Why so little love for Slug Loads?

Status
Not open for further replies.
C

Candyman87

Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2014
Messages
712
Location
Northeastern PA
As a pistol reloader who's spending more time with shotguns these days, I've decided to branch into reloading shotshells. I have plenty of hulls to reload (I've always used Remington Gun Clubs for my skeet shooting because I knew they're ideal for reloading) and I'm planning to buy a reloader shortly.

That being said, there's a LOT of data out there for target loads, and buckshot loads, and all sorts of stuff. There's books dedicated to loading for skeet, for hunting larger game, to hunting birds. Nobody dedicates any time to slugs... why?

Purely from a cost standpoint, the most money to be saved is on slugs.

The reason I ask, with the cold winter, I don't spend as much time shooting clays but like to spend time behind the shotgun still, which means indoor range. I've got enough slugs to get me through the winter indoors, but they're EXPENSIVE!

I'll be reloading target loads, but I also want to branch into slugs as well. The only published data I can really find is for the Lyman Foster and Sabot slugs (in the Lyman 5th of course) and only two loads for the Lee 1 oz. Slugs.

Just wondering why so little time and effort is devoted to slugs?
 
Have been casting my own slugs for awhile now and still enjoy shooting them. I use a Lee 1 once mold and down load my powder charges to a comfortable level. Can shot them all day without any shoulder pain. They make nice holes and cost me about nickel each (power&primer).
 
kostner said:
Have been casting my own slugs for awhile now and still enjoy shooting them. I use a Lee 1 once mold and down load my powder charges to a comfortable level. Can shot them all day without any shoulder pain. They make nice holes and cost me about nickel each (power&primer).
Click to expand...
Yep, this is what I'm looking to do as well. Can get lead for free.

kostner, do you use a roll crimp? or fold? I've found different sources that say you should roll vs. fold.
 
I'm ALSO guessing that slug loads account for about one percent of all loads that travel through a shotgun, so the demand for data may not be nearly as great. But I'D like to know more about slug loads, too. You almost never hear someone say "this slug load has worked well in every shotgun I've used it in", while I can think of a dozen pistol & revolver loads for which I'd make such a claim, and one or two rifle loads, now that I think about it.

Perhaps slug-loads are more subject to individual variation as a function of what they're launched from, than loads using (totally) metallic cases? This is an aspect of reloading concerning which I have almost NO information, experience, nor even intuition.
 
rcmodel said:
http://leeprecision.com/bullet-casting/bullet-slug-mold/

You load them in a shot cup wad and star crimp them just like a shotshell.

Ballistic Products also has slugs and load manuals.
http://www.ballisticproducts.com/Slugs-and-Components/products/71/

rc
Click to expand...
Thanks, those are about the only two sources I've found. And unfortunately the book only deals with commercially available slugs, not molded slugs.

I can scrounge most of these components together when I start up. I've got several powders available that are called out and both Winchester and Remington hulls that are in good shape.

Kosh, that would make sense. Around here we use a lot of slugs as rifle hunting is very limited in my state.
 
Ballistic Products has a bit of slug data archived plus a slug manual. I think they are starting to work with Lee developing loads for their slugs. They are a great company, orders delivered fast, questions answered fast and a good variety of products.
 
Lee 12 ga Key drive slug.

Lee 1 oz key drive slug comes with load data in with the mold.
th_Lee12KeyDriveSlug002.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
th_Lee12gaSlug.jpg
[/URL][/IMG] A reject slug from a cold mold shown in photo.
th_IMG_2928.jpg
[/URL][/IMG] Pure lead only, other wise slugs are hard to get out of the mould. Pressure cast, mold in contact with bottom pour spout. Maximum heat. Expect 7" groups @ 100 from scoped Mossberg rifled barrel. When a petal breaks off the wad, it becomes a flyer. Most groups will be around 4" or tigher without the occasional flyer.
 
Back in the day, full size Lyman mold slugs were loaded in waxed paper hulls with over-powder and felt base wads.
And then a great roll crimp was easily applied to the paper hulls.

Then plastic hulls came to be the only thing you could get.

They aren't near as easy to do a good roll crimp on!!!
Really hard to near impossible in fact.

And that's when I gave up trying to load them.

rc
 
Last edited:
I use the Lyman Wasp Waist Slug, which looks like a large pellet gun pellet. They load into Winchester AA hulls, with regular wads and a star crimp. They're pretty accurate, too, but I load them hot with Blue Dot data from the Lyman Shotshell Manual.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
oneounceload said:
Those crimps suck, you need something to make up the difference or you need to readjust your crimp stations
Click to expand...
Why I wouldn't have said sucked I was kinda thinking the same thing. Maybe the crimp is the reason you are loosing wad petals, take a second or two and add a felt spacer or overshot card so you get a nice flat crimp.

In a few areas of this country slugs are a big deal for hunting but for the majority of us slugs are used for defense and not something we go to the range just to shoot. I cast, tested and then loaded 200 1 oz Lee slugs 3 years ago and haven't really thought about them since. The slugs shot well and since I have a shotgun in my hands at least twice a week I don't feel that I need to waist the slugs or lead shooting them.
 
Candy,

Nice thing about slug loads that can be used in petaled wads ( like the lee,for example) is that any appropriate trap load for 7/8th and 1oz can be used.

Lee offers up the exact same advice, and encourages you to try different loads for accuracy purposes.

This gives you a lot more loads than you might think.

Pressure orders for shotshell loads generally are highest at the height of the number of projectiles. For example,birdshot loads are the highest pressure loading for a given wad and powder,followed by buckshot, and finally , slugs.

Although there are some very high pressure "custom" magnum slug loads using sabot style lyman slugs and specialty wad columns, most of the slug loads you can use in trap loads/wads will run between 9 and 10k, well below the highest pressure hunting loads using fine shot.

:D

PS- I've moved on to pretty much what RC is doing. If you want, I'd be happy to dig around and see if I can find some of the slugs in my pile :D

Both the lee and the lyman work great in the waa12 wad series very well !

If you are using a rifled barrel,I'd suggest the sabot slugs and some of the unslit wads from BPI. For smoothbore, both of my mossbergs love the sabot, but especially love the 7/8th oz lee- and I could shoot that load all day !
 
Last edited:
cm,

Starting a few years ago I began loading 12 gauge slugs for my Remington 870 smoothbore shotgun.. I've tried the Lee, Lyman 525grain, Ballistic products NWCP 375 grain Foster slugs and NWCP 450 grain shuttle-cock slugs, and the Ballistic products Dangerous Game slug with a plastic wad that stays attached to the slug in flight. All of these needed to be loaded sabot-style in wads and either roll crimped or fold crimped.

The trouble was getting consistent accuracy with all but the Dangerous Game slugs (which were made in Europe and somewhat expensive). I collected the fired wads and slugs and found problems with the wad petals shearing off unevenly. With the hollow based slugs sometimes the shot card under would plug up the cavity. I tried filling the base with epoxy resin but still did not get the results I wanted.

Finally after doing a bunch of research on the net and at www.castboolits.gunloads.com (the shotgun subforum) I decided to try a fullbore slug mold from Accurate Molds (www.accuratemolds.com) after slugging my barrel. I chose the 770 grain slug mold which dispensed with the shotgun wad petals when loaded in the hull. I bought a Savage rifled barrel that is made for the Rem. 870. The accuracy and consistency improved markedly to 2-3MOA. The velocity I settled for was 950-1000 ft/sec which was stout but manageable. I tried going faster but my shoulder took a beating. The powders I used were 700x initially and Bluedot with the 770 grain slug.

I use it for pig hunting and the 770 grainer just goes in one side and out the other and the pig just lies down.

Slug loading can be done cheaply producing reliable, accurate ammo but takes a bit of work. Good luck.

best wishes- oldandslow
 
I had afew minutes so I went to ballistic products site, I copied this from their Curmudgeon archive. They also have a video of how to roll crimp, I've got one of their roll crimp tools I use in a bench top drill press with a home made version of their shell vise, it is amazingly easy and makes beautiful roll crimps.


Do you have a load request you'd like to see?
Email it to: [email protected]

LOAD OF THE WEEK

LEE 12ga Drive-Key Slug loads 1oz. & 7/8 oz.

We have continually received a great amount of demand for high-performance load data for the Lee Drive-Key Slug. As this slug is not available as a finished product, it was always difficult for our lab to test. However, the good folks at Lee Precision are now working with BP and they are supplying testing samples for our lab. The results below demonstrate that this is a great slug.

Note: BPI stocks Lee Slug Moulds for making the 12ga 7/8 and 1 oz. Drive Key slugs. (See #90281 and #90282) http://www.ballisticproducts.com/Lee-12ga-1oz-Drive-Key-Slug-Mould-90281/productinfo/90281/

Here’s to all you Lee Slug loaders…

LOAD# 140217-5473

HULL: CHEDDITE 12ga. 2.75”

PRIMER: CH209

PROPELLANT: HODGDON INTERNATIONAL CLAYS 26.0 Grains

WAD: PT1205

SHOT: 1 oz. LEE key Slug pressed into wad

FOLD CRIMP: 6-point

Result: PSI 9800 FPS 1425



LOAD# 140217-5474

HULL: CHEDDITE 12ga. 2.75”

PRIMER: CH209

PROPELLANT: ALLIANT BULLS EYE 25.0 Grains

WAD: PT1205

SHOT: 1 oz. LEE key Slug pressed into wad

FOLD CRIMP: 6-point

Result: PSI 10700 FPS 1450



LOAD# 140217-5476

HULL: CHEDDITE 12ga. 2.75”

PRIMER: CH209

PROPELLANT: HODGDON CLAYS 21.0 Grains

WAD: PT1205

SHOT: 1 oz. LEE key Slug pressed into wad

FOLD CRIMP: 6-point

Result: PSI 9500 FPS 1300



LOAD# 140217-5477

HULL: CHEDDITE 12ga. 2.75”

PRIMER: CH209

PROPELLANT: ALLIANT GREEN DOT 28.0 Grains

WAD: PT1205

SHOT: 1 oz. LEE key Slug pressed into wad

FOLD CRIMP: 6-point

LOAD# 140217-5480

HULL: CHEDDITE 12ga. 2.75”

PRIMER: CH209

PROPELLANT: HODGDON 700X 22.0 Grains

WAD: L078

SHOT: 1 oz. LEE key Slug pressed into wad

FOLD CRIMP: 6-point

Result: PSI 10500 FPS 1370

LOAD# 140217-5481

HULL: FEDERAL GOLD MEDAL 12ga. 2.75”

PRIMER: FED209A

PROPELLANT: HODGDON 700X 22.0 Grains

WAD: BPGS + HCD24

SHOT: 1 oz. LEE key Slug pressed into wad

FOLD CRIMP: 6-point

Result: PSI 10100 FPS 1360
9500 FPS 1505


WARNING: BALLISTIC PRODUCTS, INC. DISCLAIMS ALL POSSIBLE LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ACTUAL, INCIDENTAL, AND CONSEQUENTIAL, RESULTING FROM USAGE OF INFORMATION OR ADVICE CONTAINED IN THIS AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS, LABELS, CATALOGS AND BOOKLETS. USE DATA AND ADVICE AT YOUR OWN RISK AND WITH CAUTION. WHERE DATA LIST SPECIFIC COMPONENTS, NO CHANGES OR SUBSTITUTIONS FOR THESE COMPONENTS CAN BE MADE WITHOUT RISKING SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE LEVEL OF BALLISTIC PERFORMANCE AND/OR SAFETY OF THE LOADS SHOWN. FOLLOW LOADING DATA EXACTLY AND DO NOT SUBSTITUTE COMPONENTS.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

B
  • Locked
sabot slugs
Replies
2
Views
523
243winxb
243winxb
B
  • Locked
Lyman 12 gauge slug data
Replies
1
Views
1K
rodregier
R
M
  • Locked
Casting and Loading Shotgun Slugs
Replies
13
Views
3K
snuffy
S
P
  • Locked
New endeavor: slugs.
Replies
17
Views
2K
oldandslow
O
F
  • Locked
Loading 12 gauge slugs with load-all
Replies
12
Views
5K
33rowdy
3
Back
Top