Reloading Shotgun Slug...

[Berek]

I've been looking for a rig that will let me reload shotgun ammo with slug, but have yet to locate one. Does anyone have any ideas?

TIA...

 

[snuffy]

lee key slugs





This is how I loaded some of the lee key type slugs. I used a MEC 600 jr. for everything.

The Lee key slug is a self help project, has to be cast yourself. Or find someone to do them for you.

 

[walking arsenal]

What exactly is a key slug? I've never seen one of those before.

How do they work, and what are the advantage/disadvantage of them?

 

[Sam]

I lie the Lyman better. The Lee was OK but them overgrown Air rifle pellets from the Lyman mold shoot wonderful. Easy hit at 100 yards on a B29.

The only problem with either is marking the cases to identify them.

Sam

 

[ReloaderFred]

I also make and shoot the Lyman wasp waist slugs. They load into regular AA hulls, with AA wads and use the folded crimp. Really easy to load and the data is in the Lyman Shotgun Loading Manual.

I have a loading tray that will hold 50 rounds of 12 gauge shells. I place the loaded shells in the tray and use a marking pen to put a black line all the way around the hull. The tray holds the cases in such a manner that the top of the tray is about a third of the way up the case. I just hold the marking pen even with the top of the tray and spin the case, which puts a clearly visable heavy black line all around the hull. This makes identifying the slug load pretty easy.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[forquidder]

Lee slugs

Here is a description for the Lee shotgun slugs.

http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/cat...1735.1652=/html/catalog/blackpow.html#shotgun

Shop around for price before you buy if you decide on this mold as prices are usually lower at other online stores.

 

[Poodleshooter]

What exactly is a key slug? I've never seen one of those before.

How do they work, and what are the advantage/disadvantage of them?

They call it a drive key slug, but it's basically a standard foster slug with a cast in cross member in the base to strengthen it and keep the wad column from jamming into the base upon firing. This ensures that it seperates cleanly from the slug. You handload them using regular shot wads rather than the expensive nitro card wads. They can be easily fold crimped,rather than bothering with roll crimps. Mine cast out at about .68" which just happens to be the diameter of the rifled barrel in my Mossberg. The molds cost under $20 from most online reloading dealers. Lyman makes a very similar slug,but it costs about 2.5x as much.
The advantages are that they're cheap to make if you have a supply of lead. The disadvantage would be that they're not a long range slug if that's what you're looking for.. Then again, none of the cast options are that great at 100+yards,even Lymans "sabot slug" design.

 

[Berek]

Is that a hand load (i.e. hammer and stuff) or does it go into an actual press? And I'm looking for standard hunting loads. I.e. under 100 yds. and what's the accuracy like?

 

[snuffy]

Is that a hand load (i.e. hammer and stuff) or does it go into an actual press? And I'm looking for standard hunting loads. I.e. under 100 yds. and what's the accuracy like?

You can use any shotshell loader capable of loading trap or hunting loads. You might have to use a powder measure to charge the powder. Lee has a page on thier website listing the recommended powders and ammounts. As for accuracy, mine would print around a 5 inch group at 50 yds, with an ocasiona unexplained flyer. I think they were caused by the unsupported ends of the wads being bent back when opening the crimp. I used a claybuster copy of the AA winchester trap wad. I might try some tougher wads, or try trimming the petals back to around where the front of the slug is. My slug gun is an 870 with a 4x tasco mounted in weaver rings on a weaver one piece base, thats screwed to the top of the reciever. It is a smoothbore 26" cly bbl. The slugs in the pic above were made of weelweights.

 

[Poodleshooter]

Is that a hand load (i.e. hammer and stuff) or does it go into an actual press? And I'm looking for standard hunting loads. I.e. under 100 yds. and what's the accuracy like?

I load mine on a cheap Lee Load All 2 press. I think they're maybe $30 or $40.
From my rifled Mossberg using iron sights, I can get a group around 3" at 50yds,and probably more like minute of large pie plate at 100yds.
My loads generally aren't nearly as fast as the 1450fps factory 1oz slugs. They're more in the 1330fps range,allowing me to use slightly faster powders and much smaller charge weights,which cuts cost. That means more drop than factory slugs,though the difference isn't apparent until past 50yds or so.

 

[Berek]

Thanks for all the help. I have a Lee Load All 2 and, as the mold is only like $25, I'll give it a shot (no pun intended... ok, maybe a little...)

 

[BullfrogKen]

Another happy user of a Lee Load All II.

And the Lyman big air pellet. Winchester AA hulls come in 2 colors, so I use grey for slugs. Red wags, Blue Dot powder, 44.0 grains if I remember right, too tired to go look it up right now. If you NEED an actual recipe, e-mail me, I'll go grab my records.

By the way. I get 3" groups at 200 yds with an NEF Ultra Slug Hunter II single shot slug gun. Those things are BOLD. They're basically 10 gauges, underbored to a rifled 12. They're unreal.