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slugs

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M

Mt Shooter

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Nov 28, 2007
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I have been reloading for as long as I can remeber. My father taught me and I have taught my sons in the making of rifle and pistol rounds. I started making shot shells, bought a Horaday progresive shot reloader. I read all the information that I could find and bought the bushings that I needed to make the loads I was looking for and they shoot fine. Now I am thinking about making slugs. I would like to get a mold and pour them but I cant figure out is one, the charge and two, when the hull comes around to where the shot is dropped how do you seat a slug instead? And then what about the crimping stages? If the charge bar is off, then no powder would be dropped. Is this some how done on a single stage press? In short how is it done. Any info like a web site?
 
These were loaded on a Hornady 366 auto 12 ga. loader.

P1010021.jpg

P1010020.jpg

The load data will come with the lee mold. If you already have a casting set-up, then you only need the mold. Pouring them is a slow business, but the slugs work just fine in either a smooth bore or rifled barrel. Lee makes them in two weights, 7/8 ounce and 1 oz. Mine is a 7/8 ounce.

Lyman also makes a wasp waisted 12 ga. slug, but it's heavier,(525 gr.), the mold is 3 times the money and made of iron instead of the aluminum lee mold. You also have to buy separate handles, total cost is $55.99 as compared to the lee at $17.99.(Midway prices).

As far as the progressive Hornady loader, I simply leave the charge bar/hopper assy off the pres. I measure the powder with a rifle powder measure and charge the shells with a funnel. You can insert the slug into the wad and ram the whole works through the wad guide.

As can be seen, the crimp collapsed on my loads. That doesn't seam to bother the release of the slug. It's because the slug takes up a LOT less of the payload space in the wad.
 
+1 for the Lyman slug...

I love the fact that I can shoot 3-shot groups from the bench that measure less than 1.5", and they only cost about 25 cents each! One thing I did find was that I got better groups with a 3" hull in my 3" chamber, the 2.5" ones were not as good.
 
I cast and load the Lyman Sabot Slug that looks like a large pellet for an oversized pellet gun. It loads into AA hulls and AA wads, and shoots like a rifle through my slug gun with a rifled barrel. I've also shot them through a smooth bore, and they do very well that way, too. The Lyman Shotgun Reloading Manual has plenty of loading data for both that slug and the others.

I used to have a Hornady 366, but didn't like it. Now I've got a MEC 9000GN. Now there's a shotshell loading press!

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
Lyman sabot slug

I also tried some loads with the Lyman sabot slug. I don't even hunt in a slug required area, but at one time I did. I still have my slug gun, that gets borrowed most seasons, so I experiment with slug loading.

As I noted above, the Lyman slug is much heavier than either of the lee slugs, 525 grains. That's one and 3/16 ounce. Most load development requires a 5 shot string of a given powder charge. Then multiply that by 5 strings, you're shooting 25 hard kicking loads from a bench! I definetly need a better recoil pad for that 870!:cuss:;)

I only did one load work-up, they did okay, but not as good as the lee slugs.(The lee's are much easier on the shoulder!). I'm also worried about the Lyman slug having a steep trajectory because of it's heavier weight. This is a cylinder bore, smooth bore slug gun, with a 4X scope. With factory slugs it's very accurate.

Here's another option;

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=557135

Last year (2007 season), I loaded some of these AQ slugs for the same shotgun. They are THE most accurate slug I have ever shot from that gun! You can also get them from BPI at; www.ballisticproducts.com . In fact they have the load data for the AQ slug in their slug loading data booklet found on the website.

My nephew borrowed the gun,(again:uhoh:), and shot 2 deer with my handlaods of the AQ slug. Bang-flop on both right where he aimed!
 
Maybe I should have said what I was up to. I dont know what a rifled shotgun is but I can guess, we dont need or use shot guns to deer hunt with here. I shoot USPSA and in three gun matches. shooting regular over the counter slugs when rapid fired about tear my shoulder off. I want to reload my own slugs that will cycle my tactical 1100 but not rip my arm off in doing so. lower the charge down to where it will still cycle and still have use of my arm.
 
+1 on the Lyman slug. (Deer chops for dinner last night! :) )

The key thing to me was to match up the slugs/wads/hulls from their loading info that comes with the mold. If I didn't do that then my crimps were crap. (although they did shoot pretty well). I had really good luck with AA hulls, and blue dot. Made a nice "medium" load that hits to the same POA as the factory slugs I was intending (yes, INTENDING) to use last deer season.

I had a hard time spending the $ on the Lyman BUT with 3 neighbors that all have slug guns to feed it's turned out to be a good investment. FWIW.

(870 with "Mossberg" rifled slug barrel under a Leupold 2.5-7 scope)

Have a good one,
Dave
 
Is their a way to do this by purchasing my bullets not using a mold? I have been trying to look into something like muzzle loader bullets with an over sized sabot to fit a 12 or 20 GA.
 
Yup . .if you do a search on this forum you should find a thread where there's a guy who'll sell you the slugs and you can load your own. I think they were around $1 apiece last time I looked. FWIW.
 
When i cast and loaded the Lee Key Drive Slug, 12ga 2 3/4". its accuracy out of a rifled cantilever scoped slug barrel was not close to a factory sabot ammo's 4" compared to Lee'S 7" average @ 100yds. You must use pure lead to keep the slug from sticking in the mould. They are ok in a smooth bore, but not as good as a factory forster type slugs. Over all, the cost and labor to make Lee slugs is not worth the time.
 
Maybe I should have said what I was up to. I dont know what a rifled shotgun is but I can guess, we dont need or use shot guns to deer hunt with here. I shoot USPSA and in three gun matches. shooting regular over the counter slugs when rapid fired about tear my shoulder off. I want to reload my own slugs that will cycle my tactical 1100 but not rip my arm off in doing so. lower the charge down to where it will still cycle and still have use of my arm.
Click to expand...

Then by all means go with the lee 7/8 ounce key slugs. They'll be accurate enough for USPSA ranges. And you can choose the lower loads for much reduced recoil.

You must use pure lead to keep the slug from sticking in the mould.
Click to expand...

Not for my mold. I used wheel weight metal for the ones in my above pics.
 
Snuffy what hull,wad and powder did you use for the slugs?
Click to expand...

For the ones in the pics? those are once fired AA handicap hulls, the wads are claybuster WAA12 1-1/8 ounce copies,(#CB 1118-12., the powder is WW 540, which is the same as Hodgdon HS-6. WW 209 primers.

They shot around a 4 inch group with an occasional flyer to make it 6" @ 50 yds. Plenty accurate enough for deer at that range. BUT as I said, I don't hunt with it now, I used to, may someday again.
 
/

Don't anybody go away, I just got here. I'm ordering the 1 oz Lee Shotgun mold right now. Stay put.:)

Okay, you can move again. It's done. Questions later.
 
Remember my reply in the 12 sabot thread?

Ohman11, if it had the screw-in-choke system, it would be an option. Actually it is a 28" trap barrel cut down to 26" to remove the fixed mod choke that was in it. I drilled + tapped it to mount a 4x tasco scope to make it a dedicated slug gun.
Click to expand...

There, that saved me some typing.:D
 
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