INFO ON RELOADING SLUGS

[ElkHntinMD]

Hey Reloaders,
I was wondering if any of ya'll know anything about reloading shotgun slugs? I know it can be done and it requires a roll crimper, but are they accurate? I am starting to get back into reloading and I would like to try reloading slugs. Particularly sabots. I have a 12 and 16 ga with a fully rifled barrel and would like to reload my own. And does anyone know who sells any of the equipment I may need. Any info would be appreciated.


Elkhntinmd

 

[snuffy1]

First to reply to your ? about where to get stuff. One place I know of is www.ballisticproducts.com They will have the roll crimper, slugs, sabots and even a reloading manual. Their website is very basic, but you can order a catalog that has all the stuff they sell. I've delt with them over the last 5 years. They know their stuff. I use a lot of their steel and bismuth shot and loading supplies.

Now to tell you, don't bother!

I handload just about everything I shoot. But, if I was forced to hunt deer where I would have to use a shotgun, I would buy my slugs. First, you're not going to save a lot of money. Second, it's a lot of work. Third and most important, I doubt the loads will be very accurate. Forth, you will take a beating testing a bunch of shells to get an accurate load.

One slug that I would like to try out is the Lee drive key slug. Problem is you have to cast them yourself. Lee provides the mold and apparently loading data. It is made to sit in a standard plastic trap wad and can be star crimped. It is hollow based, so it will fly straight from a smooth bored shot gun. It will also work quite well from a rifled barrel as the wad acts like a sabot.

 

[ElkHntinMD]

Snuffy1,
Thanks for the reply. I'm now learning that there is very little info out there on reloading slugs. Some reloading sites I have been to mentions it with many veried results. I may buy the kit that is offered with the roll crimper I seen on one of the sites, cant remember the name of it but, it's a cheap kit. There has got to be a way to get accuracy out of reloads! I have read good things about the slug you mentioned. Thanks again for the reply snuffy.


ElkhntrinMD

 

[snuffy1]

My pleasure, elky. I too have heard good reports about the lee drive key slug. I have a bunch of lee molds, so I wouldn't hesitate to try that system.

I tried back in the seventies to load slugs. I bought a lyman hollow base mold, handles and 25 lbs of pig lead,(dead soft pure lead). I then bought 100 brand new primed XTP 12 ga empties. I had to find a source for the card wads, felt wads, and over powder gas seals. Then several different magnum powders. I had over $100.00 invested before even loading the first slug.

Casting hollow base slugs from pure lead is a nitemare. I had plenty of experience with normal handgun and rifle lead bullets. Pure lead has to be near 1000 degrees to flow well. Still I had almost 75% rejection rate.

Then came the testing! After the first 30 round session, I took a bag of shot along, put it between me and the buttstock. I was tired of being beat up!

I remember firing about 200 rounds with about 5 different powders. I never achived any sort of consistant accuracy. Following a tip from a friend, I filled the hollow base with wax so the card wad would not fold into the hollow base. That helped but there were still flyers.

I gave up and bought remington slugs to hunt with.

 

[ElkHntinMD]

Hey Snuffy,
Wow! Thats alot of cash to start out with! And thats a whole lotta abuse at the bench!! Ouch!! I've never done any kind of bullet casting with molds! I've reloaded a buttload of shotshells!! I have most of the components to start reloading Rifle/pistol! Once I get healed up from my car accident,I'm gonna set all my trash up and start reloading! I was only inquiring because With the new 16 gauge I bought there is only one manufacturer of the slugs and thats lightfield. And the Ithaca 16 Ga. is the only rifled barrel 16 Ga in existance! The problem is #1 I don't know how long they will produce the slugs and #2 they are expensive! I'm just looking at alternate methods! I hear though that regular foster slugs shoot great out of a rifled barrel! Maybe I need to try that!


ElkHntrinMD

 

[snuffy1]

elkHntinMD, unfortunately, there isn't much available for the 16 guage. I just looked in the BP cat., there's only 1 slug available for reloading. They call it their "dangerous" game slug. From the picture, it looks like it could take out a tank!

$12.99/25 pack, might be worth investigating. It comes with it's own plastic wad, so no need for specialty card wads.

As to the foster type slug in a rifled barrel, my experience from a gunshop employee who got to clean lead fouled rifled barrels, when guys tried foster slugs in them. These were early hastings and rem. barrels. They were so bad you couldn't see the rifling!

If your Ithaca is a good smooth barrel, you might get away with it. These guys said; at first the foster slugs were real accurate. But then the accuracy went south, at about 15 shots.

Lyman has a sabot slug mold as well. I've heard good reports on them. But again it requires casting lead projectiles, so if your'e not set up already, that could get expensive. Again, no 16 ga. available. I heard once of a source of ready cast Lyman sabot slugs, if I remember correctly it was from Lyman. They sit in a standard trap plastic wad like a Lee keyed sabot.

 

[ElkHntinMD]

Snuffy,
Again thanks for your post! Hey the kit I was referring to in an earlier e-mail was the Cheddite (i think thats how it's spelled) They sell 25 primed hulls, with the wad, and slug and a roll crimper for $20.00. I've read these are pretty good hulls! I am going to buy the kit. I have to get my dang reloading bench set up! I have been to a couple different sites and there are some 16 guage sabots available. Who knows how they will shoot? I don't plan on putting to much bench time in on one day! I figure take 5 slugs of the same load and see how they shoot! If they shoot like garbage trash the load! I don't understand why you can't purchase the same sabot slug and sabot they use in all the factory ammo? What is there a patent on the design or something?
Snuffy, as far as casting my own bullets well, I'm not sure right now if I'm going to get into that but, it's certainly an option. Hopefully, I can get my reloading bench set up again soon to start reloading. If and when I do I will let you know the results. If I can get any slug combo shooting decent at 100 yds I'll be ecstatic!


Elkhntrinmd