Lee Slug Molds-Are they all that Lee claims?

[blasternank]

I was wondering if anyone has had any of the Lee Slug molds and have made some up. Do they perform as advertised? I know they claim to be as accurate as rifles slugs. How about in smooth bore shotguns? I shot some 3 gun and would love to load some of my own as slugs are pricey. So are they all that they claim them to be? Here's their ad:

Make your own slugs for just pennies!

Shotgun Slug Mold
Load slugs for less than standard trap loads. The Lee DRIVE KEY (patent rights reserved) slug is loaded in standard trap hull with standard wad and conventional folded crimp. Slug loads are produced with any standard shot shell reloading press. Lee Slug Mold features the exclusive drive key. The drive key positively rotates the slug in rifled shotgun barrels. The key doubles as a support rib allowing use of a standard trap wad - no need for a support wad or base filler. Sabot wad design outperforms rifled slugs in rifled slug barrels. Velocity and accuracy meet and exceed expensive factory loaded rifled slugs. Molds feature self centering automatic core pins for maximum speed and convenience. Mold is complete with sprue plate, handles and complete instructions with suggested loads. Best of all, they're priced at what others charge for handlesalone! shotshell assembly

[XWrench3]

i do not have one. i will tell you that right off the bat. i also am not a Lee basher, i have a fair amount of Lee equipment. some of it is fine, some of it is not. a lot of what Lee makes is good stuff. but some things leave things to be desired. most of my Lee molds, leave something to be desired. most of them cast a little on the small side. i have 8 Lee molds, of which only 2 have not had to be modified somehow. after modification, most of them work well enough that i am not throwing them away. still, it would be nice if they were right, right out of the box. i inqured here about a hollow base mold for my muzzle loader. i was told in no uncertain terms that you have to load them to fairly low velocities, or the skirt will break up during fireing. if that is the case, the best case scenario would be a bullet that will not shoot straight. the worse case would be a bullet that leaves chunks in the barrel, to be compressed with new powder on the next shot. it would not take to many shots like that to really mess things up. i also have many reloading items that they produce. pretty much the same thing here. some of it is good, others barely get by. i wish i could help you further with this. i just wanted you to know that not everything Lee claims, is true!

[Walter Laich]

I cast over 100# from the Lee 3/4 oz mold for some USPSA 3-gun shooters. They said they did fine, recoil was a might on the stout side, though.

Found the temp of the Pb had to be higher than normal and the slugs stuck to the bottom of the mold at first. Once the mold got to temp they dropped off without a problem.

[blasternank]

With the slugs do you use pure lead or ww or another mix of metals?

[blasternank]

I see you used the 7/8 oz slugs. Any reason the 7/8 oz over the 1 oz slug? Just curious.

Thanks.

[onondaga]

I had excellent results right from the start with the Lee 1 oz slug in 12 ga. Hull and wad selection is very important and I researched many reports and ratings and Lee's instructions online. I chose WAA hulls and a wad that does not need a spacer below the slug. The wad I use is:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=447719

It is important to note that this wad replaces the WAA12L wad and is a short cupped wad designed for 7/8 oz shot charges. Other wads designed for heavier shot charges have cups much longer than the 1 oz slug. Save your money and get the right wad first The longer ones do require spacers under the slugs and will give poor wad column length and cause grief crimping. . The one I linked for you is perfect in column length and crimps beautifully with the Lee recommended maximum charge of Accurate #5.

I had tried 6 different brands of factory slugs and 2 factory sabot loads with my scoped smooth-bore Winchester 1300 slug gun. The Lee was more accurate than any of the factory loads and grouped 1.125 inches at 50 yards for me with the Maximum charge that I scale weigh for each round. My charge bar on my press really did not like the Accurate#5 powder as it is extremely fine and leaked a lot. However with a scale I could safely weigh each MAX charge .

Gary

[HangFireW8]

I have the Lee 7/8 oz slug mold and have used it, and loaded about 20 of them. I haven't had the chance to shoot them yet. I just cast some more today. The STS you see in this picture of today's production has one of the previous batch of 7/8 slugs loaded. I use light loads found here on this board because I have no need to reproduce the shoulder busting factory loads.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=274&pictureid=3491

What wad to use and whether it crimps great or not depends heavily on the height of your wad column. If you use Lee's listed loads, you'll be using a lot of slow powder and that makes for a tall wad column. I use 22 grains of 700X and Winchester Grey (aka WAA12L). While the WAA12L is an ultra-lite (7/8oz of 8 shot) wad, and therefore tall, it is not quite tall enough but one single 20 ga card in the bottom of the shot cup makes it perfect. More about this in a sec...

Reading the other threads on this slug, it is highly recommended to trim the petals to mid-ogive, and use at least one 20 gauge card under the slug to prevent the wad from sticking to the underside of the slug. You'll know this is happening if you get poor accuracy and a whistling sound.

Follow Lee's instructions and break the sharp edges of the center pin with 400 grit (or thereabouts) and use very soft lead, not WW. That and a clean mold and they will drop reasonably easily, just tap the handle hinge pin from above with the slug facing down.

[MarkW]

I've cast and shot several hundred of the 7/8 oz flavor but have not been happy with accuracy beyond 100 yards.

I have a rifled bolt action shotgun and spent more time and $$ doing load development trying to get some accurate slug loads than I have on any metallic cartridge I have, and I'm still not there.

Initially, I got the 7/8 oz mold as the recoil on stout loads can be stiff at times and I do a bit of shooting from tree stands and I was slightly concerned with a kicker up in a tree. If I bought another I'm not sure but I think I'd choose the 1 oz slug over the smaller one. I also use a roll crimp instead of a star crimp. Originally I had an old manual roll crimp machine, then I took the head off it and chucked it in a drill press and that worked well enough I got the ballistic products roll crimp die. I have the stop set on the drill press to get the same uniform crimp that way.

I cast mine from pure lead and never have a sticking issue.

Anyway, for ranges under 70 yards the slugs work just great but to get reliability at distances over that be [prepared to do a bit of fiddling.

[onondaga]

I actually use my 1 oz slugs for Bear so I never even tried light loads with them. Trimming the petals back to mid- ogive is something I have never come across in my reading. The petals are full slug length with my load and don't get in the way crimping at all. Wads for larger shot weight than 7/8 oz will be longer petaled than the 1 oz slug length, I could see trimming those back. I chose the size that fits without an extra step.

I did read that using compressible spacer wads under the slugs can cause excessive pressures from the wad squishing under the slug and increasing the wad diameter on firing. That is why I chose to use a wad that fits the slug well with no spacer and a maximum charge loading for Bear. My velocity is 1512 fps verified with the scale weighed 38.5 grains of Accurate #5 Max Load listed by Lee.

My fired wads are found about 10 yards downrange and always have their petals inside out and backwards. The area that had touched the slug base always has a clear imprint of the slug base with drive key so they are easy to identify at the range. I can see them flutter down and doubt that any of them ever went any farther.

The best part is that I have fired over a thousand of these from many shooting positions and have gotten the pleasure of something like plinking with a .22 Rim-fire because they are so inexpensive to shoot. Don't try this without a Past Super Magnum Vest!!! You will be hurting. The Maximum load will slam you without good recoil protection.

Gary

[JIMinPHX]

I loaded mine lite. My results were good. More info can be found here - http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=86712

[HangFireW8]

I did read that using compressible spacer wads under the slugs can cause excessive pressures from the wad squishing under the slug and increasing the wad diameter on firing.

Where did you read that? Putting Nitro Cards under shot, buckshot or slugs is listed in many a load book. It's really what they are for now, not many people use them as overshot cards on roll crimp paper shells any more.

When using faster powder it really becomes something of a necessity, unless Grex or another buffer is used to spread the load.

I'm sorry, but there is too much published pressure data out there with nitro cards in them for me to believe that. Take a look at the data we have on the 16 ga group on Yahoo groups; the group has access to pressure testing equipment and most of the loads there are tested, and many have cards in the bottom of the wad.

-HF

[onondaga]

Nitro cards are fine, compressible wads are not . Don't use a punch and cut foam or rubber padding wads for under a slug ., those airy fiber or cork wads will expand under a slug too.

The nitro cards don't expand to a larger diameter when they are fired under a slug . Some wad materials will not be strong enough to hold their shape. Yes, Nitro cards are specifically recommended and this does not include just anything you happen to have around. Don't substitute. A technical representative at Lee told me this when I called and asked him if I could use wads cut from meat packing foam under the slug in the wad if I needed a spacer.

This made sense to me not to use a spacer under a slug if it would be so squishy as to expand in diameter and cause a tighter fit in the barrel. I still think his advise was a good and valid safety precaution.

Gary

[HangFireW8]

OK, gotcha. Yeah, nothing but Nitro cards, I thought I was clear when I said "20 ga card" but I guess not.

[Fredx10sen]

They work great for me. I shorten the hull, use two cards in the shot cup under the slug that I have made (Similar to nitro cards ) and roll crimp with an old roll crimp tool I have. Tack drivers out of an Express 870 with a smoothbore. They amaze me every time I shoot them.

[onondaga]

Yea, I thought I was clear when I said 'Compressible", but I guess not.

Gary

[EMC45]

I use the 1oz. mold and they do fine out of my 870 18in. and my Model 11 18.5in. I use AA or Universal hulls and an F1114 wad I believe it's called. I use 36gr. HS6 too. I cast them out of WW metal, but am about to start using range scrap and tape weights. They are pretty stout, but are fun.

[bigjake]

Gary, Why do you use a shot cup designed for shot? I am just trying to figure out why would one use a cup that has a shock absorber of sorts under the slug? isnt that designed so the shot doesnt deform? what about a plain shot cup with a stack of dense wads underneath? do you shoot a rifled barrel? I not saying your loads are wrong, i'm sure you've done your homework. I'm just trying to understand.

[onondaga]

" Gary, Why do you use a shot cup designed for shot? I am just trying to figure out why would one use a cup that has a shock absorber of sorts under the slug? isn't that designed so the shot doesn't deform? what about a plain shot cup with a stack of dense wads underneath? do you shoot a rifled barrel? I not saying your loads are wrong, I'm sure you've done your homework. I'm just trying to understand. "(bigjake).

Hope this helps:

I made a choice to use the Lee 1oz slugs and cast them myself. The Lee design instructions specify a variety of specific hulls and specific wads in combination. I selected from their list of recommendations. I use a recommended load from Lee.

I had considered other slug designs that specify over powder wads and stacks of spacer wads to build a correctly fitting wad column. Those designs, in general, require a roll crimp because of the relatively solid wad column. The Lee design specifies an easy standard star crimp that my press does very well. I chose the Lee slug and their recommendations based on simplicity, lower inventory, the slug doesn't touch the bore with the Lee system, and velocities list high enough for humane Bear harvest with 1 oz slugs.

My slug gun is a smooth bore, scoped Winchester 1300 with Improved Cylinder Winchoke tube.

Gary

[44man]

Been fooling with slugs and balls forever in both smooth bore and rifled. Any wad made for shot is destroyed, petals off or rubbed through and the base portion distorted. I pick up pieces all over the range.
Wads can be driven into the slug base.
I have all kinds of molds including the Lee and never got consistent accuracy with anything.
The WW foster slug load was always the best and I have tried to duplicate it with no luck.
Even the BPI wad that used a bullet failed but now they have a new one that I have not tried yet.
I bought some Hammer Head kits long ago, came with primed cases and all that was needed was powder. I shot some 1" groups at 100 yards with them but it gets too costly.
I have some bore size slugs Mr. Gates sent me that have done well but I have not finished testing because I do not hunt with the shotgun. Been too darn busy. I would say he knows more about slugs then anyone.
Shot wads have not worked for me, you need a real tough sabot.

[Blackhawk45hunter]

http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6898f4b-3afb-3af1.jpg

2.39" 100 yard group with the 1 oz lee

Accuracy is very attainable but you need to do a lot of experimenting.

One thing slug loaders often forget is lube.
Without lube, the wad sticks to the slug and causes extreme flyers, drastically opening up your groups.
Another thing is to try out several wads. They all have different petal thicknesses so you need to find one that will match your barrel.

[onondaga]

Thanks for the tip on lube for the slugs. I never considered that, but it makes sense. I bet spraying a table top covered with slugs with silicone spray would be effective. Neutral shoe polish would likely be fine too. Most bullet lubes are pretty tacky and I don't think they would prevent the wad from sticking.

My wads come out in one piece and drop very close to the firing but they are pretty battered. Once in a while, one will spin rapidly and go in an upward direction, but this has not affected my group size. I bet the lube will at least stop those pinwheeling wads. My groups are good at 1.125" at 50 yards but if the lube makes my groups smaller that would be great.

I guess I really lucked out and got good accuracy and no problems with the first recommended Lee load I tried. I cast my slugs with straight Wheel-weight alloy. I know that Lee recommends soft pure lead for their slugs, but I used what I have plenty of and it worked well for me.

Interesting to note is that all my slug shooting with my Winchester 1300 was with an Improved Cylinder Winchoke tube. Last fall I tried a Rifled choke tube at the range and It OPENED up my group size! Well , I took that off and put the Improved Cylinder Winchoke back on and all was fine again.

Gary

[mnkyracer]

I started playing with the 7/8 oz lee. Would not shoot worth a darn out of my mossberg w/ rifled barrel. For s & g's, shot the same loads out of a smoothbore berreta with mod choke - :), 2 inch 3 shot group at 75 yds with just a bead sight (but centered 8 inches to the left). That gun has just had rifle sights put on it to do some further testing. Will also be getting a cyl choke to try.

[Blackhawk45hunter]

The lube that always worked for me was TC Bore Butter. I used a Q tip to wipe it into the back cavities to further prevent sticking.

[JIMinPHX]

This thread shows what my wads ended up looking like - http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=100198

The bases of my slugs got a slight curve to them after being fired. The part attached to the drive key stayed as it was. The area of the skirt away from the drive key bowed forward a bit.

[EMC45]

CB114 is the wad I use....