frustration lee slug help!

[whatzuptan]

OK, is it possible for their to be no absolute way for me to cast and load lee slugs.first off im only loading these for general plinking if i could hit a 12in group at 50yds i would be happy. the load i have been using seams to do that for me. but what im not understanding/confusion is about slugging my barrel.

when i put the wad/slug in the barrel and push it through it takes about 100lb of force to get it through
even a hammer at 1 point. from countless time money research I've got the smallest wad slug combo.
fed 12s3 wad
fed gold cup hull
lee 1oz slug average widest point thickness .784
32gr hs-6 powder
2 16ga nitro cards

wads come out on average with only 2 petals. my concern is am i at a dangerous pressure level due to what it takes to slug the barrel.

am i just over thinking this whole process

[jmort]

Wad petals are too thick for that slug. Since that is a straight-wall hull you could use a Trap
Commander from BPI. You should have no problem out to 50 yards.

[GBertolet]

The bore of a rifled 12 ga barrel runs .729 to .730, while choked smoothbores run correspondingly tighter. You should measure the diameter of the shotcup with the slug inside of it to determine what overall diameter you actually have, and take it from there. I hope you ment .684 diameter of your slugs, rather than the .784 you listed. .684 diameter is a little on the big side for the standard shotcup.

I wound up making various push through sizer dies 1 1/4 X 18 thread, to fit my spare Herters Super 3 press, with it's 7/8 X 14 bushing removed, as the typical 7/8 X 14 thread is too small for these diameter dies. For the Lee slug I made .673 and .678 diameter dies, as these two seem to cover my needs. I can now match the slug diameter to fit the shotcup of choice. Previously, I went through the same experiences of having the shotcup petals sheared off as you did. This was my solution. There might be other solutions also.

[sthwestvictoria]

Another question is what are you casting the slug from? Pure lead will give the smallest projectile compared to other alloys. I had this problem where a mold was dropping .735 slugs at the widest point however I worked out I was still using Wheel Weight alloy left over from rifles. I swapped to pure lead and the slug is now .725 (for full bore diameter, not in a wad).

[whatzuptan]

my wad and slug combo measure .735, the boar measures .7295 ( cylinder boar ) can these small amounts be dangerous by creating to much pressure or is it just a matter of destroying wads and being a little more inaccurate shots. i was casting WW so i switched to what i was told was pure lead (swapped lead with friends lead source)still same size. when i measure the slugs at the widest point they are inconstant almost not round one way they measure .687 on another side .680 is it possible my mold is bad.

[GBertolet]

I don't think the extra 5 thou hurts as far as the pressure goes. The plastic wad will swage down, shearing off your wad pedals in the process, as you experienced. I would be concerned over the out of round condition of your slugs, especially being spun in a rifled barrel. You might want to contact Lee, and complain and see what they say.

[FullTang]

Is it possible you have some galling on the face of the mold, so that the two sides don't close completely? Do your slugs have a line on the sides? Sometimes a little lead will work in there and keep the two halves from closing together, resulting in an oversize and un-round slug. The fix is to heat the spot with a propane torch and wipe off the lead while it's molten.

[CANUCK]

I found the 12S3 to be way too tight in my gun as well. My gun measures approx. .729" - .730" so I never tried the 12S3 with the Lee slug.
My findings:
12S3 (genuine): too tight
RXP12 (genuine): too tight
12S4 (genuine): quite tight
WAA12(genuine): snug
WAA12F114 (genuine): snug
WAA12SL (Claybuster clone): barely snug

Oddly enough the WAA12SL (Claybuster clone) gave me the best groups.

[mdr8088]

I've never been able to use the claybuster wads because they have the ribs on the inside of the petals. It makes a good shot shell, but doesn't go with the slug. Couldn't even chamber the rounds. Use soft lead, that will help, unless your mold is bad, or not closing all the way. Use the Lee load data, I went down to 32gr of hs6 and the recoil went up and the accuracy went down. Of course I'm shooting them through a Mossberg smoothbore. Getting 3-6 inch groups at 35 yds, depending on hull and wad combo. Paper base wad shells don't work with them for me. I'm relegating them to my 00buck rounds. Match tapered hulls with tapered wads, and vice versa. Hope that helps.

[CANUCK]

I've never been able to use the claybuster wads because they have the ribs on the inside of the petals.

The Claybuster wads I have (WAA12SL) don't have the rib inside. They are 20+ years old so perhaps Claybuster changed them?

[Treeman]

If your wad petals are too thick try snipping the top half of the petal off. This doesn't make them thinner but since the lee slug is tapered, making the petal not reach to the widest point on the slug effectively reduces the total diameter. The slug will still be centered in the bore by the "sabot"/wad but not as tight a fit.

[whatzuptan]

OK well treeman, I've done a fare amount of research on this load. others have stated that i should cut the end of the petals off, i do cut the end of the but i thought the reason was for a crimp issue. maybe i was lost in translation, maybe this is why others suggested cutting the petals off.
or maybe i just need to better understand slugging a barrel. first of WHY do not want any nitro cards etc. under the slug when trying to push it down the barrel with the wad. the 12s3 wad petals thin towards the top. my initial slug test went very good BUT my bore was very clean and well lubed.in fact my first 6 shots the wad came out looking reusable, and grouped quite well. so in order to properly slug a barrel wouldn't you want it dirty.

[Treeman]

Some guys trim the ends of the petals so that the slug opens the crimp and their petals aren't starting the process ....all well and good if it is working for them. I found myself with a bunch of thick petaled wads and no quick way to obtain different ones so I cut the petals way back to aid in the bore fit. Although the wad/slug combo is still tight in the bore it isn't as tight, the wads come out unmangled and the slugs shoot well.

[whatzuptan]

the larger group of wads are ones i cut the petals just below the thickest part of the slug. i slugged the boar of my mossberg 590. i had 2 nitro cards under slug it was a nice fit. finger push. although they did not group as well.

the other picture is with the wad petals still cut just above the thickest part of the slug could not find all the wads but i have shot enough to know they all look as those do. these group quite well. but slugging the barrel, well thats were i have the concern obviously they went really really hard. i chose the the 12s3 wad becouse the wads petals thined quite allot towards the top+its all i had available.
i know people say who cares what the wad looks like if it groups well. but as hard as those slugs go in the barrel thats concerning to me. now with nitro cards under the slug when slugging the barrel they go pretty well. then even better with the petals cut just below the thickest part of the slug .
sorry these questions may seam redundant and dumb to most but my only teacher is the internet. the lyman manual really sucks when it comes to learning to reload slugs and buckshot

[Faret]

My results look similar to yours. I am using the waa12 downrange clone wad and trim the petals like the longer ones you have. I also size the slugs to .670 and that helped.

[whatzuptan]

Is they're any one making a sizing die for these yet. I understand how simple it would be to make and be cheap IF I owned a lathe. Next problem would be how much some body wanted to make 1. I wouldent spend over $30 any more and it would be cheaper to move past the lee slug mold.

[Faret]

Is they're any one making a sizing die for these yet. I understand how simple it would be to make and be cheap IF I owned a lathe. Next problem would be how much some body wanted to make 1. I wouldent spend over $30 any more and it would be cheaper to move past the lee slug mold.

Might have to contact Buckshot?

[rhouser]

I'm shooting the 7/8 oz but take a look at this link. The combinations are pretty straight forward. http://www.ballisticproducts.com/load14_04_25.htm Just my 2 cents.
thanks rhouser

[pacomdiver]

yeah buckshot makes lee type push thru sizing dies in just about any diameter you want (except production sizes) for 30 if I remember right

[RJH]

I use the 7/8oz and a WAA12 and get acceptable accuracy.