Newbie & newbie question about slugs

If you have a rifled barrel you have to shoot Sabots.

None of them will weigh anywhere even close to 1 or 1 1/4 oz.

Those are Forster type rifled slugs and they don't work in rifled barrels.
They are for smoothbores.

Check here for Sabot components.
http://www.ballisticproducts.com/products.asp?dept=71

Here for more info on slug types & barrel requirements:
http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/shotshell/slugs/

rc

What he said +1

Hi, NA, and welcome to THR.

1) With the sabot slugs you need to be shooting in your rifled barrel, those weights won't apply. Sabots are lighter than the rifled slugs (Foster or Brenneke types) which are used in smoothbore barrels. Most often, the sabot slugs cost more also. What slug is best is the one that shoots best in your gun. Buy a variety of available brands and try 'em, is the best advice I can give. Then buy more of what works best.

2) Yes, pretty much, though some sabot slugs are straight- sided nowadays and not wasp-waisted.

3) I don't know of any, but you want a rifle bullet equivalent for that job, not a pistol bullet.

4) That'll depend on the trajectory of the load you wind up using, and the maximum range at which you can be effective with it. Shooting slugs while sighting in a shotgun and testing groups from various brands is no picnic. If you can only get good groups out to 50 yards or 100 yards, you shouldn't push the gun and load beyond your own ability to hit with it. Risking only wounding animals by exceeding your own skills in the field is not sporting.

If you can manage to group well at longer ranges, sighting in at the midrange point of the trajectory is likely your best bet. That will depend on the load you use, but the ammo box should give you some ideas.

hth,

lpl

A 25 pound bag of shot can come in handy when sighting in a slug gun - between the buttpad and you, but with an 11-87 it shouldn't be too bad.

None of them will weigh anywhere even close to 1 or 1 1/4 oz.

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Always at least one exception to every rule....one of my fav projectiles. The Lee keyed slug runs 7/8oz and 1oz, is shaped generally like a foster slug, and is designed to be loaded into a standard shotcup wad as a sabot. Of course, that relies on the OP loading his own ammo....and I doubt he's up to that quite yet.

rich

I agree that a rifle bullet in a sabot would be a better choice than a pistol bullet,

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Actually, most of the loaded sabot ammo uses the same muzzle loader bullets they sell as seperate bullets for black powder shooters.

.458" "rifle" bullets are constructed with a much too heavy jacket to expand properly at shotgun velocity.

rc

Got to use sabot slugs?

Well you don't actually "have to" use sabot slugs. In fact I only use foster slugs in my rifled barrel 11/87. The rifiling was supposed to fill with lead and the gun was supposed to inaccurate. 600+ rounds later it shoots like a dream and I have yet to see any lead build up. It blasts clays at 100 yards all day long. Now is the reccommended? Not at all, but I figure I have saved about $400 shooting the cheap slugs, more than enough to buy a new barrel should one become neccesary.

I just finished an article from the August 2008 "American Rifleman" where a variety of slugs were tested from two guns: the Remington 870 and the H&R Ultra Slug Hunter.

After testing a variety of slugs from Remington, Winchester, Hornady and others, the top performer on both guns was the Federal Barnes 328 gr. Expander Tipped Sabot Slug

Expansion was quite impressive, as well.

I'm not much of a slug hunter, but the article was very informative.

RandKL: You mentioned your success with the Lee slug mold, so I bought the 1 ouncer.

Are there any tips that you or any others can give me about the selection of wads, powder and crimping?

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NA, the Lee keyed slug is designed specifically so it loads into standard size shotcup/wads. I use Red Dot and Blue Dot powders, myself, but I haven't even bothered buying any the past year. Red Dot or Bue Dot under a Remington RXP wad inside a Remington green hull. My kegs sit on the shelf unused, though. I don't shoot clays anymore these days so I don't get into a lot of heavy reloading. Hell, I don't even bother casting anymore, really. I buy them by the hundreds from a guy in Canada on gunbroker.

Head to Walmart or Cabelas or Sportmansguide or Midway etc and buy yourself a few boxes of whichever 1oz target ammo they have on the shelf that's cheapest....something like a 1oz Federal Top Gun etc. If you can find more than one in a decent price range, look at the fps second. Shot size makes no diff.

Open the shell with a small slotted screwdriver etc and dump the shot into a plastic soda pop bottle. It's too expensive to waste these days. Open the hull up wide and push the Lee keyed slug down into the same shotcup and recrimp. No special wads nor buffers etc necessary. Some wads might have thin petals that tend to bend....on those, just use a needlenose plier to jerk it out far enough, load the slug into it and then reseat it. The Lee slug is sized so it fits the exact same space as 1oz of shot. 1oz of lead is 1oz of lead no matter the form it's in so your fps and chamber pressure etc will be identical. A 1200-1300fps #7 1/2 shot shell will be the same 1200-1300fps when loaded with the Lee slug. If you load the 1oz slug into a 1 1/8oz target shell, you'll get about 1420fps. The 1200-1300fps load is akin to a factory reduced recoil load....it's a lot easier on old shoulders. The 1420fps is middling in velocity but still perfect for hunting. My brother in law loads his to 1 1/4oz....he's younger than I am by a few years, though. I see no reason to beat myself up with handloaded ammo no more than factory ammo.

They equal or exceed any factory slugs I've compared them to in terms of accuracy. From a rifled barrel, they work damned fine! They might resemble a Foster slug but they *aren't Foster slugs*. From a smoothbore, they tumble at extended ranges and lose accuracy. They are, however, terrific short/medium range HD or hunting projectiles in a smoothbore.

You can buy a box of cheapo target shells in the $5 range. Slugs go 10 cents a piece in bulk. That lets you load a Lee keyed slug in a factory shell for approx 30 cents a pop. Far easier on the wallet than $1 a shot factory ammo.

Peace.

richard