bullet as well as having a well balanced sabot - bullet combination from the start . For someone with time and money to play around with it , it might be a fun project in the off season . Time patience and a good basic knowledge of some of the basics would be an advantage .

I wonder if they would not have done better in a smooth bore ? As a M1A1 tanker we shot sabots & heat (120mm). The gun tube was a smooth bore. I don't believe the rounds are made exactly the same but it could still be a factor in the performance of these rounds. It looks like they have a sort of fan stabilizer around the bullet.

120mm KE-W A1 Armor-Piercing, Fin-Stabilizing, Discarding Sabot-Tracer

The 120mm KE-W A1® provides state-of-the-art tungsten Armor-Piercing, Fin-Stabilized, Discarding Sabot-Tracer for 120mm smoothbore cannons.

www.gd-ots.com

120mm M865 Target Practice, Cone Stabilized, Discarding Sabot-Tracer

The 120mm M865 Kinetic Energy (KE) training round provides realistic, accurate and safe training for tank gunnery.

www.gd-ots.com

 

[FEENIX]

I still have a box or two somewhere; IIRC, I was getting >2" group at 100Y.

 

[mcdil]

I wonder if they would not have done better in a smooth bore ? As a M1A1 tanker we shot sabots & heat (120mm). The gun tube was a smooth bore. I don't believe the rounds are made exactly the same but it could still be a factor in the performance of these rounds. It looks like they have a sort of fan stabilizer around the bullet.

120mm KE-W A1 Armor-Piercing, Fin-Stabilizing, Discarding Sabot-Tracer

The 120mm KE-W A1® provides state-of-the-art tungsten Armor-Piercing, Fin-Stabilized, Discarding Sabot-Tracer for 120mm smoothbore cannons.

www.gd-ots.com

120mm M865 Target Practice, Cone Stabilized, Discarding Sabot-Tracer

The 120mm M865 Kinetic Energy (KE) training round provides realistic, accurate and safe training for tank gunnery.

www.gd-ots.com

I guess some of that info has been declassified now, lol. A smooth bore with reverse plunger sealing is by far the most consistent way to pressure launch a round. So much easier to inspect the bore and keep it clean too, as I'm sure you remember. The rifled 105mm was a pain. In small caliber bullets, of course none of this is really economically feasible. Would be pretty darn cool to give a fin stabilized small caliber a go of it though. Something for the folks over at Picatinny Arsenal to think about in their free time.

 

[M1A1ABRAMS]

I guess some of that info has been declassified now, lol. A smooth bore with reverse plunger sealing is by far the most consistent way to pressure launch a round. So much easier to inspect the bore and keep it clean too, as I'm sure you remember. The rifled 105mm was a pain. In small caliber bullets, of course none of this is really economically feasible. Would be pretty darn cool to give a fin stabilized small caliber a go of it though. Something for the folks over at Picatinny Arsenal to think about in their free time.

Trained on the M1Abrams 105mm Ft Knox. Yes but it would launch more types of rounds at that time. As far as effectiveness on some of these rounds. I wouldn't know/ Then NATO, you know. lol

 

[DSheetz]

Slugs have also been used in shotguns for many years . They are similar in shape as a bullet designed to be fired in a riffled barrel if I recall correctly , it's been a lot of years since I looked at any of them . The bullets that were used in the Remington ammo were a standard 55 grain 22 caliber bullet designed to be fired in a rifled barrel to give them stability by spinning them at a specific rate . The sabots you have described were specifically designed to be fired in a smooth bore with the bulk of the weight forward with a thin longer body having fins at it's end near the back of the projectile so that when it's sabot case is shed they will stabilize in flight with out the need to spin plus the longer body and fins add drag so that the round doesn't tumble end over end in flight . They have slow motion pictures of the sabots you spoke of in flight as well as the standard solid and explosive rounds in flight fired from both smooth bore and rifled barrels . the sabots didn't do well in rifled barrels and the standard rounds didn't do well in smooth bore barrels . the standard rounds tend to tumble in flight if they aren't stabilized by spinning . It is an interesting thought about trying to use a smooth bore barrel to shoot the sabots from but for me I don't have the funds to build a smooth bore rifle just to see if it would work better . If memory serves me the solvent used to clean the bigger rifled bores contained cyanide to help in removing the metal fowling from the rifling but then it was a lot of years ago that I was around any of that kind of thing . Still it is interesting to hear peoples thoughts on them and things to be learned from others experiences .

 

[West Calamus]

Reading some of these threads reminded me of the box of 30-06 Accelerator cartridges I bought in the early 1990s. They cost a lot of money when I didn't have a lot to waste and I never hit a thing with them. They seemed like a gimmick to me. Did any of you find them accurate? The one time I thought I really had a chance, the coyote was so close, all I could see was fur in the scope. I fired and missed.

View attachment 393854

I had a buddy who used accelerators in a 30-06 on prairie dogs. We were shooting from to 150 to 200 yards and the dogs were vaporized and body parts flew up to 10 feet high. Accelerators must had more then 4000 fps. If I think remember right the Feds made them illegal because the bullets had no engraving on them.

 

[deadidarren]

Boy I'm getting old too I remember these from back in the 80s they came in 30 30 308 and 30 06