A friend recently gave me a few dozen 12 gauge slugs made by Aguila. The shell is only 1 1/2" long. I thought they would be a lot less powerful that 'regular' slugs. I fired a few and they seem to be right up there with other slug loads I've fired.
Y'all ever seen these?
The ad for them in Natchez is real funny, first they say it will increase the capacity of shotguns with tube magazines, then goes on to say that they probably won't cycle in pump/semi-autos!
What did you shoot them out of?
An H&R single shot with a 'front door' barrel.Originally Posted by Silvercreek Farmer
I've run these through an 870 with good results. They'll work in my mossberg 500's if you cycle them quickly.
Accuracy was great with them as well. They make a buckshot version too.
It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.
Theodore Roosevelt
what's the speed on them?
Not only have I seen them, but I've recycled my AA's that have the crimp worn out and I've re-used the hulls after chopping about 3/4 of an inch off the top and then using them one more time for a roll crimped load.
When those first came out a number of years ago there was a company that was going to make a reduced sized 12 ga. shotgun expressly for their use I think it was called "trident" something or other ,with an 18.5 barrel it would have like a 8-9 rd capacity. Pretty neat idea but I guess it never came to be ,Heck I would have bought one. I still have a handful of the slug loads and see them for sale occasionally at the gun shows.
If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!
The ones i have are loaded with 7.5 shot, but i have seen the mini slugs and buckshot too. The birdshot rounds have a clear plastic OS disc. These are loaded in Mexico and the mini slugs/buckshot rounds are used by Mexican police in repeaters modified to reliably cycle them. I bought my mini shells years ago and the ad told about the police in Mexico using them and about the guns and why they needed the extra capacity etc.
A word of warning if anyone decides to try to reload a similar round ~ don't use Foster slugs or at least not if you do not have a published or known to be safe recipe!
Not sure what the "mini slugs" are (Hollow base? Solid?) but many years ago I decided to load up some shorty rounds like that so used a Lyman book recipe for a Lyman Foster slug except that I used a short wad column of hard card wads. First problem I had was wads blowing into the hollow base and stretching slugs.
So being the smart lad I was I decided to fill the slugs with cornmeal to stop the wad from blowing into them. Well that seemed to work and recoil was now pretty stout! I am guessing a little too stout because I blew the top of the chamber off my single shot 12 ga.!
The remains of the barrel showed that the soft Foster slug had swollen up as it left the very short hull, filled the chamber then (I am guessing again) met the forcing cone and didn't want to size down quick enough. KABOOM!
As anyone who reloads for shotgun knows or should know, it is best practice to follow shotgun reloading recipes exactly. It is not safe to randomly substitute components. Pressure can increase dramatically due to minor changes ~ one being substitution of a cushion wad with hard card wad column which effectively equals decreased volume. I didn't know that then.
In my case, I think the combination of substitution of the cushion leg with hard card, the short hull and the Foster slug filling the chamber all worked together to produce an over pressure situation.
I had a friend who did the same with 0.715" RB in cylinder bore and never had a problem but of course the 0.715" RB is undersize and doesn't swell to fill the chamber or bore. Since he had no problems, I was sure the lighter Foster would be safe loaded the same way. Not so.
YMMV but that's what happened to me.
Longbow
I used to use those when I competed in 3-gun - ups your capacity - then they changed the course from shooting steel to clays so had to go back to shot. But they worked well in 870 provided you didn't try to work the slide slooowwly
I started reloading for my 12 gauge with the idea I would try making 2" shells to up my capacity. But I couldn't find much data for 2", and only a little bit for 2.5". But a huge amount for 2 3/4". I really should get a box or two of those little guys and see if they cycle right in my Mossy 500. I've seen some instructions on the web for modifying them to work better but the whole thing made me a little nervous. The only reason I would even want increased capacity would be for a defensive role, and if they don't cycle, then what good is it?
I really should resurect the idea. At least buy a box of the commercial 2" stuff and see if it's worth pursuing or not.
Too much of a good thing is an awesome thing!
There was a company in South Africa making a small magazine fed pump shotgun that used these. It is called the MAG-7 and a few were imported into the USA. I had one for a short time, it was ok but the mags were hard to load, and at the time I owned it, the Aguila Shells were hard to come by. I ended up selling it. Attached is a picture I found on the web of the MAG 7, mine had a Black painted Wood stock, but otherwise looked pretty much like this one.
-George
Been there done that Loaded both shot and slugs ( round Ball ) for a mossberg 500 with good results. Had to add a little to the metal tab on the elevator and they feed with no problems. Used published loads for AAs and just changed the wad with one from Balistic products that was shorter to get a stacked column. Ran OK and didn't blow anything up and was able to get 10 shells in a 7+1 mossy with speedloaders but rules got changed and got dumped into open class shooting against clip fed autos. Needless to say I gave that idea up as a passing fancy. Trick was to either roll crimp or you have to ream the end of the cut hulls to crimp.
Dave
The only part of the metric system America has embraced is the 9mm.
Remember incoming fire has the right of way
You think this can be applied to the aguila type slug?
I am using STS and 17gr red dot with dra12, cut petals to get a sub 2" 7/8 lee slug. Looking to go shorter by maybe using a steel shot cup or separate gas seal and cup. Any thoughts?
I know we're Rez a post from 2012 but I'm sure you've gained experience and wisdom since then!
I have had concerns with the possible jump to forcing cone for slugs in short shotshells.
I reload recasted shot as Lyman 525 slugs into regular target shells, and with a roll-crimp; I get shorter shells as the final result - 2 inches thereabouts. I have been worried that this could lead to pressure issues or possible obstructions at the worst, and poor accuracy too.
I have also done some casting of .729 regular lead (recast from shot) Round Balls. Using some hard plastic donut wads in a regular target shotshell.
I have not yet had the chance to test by shooting.
I have watched videos and read up on the performance of these Aguila slugs, and I see that there is no negative effect or impact of the jump to forcing cone. And they are even shorter!
At least before I get the chance to go testing on my new Mossberg 500A Rifled Barrel (chambered for both 2.75 and 3 inches) can I get all the advice I can get from you guys?
Has any one got any additional advice/ pointers? Would I be on the right track the way I'm going?
It's hard to say what the result would be with factory charges, because there is not enough data. The pressure south of the load in the gas seal area will be fixed, but by changing the crimp, and possibly squeezing the slug into the pedals, then the hull the pressures can change dramatically.
If you decide to fire those let us know how it goes.
It is my understanding that if shot pushes out of the shell from the bottom up and has a fixed resistance, then your slug should have that same resistance to get a similar chamber pressure. Happy shooting!
Last edited by Bneuberger; 04-06-2015 at 01:45 AM.
Reportedly they cycle best in Winchester pumps but other brands can be made to function with a little tuning. Remember most of a shotshell adds little to power it mostly adds volume to accommodate the bulky shot charge.
I load 12ga shotshells with a finished length of 1.5". Shells are roll crimped with an overshot card, 6 and 7.5 shot. These shells feed reliably in both a keltec KSR and a late model 870. I haven't tried short slugs.
BB
I'm not the worlds most accurate typer so certainly no criticism intended, but I assume you meant KSG? I'm just starting to load for my new KSG as well as for shotgun. Can you point me to a recipe for these short shot shells? I would like a softer recoil load so that my 5'1" wife would feel no reluctance in pulling the trigger on a 12 gauge. She is totally cool with a 20. How do your shorties compare to a 20 gauge?
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