Budget Slugs?

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Candyman87

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Short of reloading my own, are there any known budget slugs out there?

Just for practice at the range, practicing technique, testing equipment, etc.

I'd rather not drop a dollar every time I pull the trigger if I don't have to.

I know the two terms (slug and cheap) tend to be mutually exclusive.

Thanks in advance.
 
If you are just testing equipment and practicing technique, then why not buy some basic Walmart bulk pack and use that? The shoulder recoil you save will be beneficial down the road anyway
 
Brenneke KO slugs run right about the same price as generic Winchester, in the 5 round packs. Better performance in my limited experience using them.
 
Rio Royal Star 1oz slugs are identical to Brennekes and cost a couple bucks less per box. They shoot great in my rifled barrel, and a few smoothbores I tried also.
 
Testing with anything other than the intended round (slug in your case)
may or may not give the true pic your looking for.

Playing around is one thing. Getting the most from a weapon is something else. :)
 
With regards to the cut shells, Id be worried about the long term stresses on your choke tubes and threads resulting from a high fired count.
 
Rio Royal are the way to go. I'm not sure where in NJ the OP is, but there is a Cabelas in Hamburg PA and Dover DE. Watch for their sales on the Rio slugs and buy them by the case if it's financially feasible for you. That's how you'll end up with the best deal. We shoot them out of a Saiga SBS and have never had an issue.
 
Doubtful an indoor range that limits to slugs only going to allow use of cutshells.

You didn't mention gauge or whether this is for a smoothbore or rifled barrel. 12 and 20 are most common, but the judge type revolvers seem to have revived the 410 slug. 10, 16, and 28 are harder and more expensive to find. Rifled slugs are obviously cheaper than sabots and for short range work under 50 yards it's unlikely you will find any significant differences in accuracy, power, or knockdown performance between the two types. However if you have a rifled barrel, the cheapest non-sabot slugs may cause leading issues (some like trueballs are recommended for both smooth and rifled).

Cheap and slugs generally don't go together. Being in the land of Lincoln where slugs are THE only game in town, we get a pretty good selection of slugs at most every sportings goods and big box retailer. Even during the ammo shortage they were always in stock. The price of slugs as generally equivalent to centerfire hunting rounds. Twenty rounds is going to set you back somewhere between $14 to $50 depending on brand and quality/features of the projectile. If you find them for anything less it is a bargain.

About the least expensive rifled slugs I have encountered on a store shelf are some 15-round bulk packs of rifled slugs from winchester and remington. Locally these are $9-10 at Walmart stores for 12 and 20 gauges. Other retailer sales don't get much less than $4 per box of 5 rounds. If it can be legally shipped to you, mail order or online may be a better option though shipping costs may be awful since they are heavy.

http://ammoseek.com/shotgun-ammo?ikw=slug
 
I buy RIO's on line at various retailers for around $100 a flat (250) plus shipping. There are a few other import brands that are similar in price. Got my last flat from SG ammo for $89 on sale.
 
I bought ten boxes of the Rio crap and every single round had uneven roll crimps that forced the slugs to be seated uneven. Don't buy cheap slugs unless you buy American cheap slugs. Your best bet if you want to save money is to cast and load them.
 
I found a bunch of Sluggers locally for $3 a box and bought all 40 boxes they had.

Now that I have the hulls I'll probably look into reloading them.
 
I can find good deals on buck and birdshots, but never slugs. WHY WHY WHY!!!!

2: reasons i can think of
1: hunting deer is popular and everyone is buying them up
2: with a tin foil cap on tight the .gov doesnt want to get hammered with a slug . But i belive its more to do with reason #1 LOL
 
Even the cheapest Walmart slugs still go for at least $.75 per round. I remember, 3 years ago, they went for about $.60 per round.
 
Opening Post and post #3: Parameters are: budget practice at indoor range that allows only slugs (no shotshells).

Some indoor ranges have problems maintaining the target frames and backstop and managing lead cleanup when shot shells are used.

Cut shotshells were substituted for slugs by subsistence hunters during the Great Depression and by WWII British Home Guard carrying shotguns while watching the coast for Nazi commandos. I think if an indoor range had problems with lead cleanup of shot, they would not allow cut shotshells. Plus in pump-action and semi-auto shotguns, cut shells can have function problems.

I have always had access to the family property on the mountains for practice. A lot of folks in urban areas are being told to buy shotguns for home defense HD, and may have access only to indoor ranges for practice. Live fire practice with a HD shotgun can be vital. Some designs or some individual guns have quirks that the owner must be aware of, and they may only show up in live fire practice.
 
I can find good deals on buck and birdshots, but never slugs. WHY WHY WHY!!!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2: reasons i can think of
1: hunting deer is popular and everyone is buying them up
2: with a tin foil cap on tight the .gov doesnt want to get hammered with a slug . But i belive its more to do with reason #1 LOL
Click to expand...

#1 not so much, there are plenty of slugs around just about any time you want to buy them.

More likely because there simply isn't that much demand for slugs except from deer hunters, who by and large are LOW volume shooters -- as in 1 or 2 shells per season. Every notice the vast majority are sold in 5 round boxes? A bulk box is all of 15?

Unlike trap, clays, waterfowl, and upland shooters who merrily blast through hundreds or thousands of rounds per season the average slug shooters just don't use many at all.

BTW -- you can load slugs in ANY shotshell. Some may require trimming, but not a big deal.

I bought ten boxes of the Rio crap and every single round had uneven roll crimps that forced the slugs to be seated uneven. Don't buy cheap slugs unless you buy American cheap slugs
Click to expand...

At typical indoor shoot range distance (7 to 25 yards) with a shotgun slug very unlikely to notice any appreciable difference in performance or accuracy. Besides, given that the most accurate slugs available right now have projectiles that not only aren't seated squarely but in fact float around in the hull it won't make enough practical difference to mean a thing.
 
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