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oleycow
03-10-2010, 11:25 PM
Just a simple question about slugging.

I am just getting set up for casting. I have most of the things that I need which I have been buying over the last 6 months +


Anyway I am ready to slug the barrel of my .454 and I am wondering if I need to lube a cast boolit first before slugging it or can i just use the straight lead unlubed boolit and drive it through?

thanks

mooman76
03-11-2010, 12:00 AM
You don't have to lube the bullet but you need to lube the bore with a good gun oil.

fatelk
03-11-2010, 12:02 AM
I pretty new to some of this stuff too, but I just slugged several of my barrels lately. I used a soft lead round ball that was lubed up good. For my .45 I hit a .44 cap&ball round ball with a hammer some so it was a bit bigger and shaved off a little when I pounded it in the barrel.

I can't imagine trying to pound an unlubed alloy boolit into a dry barrel; it would not be good, I think. If you do a search, there are many threads and tons of info here on exactly how to do it without damaging your barrel.

oleycow
03-11-2010, 12:02 AM
thanks,

oleycow
03-11-2010, 12:04 AM
I did do some searches and was looking for some stickies but I reallydidn't seem to find what I was looking for. (as far as lubing the boolit or not)

maybe I wasn't searching the right phrases

roggom
03-11-2010, 01:03 PM
Here is a nice tutorial from 7.62x54.net (with pics), I use this technique with a 32 cal bullet. I lubed my bullet with Hoppes gun grease.

http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinSlug.htm

fatelk
03-11-2010, 01:12 PM
I think I oiled the barrel normally with gun oil on a patch, put a coating of case lube on a soft, oversized lead ball, and pounded it through without too much effort. I went pretty slow and careful because I was paranoid about damaging the bore.

Cowboy5780
03-11-2010, 01:43 PM
If you look in the Stickies section of this form theres a link to a youtube video of it being done

mdi
03-11-2010, 02:24 PM
Don't over complicate it. Slugging is just driving a soft lead slug, larger than bore/groove diameter down a lightly oiled barrel. I would not use a cast bullet unless it was very soft and at least .010" over bore size. Just use something softer than your barrel for a driving rod (I use brass) and a large hammer (small taps will tend to swage the slug in the bore where a heavy hammer will be more of a push through the bbl.). Egg sinkers work well. I know it's scary hammering on your gun, just secure it in a good padded vice and be careful...

Edubya
03-11-2010, 09:32 PM
For the revolvers, don't depend on just the vice, use some soft wood or whatever to provide as much support as possible. I cast a soft lead boolit for mine. The slugs were larger than the cylinders. I first used the to get a reading on the cylinders then used a couple for the barrel.
For the autos, I just banged them through from the breach end.
EW

oleycow
03-15-2010, 10:24 AM
Thanks for the tips gentlemen,

I casted myself a couple of nice soft lead boolits and let them cool nice and slow,

lubed 'em up and gave the bore a nice coating of oil. Gently hammered them through using 3/8" hardwood dowel from the muzzle end and it went great.

Calipers show .453 pre slugg measurement (unsized boolit)

after slugging shows .451

(my calipers are not the most precise/consistent tool) so I think it's time to inherit my NOt yet dead fathers Micrometer, when he is not looking.

oleycow

Alaksa girl
10-30-2013, 06:25 PM
How do you get a cast boolit out of my 308??? It's stuck can someone help me???

6mm250
10-30-2013, 06:33 PM
How do you get a cast boolit out of my 308??? It's stuck can someone help me???

Uh Oh


Mike

Alaksa girl
10-30-2013, 06:37 PM
I have broke off a copper rod... The wooden dowel did not work... The barrel seems to not have the taper. Do you have any ideas???

MtGun44
10-30-2013, 07:47 PM
1/4" steel rod with a .25 ACP case hammered on the end that hits the lead. A couple
rings of electrical tape and then a slightly expanded .223 or .25 cal bottle neck case front half cut off as a
muzzle protector will NEVER damage the bore and WILL drive out the slug.

NEVER USE A WOODEN DOWEL!!! These can and HAVE broken on a long angle and wedged so solid
that the person had to make a brass drill to worry it out, all the while sweating damaging his barrel.

This is NOT theory, it has happened.

Bill

Artful
10-30-2013, 08:11 PM
Alaksa girl, Don't forget to lube that 308 barrel with penetrating oil before going to next step
- Kroil is a favorite and give it time to work

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?102629-Removing-Stuck-Wooden-Dowel-and-Soft-Lead-Sinker-from-a-barrel

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?206213-what-is-the-proper-way-to-slug-my-bore-throat

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?216105-Slugging-a-barrel-Brass-or-Steel-Rod

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?214122-How-to-slug-a-barrel

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?210568-Question-about-slugging-barrel

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?206884-Does-slugging-the-bore-really-hep

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?204160-To-slug-or-not-to-slug-that-is-the-question!!!!!!

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?204919-Slugging-a-barrel

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?57556-Slugging-a-Rifle-Barrel-Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErFaJlUVs1Y

Oh, and a ready source for round balls is as close as your stash of buck shot - I have several different sizes around myself
http://www.shotgunworld.com/shot_sizes.jpg
and if your smallest size buckshot is too large you can roll it on a flat hard surface with a flat tool kept parallel to the surface your rolling against and that will oblong it and reduce the size.

AlaskanGuy
10-30-2013, 08:36 PM
See what happens when i leave her alone for a min?? She likes to do things and learn for herself Lol . Have a friend that has a steel rod that will get er out tomorow... Meanwhile, i gotta replace all my brass and alum cleaning rods. Thanks for helping her out...

Alaskan

Alaksa girl
10-31-2013, 07:29 PM
Thanks to all for your help my gun back to normal!!! Aaa huh few!!! Thank God!!! :)
I got a steel rod from the hard ware store and it worked!!!! It still bent the tip on that rod tho!! Wow ... Mission complete ... The size of the bore is 307. I really love doing this!

Artful
11-02-2013, 03:50 PM
Good for you! You got a tight bore there - have you measured your chambers throat?

Victor N TN
11-17-2016, 07:17 PM
You sound a lot like my wife or oldest daughter. If I try to clean my oldest daughter's pistol, she'll get mad and tell me that she'll do it herself. (But she uses my rods and patches, oil and grease...) My wife is a little more diplomatic about it. Oldest daughter's daughter has her hands full of 2 young sons under 4 years old. She'll let me help her.

I'm glad you got your rifle back in firing order. Congratulations !

AKholicBubba
11-28-2017, 01:56 PM
This thread answered alot of my questions

Grmps
12-01-2017, 05:27 AM
Wood dowels can work ONLY if you are 100% the dowel has perfectly straight grain, the ends are cut square, the dowel is the largest size that fits into your barrel. Most problems occur when you have croocked, diaginal, bad grain or areas in the dowel.

I wouldn't recommend wood if your, not 100% confident the dowel is perfect or the diameter is less than 1/4 in.

Many like to use brass rods. I prefer a steel rod coated with tape to where it just fits in the barrel, this way it can't get into the rifling making for a really bad day.

Drew P
12-02-2017, 09:45 PM
No mention of odd grooved barrels here? Lucky y’all. That complicates things greatly.

shootrj2003
06-01-2020, 02:27 PM
I use a fiberglass rod,you can find them at hardware stores,(sold as driveway markers etc.)inside old CB antannaes( I let nothing go to waste)in parking lots after snow plow season just laying around,I don't take the ones standing up and marking stuff but the ones laying in the dirt are fair game, they don't break and come in various calibers also for larger calibers ,.45 and up,thefiberglas muzzleloader rods are great.the one for my 30/30 is a .270 that was a Wilson antanae that went south.none of them cost much and work great.they are also good for herding the hens back home at sundown. Lol