What has happened in recent years is that the notion of an "EZ-Load" sabot has been re-introduced and re-touted, largely in answer to "tight-barreled Thompsons" (some barrels undersize at .496 - .497 in. diameter). Thompson Shockwaves (repackaged Hornady SST's) are now supplied with a thinner, softer, weaker HPH-24 sabot instead of the HPH-12 sabot offered before. That may well allow some T/C shooters to pound down sabots in undersized bores, or pound sabots into Triple 7 or Pyrodex fouled bores, but it does nothing for a Savage 10ML-II.

Barnes makes some beatutifully-performing bullets, but the TMZ boat tail isn't one of them. The yellow sabot is proprietary to the bullet, the boat tail offers less bearing surface at the base and more sabot stress-- not a good thing at all. The T-EZ 290 Flat Base is a far easier to work with bullet. The "EZ" part again means a HPH-24 sabot, so sometimes it takes a HPH-12 MMP sabot to give proper dressed sabot / bore fit.

With a Hornady XTP and a short, black MMP sabot-- normally Savage 10ML-II's group extremely well with very little load adjustment, the same with the .458 Barnes Original Semi-Spitzer Soft Point 300 grain and the Orange .458 / 50 MMP sabot.