Slugging a barrel

[Reddot]

How and why would you slug a barrel? Wouldn't it hurt your hand? [smilie=1:

[jonk]

Yeah it kind of does..... could bust a knuckle! But you see you gotta beat it into submission. :)

[leftiye]

I always use a hammer.

[Reddot]

I think the original question got lost in having fun with the language.

How and why does one slug a barrel?

[docone31]

All fun aside,
Slugging the barrel is a good way to find out exactly how large the bore and groove is.
If the casting is too loose for the bore, it leaves lead behind, accuracy sucks, and it is embaressing.
With my .303 for example, it calls for a groove diameter of .311. Well, mine is .314. I cast some great stellar castings and sized to .312. Ended up a complete waste of a day, with a long drive to do it.
I got a piece of lead, made it into a cylinder, and drove it into the bore. When it came out, I was able to measure my bore, .304, and groove .314. Once I sized to those dimensions the rifle shot like a dream.
I have five land rifleing. I could not measure with an inside mike even if I had one.
Slugging the bore is a good way to find out exactly what you have inside so you can cast to get optimum performance.
I pounded the lead cylinder into the muzzle with a rawhide hammer, then drove it through the bore with a wood dowel.
It worked real well.

[leftiye]

I still use a hammer. (BTW, oil the bore - lightly)

[Hardcast416taylor]

Up here in Michigan we do things differently than down in OhiO. I first make sure the rifle is un-loaded! I then run an slightly oily patch down the barrel. I then get some pure lead fishing teardrop shape sinkers that are larger than your bore. Putting the eyelet, hopefully you removed it, end down the muzzle proceed to tap it down the muzzle with a plastic mallet. After being hammered flush or below then start using a dowel rod or coated old ramrod to drive the slug the entire length of the barrel. Haven`t busted a knuckle yet doing it this way jonk. :kidding::bigsmyl2:

[T-Bird]

I stopped slugging my barrels long ago. That slime is just too hard to get out. Shoot straight, T-Bird

[Reddot]

So lets see if I can get this straight. After I slug the barrel would I size my cast bullet to the size of the slug or go a .001 bigger?

[BABore]

Ideally you slug your bore to find out the groove/bore diameters. It's best to drive one bore slug all the way through, muzzle to breech. Then drive another just past flush with the muzzle and push it back out from the breech end. Hopefully your muzzle slug is smaller than the one pushed all the way through. Having a choked or tapered bore is beneficial for cast accuracy. A final measurement is finding the I.D. of a full power load from new or once fired brass. A boolit that will just slip fit into a new fired case is the largest size that the gun will handle safely. It will also likely be the most accurate boolit size your gun will fire. Your bbl is a perfect sizing die for your boolit. Just going 0.001 to 0.002" over groove diameter is standard practice. It also does not take into account chamber dimensions. Should you have a oversized chamber, accuracy will suffer because the boolit has too much wiggle room upon exiting the expanded case and into the throat area. Top accuracy is achieved when the boolit is a slip fit into a fired case, has 0.0005" per side throat clearance at most, and is at least 0.001 to 0.002" bigger than groove diameter. It is not a problem being several thousandths over groove diameter if you have a sloppy chamber/ throat to fill. Revolver boolits should be sized to the cylinder throat diameters. The throat sizes should be uniform and slightly larger than groove diameter.

[cajun shooter]

Hardcast, It's much more fun to do it with a round in the chamber. Them last few inches is a real test of your strength.

[eka]

Here is a pretty good explanation with good photos.

http://www.surplusrifle.com/reloading/slug/index.asp

Keith

[Reddot]

Thank you very much, that is just what the doctor ordered.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Cajun Shooter me ole friend! Actually had a brother officer in my dept. try to slug a 9mm luger pistol from the second war go round with a live one in the chamber! I understand he made sgt. after I left? Just heard today about an officer putting a 40 cal thru his shoe and between his big toe and next one while wipeing down his M&P in the duty room. He thought it was empty and cleared, sheriff had a good talk with him later I heard. [smilie=1: :confused: Robert

[cajun shooter]

Well Hardcast you know I'm one of them former blue line guys myself. The stuff that I saw cops do with weapons would fill a book. I would tell them during firearms training, that just because you have a badge and gun does not make you a armouer or gunsmith. They would bring their issued weapons in a box and say stuff like; my nephew took it apart. One Sgt. was showing a rookie a Ithaca 37 and racked a round with his finger on the trigger. Kaboom, right through the station house ceiling. Still standing in the same spot with a look of dis belief on his face the room filled with other cops. Someone asked What the hell happened and he said I don't know. All I did was this and racked the slide again with finger still on trigger; Kaboom. 2nd hole in ceiling and several cops on the floor. Unbelievable!! Dept changed to 870 for that reason.

[3rptr]

That's amazing, Cajun... a double!

I have been in the proximity of four un-intentional discharges.
It is inevitable.
The only thing I have to say, is one way or the other, I must take responsibility for each one.

No one was injured, no property was damaged.
It could easily have been worse.

Amazing that a tool can sit in a box, or upon a shelf for decades, and present no problem.
Introduce a person to the scene and there's no telling what may happen.

Wow! Two holes!

Best

[Hardcast416taylor]

Cajun me friend. I almost hate to tell you about my dept`s version of Barney. Back when we all carried wheel guns "Barney" was seemingly always practiceing his re-load with loose rounds from his drop loose round holders. I was the driver one evening with "Barney" riding shotgun. It was on about the third re-load exercise and shut the cylinder smartly that "Barney" for some unknown reason pulled the trigger. He not only took out our lower dash mounted radio with the .357 but put a hole thru the drive shaft hump on the froor and nicked the drive shaft. I can only guess what the sheriff had to say to "Barney" I do know he only carried what the gun held after that and did alot of turnkey work at the jail (unarmed). I pulled my pin & shield back in the early `90`s, didn`t get along with my new (read young) sheriff. I was the oldest full time officer in my dept. :drinks: Robert