Slugging a Rifle Barrel Video

[Cowboy5780]

Theres a video over on Youtube by Iraqveteran8888 that shows slugging a barrel.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Iraqveteran8888#play/uploads/13/ErFaJlUVs1Y

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
Glad you posted it. For me a non computer guy this is the only why I see unusual videos like these.

[walltube]

Very good tutorial.

HOWEVER!

What about the kid's eye protection? His naked orbs are alarmingly too close to all that hammering. Things like that scare the bejeezuz out of me.

Sorry 'bout the rant fellers, having 11 g'kids causes me to be a bit protective...:) Ya know what I mean?

[KCSO]

I quit at the notice that a 31 caliber ball was .350 diameter.

[Blammer]

hmm, never noticed that comment on the video.

it's an interesting video and may work for some.

I like to use a BRASS rod and push it from the chamber end.

[KCSO]

If it is a difficult rifle i like to use a brass rod set and upset a slug in the front and rear of the bore.

[Nora]

I quit at the notice that a 31 caliber ball was .350 diameter.

I waited to cringe till I saw the kid put a dowel rod back into the barrel wile the guy was measuring the slug.

[jnovotny]

Looks as if someone has done their homework, very instructual. You have to look past the little mistakes and take the video for what it is. It would help anyone that has never slugged a bore to do so.

[duckndawg]

It helped me. I had never slugged a gun before now that I had seen it I did it and it is simple!!

[Dframe]

Looks as if someone has done their homework, very instructual. You have to look past the little mistakes and take the video for what it is. It would help anyone that has never slugged a bore to do so.
Well put! I thought the guy did a pretty good job.

[mooman76]

I would do a few things different myself but everyone has their ways. Not bad though. I happen to have a .319 RB mould and it works perfect for 30 caliber guns.

[IV8888]

Guys I am the one that made the video just so you know. I didn't realize my videos were kind of floating around on forums and stuff. Kinda cool I guess.

I have a lot of projects coming up that I think will end up working out well. Going to be making a hot bluing and case hardening series before too terribly long.

Any questions just shoot me an email.

[Jon K]

Slug both ends seperately.

Muzzle end is always the small end of the barrel.................

Notice how there was no resistance, once the slug was started?

Jon

[joel0407]

So once I slug the barrel do I want boolits the same size or larger and if larger how much larger. I slugged my 45/70 at .45789

[Freightman]

So once I slug the barrel do I want boolits the same size or larger and if larger how much larger. I slugged my 45/70 at .45789
I use .01 over so a .459 would be perfect.

[mag_01]

Nice job Eric thx for sharing --- 1 to 3 ths. over would be fine throat will determine largest size.

[leas327]

I am new to casting and have seen this and other videos that you made. They look pretty good to me and having something to watch helps it all "click" for me. I am not some old grey beard that has been doing this since "shep was a pup" and my daddy never showed me how to do this when i was 2 so the internet and some magazines are how I got started. I know there are books out there i can read but they cost money and your videos are free. They have some flaws but you recognize that you aren't perfect and do the best you can(which i think is pretty good btw). So thanks for showing a newb like me that it isn't all that hard. It gave me the confidence to take up a new hobby. And if anyone else has a problem with how you do things tell them to put out a better video than yours. I have looked and there aren't to many out there. Especially for the price.

[Captain*Kirk]

Another "Thanks", IV8888. I "knew" how to do this, but never have, yet....your video puts it into real-time action and makes me want to give it a try!
Forget about the critics. Anyone can criticize anything, but usually don't/can't do any better.
Last but not least......thanks for serving!

[captain-03]

Enjoyed it ... thanks for sharing!!

[Jaybird62]

Good job on the video. I'd like to see some ideas from members as to what a "chapter outline" would be for an all inclusive complete cast boolit how-to video. Who knows, it could be put into a DVD and sold as a fund raiser for this forum.

[helice]

Big thanks for the video. I wish I had seen that when I did my first slugging. I sat down with Veral's book and went step by step with a favorite rifle:razz:. By the time I was finished I was certain all normal bowel function had ceased. :veryconfu

[Recluse]

Guys I am the one that made the video just so you know. I didn't realize my videos were kind of floating around on forums and stuff. Kinda cool I guess.

Good job, and your video is a nice addition here seeing as how many new casters and reloaders we're getting.

Thanks for the video and thank you for your service to this nation.

:coffee:

[cptinjeff]

Good job on the video. I'd like to see some ideas from members as to what a "chapter outline" would be for an all inclusive complete cast boolit how-to video. Who knows, it could be put into a DVD and sold as a fund raiser for this forum.


_1+1+1+1 on this one!!!!. This seems like a GREAT idea.[smilie=w:

[onondaga]

Thank you for the video. I slugged my Colt Sauer Grand African .458 Win Mag rifle that I shoot only cast lead alloy bullets with. The procedure went well. I cleaned the bore then oiled it with Slick 50. I had some Hornady soft lead swaged 50 cal. round balls and used one. Lubed the ball with Mink Oil paste that I use as a case lube. I have a leather mallet and used that to start the ball, It took 5 medium hits to get it flush with the muzzle and I fingernail scraped the flash that was sheared and smudged on the muzzle. I used my Muzzle loading ball starter to start the ball down by smacking the wood ball handle with my palm the same as in loading my ML rifles. this was not too hard at all. the first inch took a few hits then the slug was easy to push several inches by hand with the ball starter. My cleaning rod only needed slight hand pressure to get the slug to drop out the other end of the barrel. I happily got measurements with a Multitoyo dial gauge caliper and checked the measurements with a Starrett micrometer:


.4570" groove to groove
each groove measures .150" wide

.4510" land to land
each land measures .090 wide.

I am glad I got this done and won't hesitate to do this with my other rifles now. The information will be very helpful with my cast bullet selections.

Thank you so much.

Gary

[white eagle]

thanks for takin the time to edgeukate some
it may not be the way everyone would do it but who cares
good job

[Fomdiddle]

I also enjoyed your testing of the Hi-Point guns. Their warranty is second to none. Fom

[wallenba]

I enjoy your vids as well, keep them coming. I knew how to do it already, but sometimes there's more to learn. A tip for slugging is if you don't have a round ball big enough, you can "bump" them carefully on a flat surface with a light hammer to widen them a bit. This will take more care in centering in the bore though.

[C1PNR]

I still like to use the "egg" fishing sinkers with the hole in the middle, especially if I need to bump it up just a bit. Even bumped it's still an ovoid shape and pretty easy to start properly.

My Brother slugged his 45-70 1885 last week and also found a .457" groove. Now to get serious about loading some for it.

[atom73]

Thanks for the video post. I really have been avoiding doing this cause I thought it was too complex. I will be trying this.
Mike

[malpaismike]

JB62, you're not wrong. I think you're good as gold as far as you go. I favor chamber casts--ya gotta start right to end right. I took a parallel-jaw clamp and screwed an entension to it. Now I can make chamber casts in my gun room. If there are problems with this, let me know. thxnregards mw

[Fixxah]

I just use an inside measuring tool and it is so simple to use. No need to slug but I confirmed my measurements by slugging until I got the hang of it.

Thanks for serving.

[atom73]

Ok, so does anyone have one or two .30 cal balls they can part with? I don't want to go out and buy a box just to slug a barrel. I don't have any of my .30 molds yet either (waiting on NOE) to cast up some soft lead.
Pm me if you want to work something out, I'll pay shipping.
Mike

[leadman]

atom73, go to the sporting goods store with mic in hand and buy the soft egg sinkers for fishing. These can be bumped up as said with a hammer or in a vise. Also the hole in the middle lets the slug form to the bore easier.
In addition to the video I also drive a slug into the throat a little way, then back out to get this reading, which I have found on a couple rifles up to 3 or 4 thousands larger than bore diameter. If the gas blows by the bullet in the throat this can cause leading.
As said many times on this board the throat dimension is very important.
If you use a rod much smaller than the bore wrap the end with tape so it just slides into the bore easily. This keeps it centered so it can't slide off to the side and contact the bore.

[atom73]

Excellent. Thanks for the tips. Gives me a good excuse to head out to Gander MT tonight with the kids.
Mike

[mold maker]

Any rod should have tape or O rings ever 5-6" along its length to keep it centered and to avoid bore contact with the rod. The O rings should fit the rod tight so as not to move , but slip in the bore with ease. Your going to put stress on the rod that will distort it, while pushing the ball/boolit/sinker through.
Resist the urge to use a wooden dowel. It will break and bind its self securely in the bore. The expense of having it safely removed will cause loss of hair, and ulcers.

[WILCO]

Very good tutorial.

HOWEVER!

What about the kid's eye protection? His naked orbs are alarmingly too close to all that hammering. Things like that scare the bejeezuz out of me.

My thoughts exactly.

[Kenley]

O.K. why use a round ball? Seems to me that an elongated bullet would give a better report on the size and condition of the bore...and from the chamber end. I've never done it, but plan on slugging my P-1 Walters this week.

[OBIII]

IV8888, thank you so much for your service to our country, and thank you for the excellent video. I'm not one to nitpick about little things, when it shows the overall process in an outstanding manner.

[omgb]

To get a very accurate measure of the chamber, throat and leade, I use Veral Smith's method.

1. I drill a hole in a hardwood block slightly less in dia than the bore of the gun. I then cast a long (1 ") slug to use in the process.

2. I take a fired case and insert a steel rod that is about an 1/8" less than the length of the case.

3. I place the slug on top of this and chamber the case.

4. I then use a steel rod slightly longer than the barrel and close to the dia of the bore. I insert this in the barrel. After placing the butt on a non-maring surface, I hit the end of the rod 2 or 3 whacks with a heavy hammer.

This upsets the slug and causes it to fill the throat and leade. Then I open the bolt and extract the cartridge. If the slug sticks, I give the rod another tap. What you get is a perfect measurement of the areas in question. Unlike cerrosafe, there's no shrinkage. What it is, it is.

[rsrocket1]

Have you seen this guy's method? Great for straight walled pistol barrel slugging.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuNoo4m6jso

It starts slow with him sitting in a chair and just talking, but he has a great idea. Use a case as a mold for the slug. Melt a fishing sinker into it and use a bullet whacker to take it out. The slug fits perfectly and you don't have to look for a close sized sinker or roundball.

Hint: don't try this from the chamber end. I thought I lost a barrel when the slug would not come out, it simply flowed around the rod and the more I pounded, the deeper the rod went into the lead. I finally drilled a hole in the slug and it came out with a near perfectly sized dowel.

[Texantothecore]

Thanks for posting this video. I had thought it was an hours long effort and have delayed because of that. I will be doing my rifle this week, whenever I get an extra 30 seconds of so available.

Boy what an eye opening video.

[TrapperXX]

Thanks for the video. Enlightening to me as a new cast boolit maker. I will raid my fishing tackle tomorrow and look for a egg sinker close to my my 444 and 45-70 bores and/or maybe a black power ball I have.

[gamma50]

I have a OLD SMLE with a barrel that I'm sure can't be slugged, as I push a .319 ball thru it I hit 3 inch to 6 inch spots that the ball sort of fell thru to the next little bit of rifleing that was left, .319 ball came out at .317, so the rifle sits till I can ever find a new barrel or afford it, rifle dated
1903.
:|

[Turbinedoctor]

I am new to casting and have some basic questions I will be needing more clarification on. The one in mind right now is about the final size of the cast bullet. When you slug a barrel and measure the slug are you looking for the largest measurement which would be the largest inside diameter of the barrel? I keep getting confused between groves and lands. Are the grooves the largest diameter and the lands the smaller or do I have it backwards?


Any way when you find the diameter from the slug do you still want the finished cast bullet diameter to still be .001" larger?

Durwood

[62chevy]

I am new to casting and have some basic questions I will be needing more clarification on. The one in mind right now is about the final size of the cast bullet. When you slug a barrel and measure the slug are you looking for the largest measurement which would be the largest inside diameter of the barrel? I keep getting confused between groves and lands. Are the grooves the largest diameter and the lands the smaller or do I have it backwards?


Any way when you find the diameter from the slug do you still want the finished cast bullet diameter to still be .001" larger?

Durwood

You have the grooves and lands right and the boolit should be a minimum of .001 over .002 may be better.


Keep in mind " Fit is King and hardness matters when it matters ".

[Turbinedoctor]

You have the grooves and lands right and the boolit should be a minimum of .001 over .002 may be better.


Keep in mind " Fit is King and hardness matters when it matters ".


Thank you for clearing that up for me. I did not slug my .357 but do use a .358 sizer.

[62chevy]

Thank you for clearing that up for me. I did not slug my .357 but do use a .358 sizer.

Try first if no leading no need to slug your barrel But if you get leading then you will need to slug the barrel of a semi auto and cylinder of a revolver.

[dbooksta]

FYI, new URL for the referenced video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErFaJlUVs1Y