Beware ACTIV slugs [Archive]

Sir Galahad

March 22, 2003, 02:19 PM

In the past, I've used ACTIV shells in other shotguns and they were pretty good. This was out of a bolt action shotgun. But today, I discovered that ACTIV 12 gauge slugs are not worth a darn out of my 1300 Defender. These are the all-plastic shells with a steel disc reinforcing the rim. Well, the plastic around the rim breaks off and allows double feeds. Luckily, I only bought 2 packs of 5. These slugs are crap.:banghead:

Detritus

March 22, 2003, 06:47 PM

thought ACTIV died out a few years ago! partly due to the reason's you mention.

my two very disparate experiences with their shells sort of showed me what they are and are NOT good for

in time order, first the NOT good for, they are NOT good for use n guns like remington 870s, 1100, 11-87, winchester 1300s, and the like. the platic of the base and rim is soft enough to allow the exctractor to "dig in" during ejection, and it gets worse if you're, (like i was) Dove hunting an need an occasional followup shot, now you've stuck a too soft plastic rim into a hot chamber! i quit using them after i had a number of them present really demented versions of a stovepipe jam, most simply stuck to the extractor hook and had to be pulled off by hand, one (not sure exactly how) hung on to the side of the bolt with the gun in battery on a second round!! slightly shocking to bring a gun down off your shoudler after proving that you didn't practice enough before opening day, adn see a bright red spent hull hanging from the side of your gun!

now for the only thing i'd be willing to use them for, and the reason that i want to find some of them in D&Q loadings (but only if i can get em cheper than Winchester Featherlites). they work GREAT in the SxS coach guns i use for shooting CAS. and don't have a metalic base to expand just far enough to slow or stop the rounds from dropping out clean. and if i could find them in 16ga for low enough i could actually use the 1935 vintage Lefever hiding in the safe, to shoot a amtch every now adn then just for the heck of it.