Benjamin Rogue – Anybody own one?

First off let me apologize, because if you do own one that BLOWS and I’m genuinely sorry for you.

Second let me preface this by saying this is a bad idea for an even worse rifle. Here goes:

So the most commonly used relatively low pressure, loose fit (meaning poor rifling bite), and otherwise potentially problematic common bores are on the “muzzle loaders” sold basically as over-engineered toys so that people can hunt during muzzle-loader season with something that can at least pretend to be designed this century. (just an FYI in case you didn’t know) Their solution to the fact that you have to be able to force the bullet backward down the bore and still pretend to have accuracy is a discarding sabot made of plastic/polymer/whatever. They also have absurdly slow twist rates, at least by PB standards, so the bullets need to be relatively stable and also as it happens function at relatively low velocities.

So why couldn’t this work on a Rogue? Well the first problem is obviously that most of these muzzle loaders run .50 cal or .45 cal if memory serves, so just sourcing .357 sabots and accompanying slugs will be its own little task of specialness. The next problem will of course be that the resulting projectile will inevitably be too long to fit in a Rogue magazine, and even if it does the edges of the sabot will almost certainly get caught when trying to chamber it. And of course muzzle devices can’t be used, because the sabot will catch on them once its exited the barrel. Oh and once all that has been overcome there is the whopper of the problem of finding some poor fool (no offense intended, the marketing blurb made me salivate too, I’m just an unrepentant cynic) who actually owns the rest of the guy to try and fire this hairbrained idea.

Why might it work though? Well the polymer these rounds are made of is actually quite lubricious, more so than lead, so right there you’re looking at a muzzle velocity perk. Additionally the polymer is significantly softer than lead, so its rim will presumably expand to seal well, and the rifling will find it relatively easy to bite into it. Finally any bore inconsistencies won’t be biting into the bullet itself, so it should emerge from its trip down Crossman’s finest unscathed yet spinning nicely.

So does anyone have even the remotest interest in trying this? Also, since I think the chances of finding all of the above are slim to none, would anyone here who happens to own a big bore thats not a rancid turd care to take one for the team and try this one out if for no other reason than to sate my curiosity? Ideally sub-calibers paired with higher twist rates and significantly more lubricious rounds might be our ticket past the sound barrier, or simply a way to run big-bores without casting your own lead.

So what do people think? I know a number of my ideas have not been received terribly positively in the past, so perhaps this isn’t the forum for them, but hope springs eternal? Does anyone with FIRST HAND experience have any counter-points regarding these specific sabots? Would anyone be willing to try it?