How to slug a barrel

Generally a lead bullet .002 to .004 over the nominal bore diameter, forced through the rifling with a wood dowel.

Simply insert the slug, and tap through.

Use a caliper to determine the true sizing of your bbl by measuring the forced slug.

It's better to use a pure lead round ball. A lead bullet will have a lot of bore contact, so it will be very difficult to pound through. Make very sure the barrel is clean first, then use plenty of oil on the ball and IN the barrel.

If it's a revolver, you also have to know the throat diameters of the chambers. Small throats and big barrels will never shoot lead bullets accurately and will lead badly. Best case scenario is .358 throats AND .358 barrel, that would be ideal. If the throats are too small they can be reamed to match the barrel.

Some barrels like the Ruger GP=100, have 5 groove rifling. It's very hard to measure something with uneven shape. A "V" anvil micrometer will do it, so will a precision hole gauge.

For an experienced person, tapping a ball through would be easier.

For someone who has never done it, there is a higher likelihood that a sphere, as opposed to a cylinder, could me mis-manipulated in the bbl making it difficult to obtain a proper measurement from the cut lead.

I've used egg sinkers and brass rods (to drive the slugs) to slug my barrels, just make sure they are soft sinkers. Some folks won't use hardwood dowels 'cause they say they will splinter and jam the slug and dowel in the barrel. Hasn't happened to me though. I believe the most important deminsion is the cylinder throats. They should be larger than groove diameter, and bullets should be sized to the same diameter (.358" throats - .358" bullets, .431" throats - .431" bullet).This has worked for me for all my revolvers...

http://www.lasc.us/Brennan_2-1_MeasuringGunDimensions.htm a little gun measuring info

I use fired brass for casting pure lead into. Fired brass will be several thousands over size and has a cone shape at the base. Use a Kenetic bullet puller to get the lead out of the brass. Inspect to make sure it's a good clean cast. Use a file or sander to flatten the base. Oil the barrel real good, and slug before you start driving it through. The cone shape makes it easy to start.

If you can find some pure lead slip sinkers used for worm fishing would be a good option too.

You can also slightly increase the diameter of undersized lead by squeezing it in a vice.

Snuffy pretty much said it all. I've ben into bullet casting pretty big for a few years now and slug everything. Most of my rifles are .30 caliber, so I rob a piece of 00 buckshot out of a shell, oil it, set it on the muzzle and start it in with a brass faced hammer. I have a 6" piece of 1/4" oak dowel that I use to get it on in, then normally I can push it the remainder of the way with either a long oak dowel or a 1/4" aluminum rod.
Like someone else said, get some egg shaped lead sinkers.

For someone who has never done it, there is a higher likelihood that a sphere, as opposed to a cylinder, could me mis-manipulated in the bbl making it difficult to obtain a proper measurement from the cut lead.

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Naaa, if the sphere is slightly oversized as it should be, then when it comes out of the end of the barrel, it'll be closer to a cylinder in shape than a sphere.

35W

Get an egg sinker that is just a tad loose for your bore. Pinch the flats in a vice to 'egg' it out a bit more. Use some wd-40 or 3-in-1 oil or vaseline or whatever you have to help it slide down the barrel. I have seen the wooden dowel work, just cut it into 3-5 sections to reduce splintering. Tap it down the barrel and measure the lands and grooves with vernier calipers or micrometer or whatever you have. Good luck

I have used cerasafe from midway,cast into the bore at less than 200 degrees.Wait 5 minutes and lightly tap out.wood dowels tend to splinter and may jamb in the bore.I have used lead before but lead spring-back may lead to inaccurate results.Dont ask me how I know that.

There is a Youtube video which shows a great way to make your own slug.

Take a fired case, melt a sinker into it using a propane torch (do it outdoors or in a well ventilated area).

Then knock the lead out with a kinetic bullet puller like the RCBS one.

You now have a dead soft slug that will not be a pain in the neck to drive into the barrel because it is too big. The taper from the bottom of the case should be enough to start the slug into the barrel and as you drive it, you will be left with only a tiny ring of lead that gets shaved off.

Be sure to lube the slug before you start driving it and it may be easier to cut part of the .38 special case down so that it is not so tall. The slug only needs to be maybe one-half to 3/4" long.

Here's Part 1 and Here's Part 2

"I use fired brass for casting pure lead into. Fired brass will be several thousands over size and has a cone shape at the base. Use a Kenetic bullet puller to get the lead out of the brass. Inspect to make sure it's a good clean cast. Use a file or sander to flatten the base. Oil the barrel real good, and slug before you start driving it through. The cone shape makes it easy to start." Blue68f100

I first read this and thought "might work, but doesn't sound good for me". WRONG! My apologies Mr. Blue. I've been mixing some alloy to get it a little harder; I have a mess of alloy/bullets that tested out at 9 BHN and wanted some around 15 for a Magnum. I had some mix in my casting pot and noticed some .38 Special and .44 Special cases laying on the bench so I filled a few with lead from my pot (bottom pour). When they cooled I put them in my "whacker" thinking it would never work. The first one took several good whacks but it did come out. The next 4 came out with two or three whacks. Just the right size to test with my Lee Hardness Tester. I miked the slugs and Yep, they are tapered, but my alloy and cases are a bit (a couple thoudandths) too small for slugging. A little more experimenting and I'll get them the right size. I'm sure I'll use his method to make slugging slugs in the future, thanks Blue...

I had been reloading for over 30 yrs when I ran across that procedure. I had to try it, and it worked for me. But it must be fired brass to have the over size your looking for. And hopefully a loose chamber... And I will guess some head stamps are better than others since all are a little different. Then the it must be Pure Lead so it's dead soft.

Never too old to learn something new.

Apology not needed.

RSROCKET1, Thank you for posting your Videos, They were very Helpful & I will be using your Idea to Slug my 45 acp.

you need soft lead sinkers you can order them at beartooth.Once it on the muzzel tap it down with a wooden dowel to it comes out the action.

Slugging

Great info from all. There are also many you-tube videos that will give you a visual of how this is done. I read a post on this thread that advised using a short piece of dowel followed by another longer piece. This is accurate and good advice. If you try to ram it through with a single long piece of dowel it will buckle going down and possibly break. If you cast your own it is nice to slug the barrels for the calibers you cast....and put that info into your reloading notebook....unless you are like me and can remember everything (cough).

My problem now though is that the first one i ran through my .38 barrel measures .351. Can that be right?

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How many grooves does the barrel have. IF it's a five groove, then a simple outside measurement won't work.

See my post #3 here.

Oil the bore and use either an oversized soft lead bullet or a round lead ball.

Any reason hard wax wouldn't work?

My problem now though is that the first one i ran through my .38 barrel measures .351. Can that be right? I'm thinking I must have screwed something up...but I just started at the muzzle and tapped it down until it came out the other end, then measured it.

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First of all, you are measuring the largest part of the slug and not the indented sides right? That would be measuring the narrowest dimension of the rifling.

It might be possible that a screwed in barrel is constrincting the bore in one spot or a sight is swaged onto the barrel and causing a constriction, but .351 is .006" smaller than it ought to be which is 0.357"