Bikerbeans .730" 730 grain HB slugs in one of my 10 gauge guns

[longbow]

Just as a thought, if you are getting a mould cut you might want to incorporate a slight taper to more or less match the taper of shotcup petals. Greg Sappington has commented on this and the Lee slug is tapered though a think a bit too much.

Also, a nice feature of the Lyman sabot slug is that they put a slight reverse taper/bevel at the base of the skirt, I think, so that as the skirt obturates there is no sharp bottom edge to cut wad petals. I have experience that first hand with some of my home made moulds for wad slugs. Nice sharp bottom edge just like you would want to see on a boolit but hard on shotcups I'll say! A paper wrap helped but I think that slight reverse bevel is a great idea. I will be adding that to my wad slug mould for next time.

That is a nice looking slug BB. So that is an Accurate design you had bored through then an HP pin made?

I've shot slugs to 800+ grs. and that is enough for me! Mind you I loaded over a moderate charge of Blue Dot and they were manageable but I'd not want to launch one at max pressure and velocity. I am getting too old and frail. Something might fall off. I hate it when that happens! Got to pick it up and figure out where to put it...

Longbow

[6pt-sika]

Just as a thought, if you are getting a mould cut you might want to incorporate a slight taper to more or less match the taper of shotcup petals. Greg Sappington has commented on this and the Lee slug is tapered though a think a bit too much.

Also, a nice feature of the Lyman sabot slug is that they put a slight reverse taper/bevel at the base of the skirt, I think, so that as the skirt obturates there is no sharp bottom edge to cut wad petals. I have experience that first hand with some of my home made moulds for wad slugs. Nice sharp bottom edge just like you would want to see on a boolit but hard on shotcups I'll say! A paper wrap helped but I think that slight reverse bevel is a great idea. I will be adding that to my wad slug mould for next time.

That is a nice looking slug BB. So that is an Accurate design you had bored through then an HP pin made?

I've shot slugs to 800+ grs. and that is enough for me! Mind you I loaded over a moderate charge of Blue Dot and they were manageable but I'd not want to launch one at max pressure and velocity. I am getting too old and frail. Something might fall off. I hate it when that happens! Got to pick it up and figure out where to put it...

Longbow

You posted a drawing for a slug that looked in profile like the Lyman 525 that measures .730" on the outter bands . I'm thinking I might email that to Accurate to see if they would cut it but at .715" OD then send it to the hollow point guy to put a HB pin in it . But this weekend or next week I wanna see about shooting the .730" stuff in the shot cup with the petals some more .

[6pt-sika]

If I can get something worked out in the 10's to suit me I may follow the same basic path to get something going for my 16's . I really like the Lyman sabot designs and use the 525 with very decent results in several old SxS guns . I have a friend close by that lends me that mold when ever I wanna use it . I may keep my eyes open for a used Lyman sabot 20 gauge mold for use in a couple 20 gauge SxS's I have as well . I think if I'm able to get the 10 , 12 , 16 and 20 to suit me the only other I may ever mess with for slugs would be an 8 gauge . And the likelihood of me being able to afford an 8 gauge I want is kinda slim at best !

[longbow]

No personal experience here at all...

turbo1889 said that the 20 ga. Lyman did not work well in smoothbores. Something about proportions/length to diameter ratios.

Also, turbo commented on the extreme wadcutter nose being an issue with stability from smoothbores at transonic velocities ~ 12 ga. If you have had success with the 12 ga. version my inclination would be to use exactly the same proportions for any other bore diameter whether wad slug or full bore.

Like I said, no personal experience but you want to be sure before you lay out a bunch of money for moulds.

I should quit waffling and just buy a 12 ga. Lyman mould for testing. turbo convinced me that my home made moulds were just as good but I really do not know for sure.

Just my opinion after flinging truck loads of lead downrange and that finding round balls are hard to beat to 50 yards anyway.

Longbow

[bikerbeans]

LB,

This mold was "commissioned" by a friend of mine. I acquired it from him when he moved away from heavy slugs. I am not sure who is responsible for the design.

My personal experience with the 20ga lyman "pellet" slug is they were unstable from a smoothbore and not very accurate from a rifled single shot. I agree with tutbo regarding the length to width ratio on the 20ga lyman sabots.

BB

[6pt-sika]

Just got back from the range this AM , even though there was a slight rain I wanted to try 6 slugs wrapped with .010" mylar and six slugs sized to .720" in the SP-10 shotcup .


The results were very positive !


The right more open barrel with the sized .720" slug in the full shotcup at 25 yards !







The left tighter barrel with the sized slug in the full shotcup again at 25 yards .







The rights barrel with the unsized .730" slug a wrap of .010" mylar and no petals on the wad at 25 yards
.







The left barrel with the unsized .730" slug a wrap of .010" mylar and the petals removed from the SP-10 at 25 yards .







Shot all of these in my 1884 Parker top lever hammer gun . I reckon I'll try them next in my Parker #3 frame hammerless .

[bikerbeans]

6pt,

Progress, I like it! How did the SP10 with the petals look? Recover any slugs?

I finally loaded some of these 730g (ones I just cast are 715g) slugs in fired 3" remington hulls. I have them loaded over SR4759 with two wad columns, one squishy and one rigid. The only 12ga slug gun I have is a 18.5" H&R Tracker II with a peep sight. Gun weighs around 6 pounds so I am glad I don't have a scope. I have a modern (younger than me) 12ga sxs that I am going to shorten and install open sights. I hope these HB fullbore slugs will work in a smoothbore 12ga double.

BB

[6pt-sika]

6pt,

Progress, I like it! How did the SP10 with the petals look? Recover any slugs?

I finally loaded some of these 730g (ones I just cast are 715g) slugs in fired 3" remington hulls. I have them loaded over SR4759 with two wad columns, one squishy and one rigid. The only 12ga slug gun I have is a 18.5" H&R Tracker II with a peep sight. Gun weighs around 6 pounds so I am glad I don't have a scope. I have a modern (younger than me) 12ga sxs that I am going to shorten and install open sights. I hope these HB fullbore slugs will work in a smoothbore 12ga double.

BB

It was raining some yesterday morning so I didn't look for the wads . Tommorrow I'll load some more with the .010" Mylar to try in the two Parker hammerless guns . Then Thursday I'll resize perhaps two dozen . In using a lathe to resize , I chuck the die and use the live center to push the slug they the die . No deformation at all !

[6pt-sika]

I just finished loading a dozen of the unsized slugs with the petal less SP-10 base and a .010" mylar wrap I also trimmed the mylar so it wasn't as tall in the case . The ones I shot yesterday were sometimes pushing the wad base further down in the case .


Gonna shoot three in each barrel of my 1889 Parker EH on the #2 frame and my 1899 Parker EH on the #3 frame . Both these guns are a smidge tighter in the choke then my Grade 2 top lever hammer gun .


When I get to the shop tomorrow after going to the range I want to cast another 100 or so of the slugs and maybe size two dozen or so of them !

[Hogtamer]

Wonder what that mold would drop if it was poured full of some good hot zinc??? Might be a thou or two smaller and would weigh in the neighborhood of 500 grns I bet.

[6pt-sika]

Wonder what that mold would drop if it was poured full of some good hot zinc??? Might be a thou or two smaller and would weigh in the neighborhood of 500 grns I bet.

Whats the hardness of air cooled zinc ?

[bikerbeans]

6pt,

I dug some of HT's zlugs out of a clay berm, cleaned them off, reloaded and shot them a second time. I think zlugs are the only boolit that can rightfully claim to be "hard cast".

BB

[Hogtamer]

82 Brinell
https://www.dynacast.com/zamak-3

[6pt-sika]

The sizing of these things would be easier if I had a small arbor press . But since I don't, chucking the die in the lathe and putting a wooden thing I made that's contoured to fit in the hollow base that fits in the front of the attachment that holds the live center and then crank it in is quite easy and doesn't seem to compromise the intended shape of the slug !

[6pt-sika]

82 Brinell
https://www.dynacast.com/zamak-3

Uh in a word NO , I ain't shooting something that hard in Damascus barreled guns LOL's .

[6pt-sika]

Got out to the range this morning at 8AM took my 1889 Parker EH #2 frame 10 gauge and my 1899 Parker EH #3 frame 10 gauge . Both are choked a bit tight .

Shot the #3 frame first and I mismarked them the right barrel target is actually marked left and the left barrel target is actually marked right .

This is actually the right barrel of the #3 frame gun !




This is actually the left barrel of the #3 frame gun .



Now the targets for my 1889 #2 frame gun are correct .






Granted the chokes are tighter in these two guns than in my 1884 top lever hammer gun , I think these two with the .010" Mylar wrap and the petals removed from the SP-10 wad work pretty well . In these I also trimmed the mylar wrap so it wasn't as tall as that I used in the hammer gun. Trimmed them to the same height as the thinner .003" Mylar .

I just finished casting 200 more of the slugs as well as sizing a dozen for trial hopefully this afternoon or in the morning .

Quite frankly for my needs the .010" mylar wrap seems to the ticket in the two tight choked guns . But I still wanna see how the sized stuff does . May also try the slugs in my old 1890 LC Smith . Anyway thats where I'm at , at the moment !

Have my pot still heated up and am about to make another 15-20 pounds of alloy and that should make me enough slugs to keep me in buisness as long as I wish to fool with this project !

[6pt-sika]

Well I ended up making approx 35 pounds of 50/50 alloy !

[bikerbeans]

6pt,

I'm jealous! I have to finish casting 50 pounds of pistol bullets for my wife and kid before I can get back to casting "real boolits".

BB

[6pt-sika]

6pt,

I'm jealous! I have to finish casting 50 pounds of pistol bullets for my wife and kid before I can get back to casting "real boolits".

BB

I'm hoping to cast a couple hundred again tommorrow . Turned out I cranked down to tight on my sizer die and made it oval so I won't be doing sized ones tommorrow . And to be honest the bottom of the SP wad and the.010 Mylar wrap seem to be getting the job done . I wanna load up a dozen more like I shot today and shoot them in the AM in my 3 frame and the LC Smith . But I don't have the get up and go to get up and go in the loading room . Suppose I'll go Monday early or Sunday around dinner time .

[6pt-sika]

Just finished loading 24 of the slugs with the Mylar .010" wrap and the petals removed from the SP-10 . Wanna try my LC Smith at 25 and 50 yards and wanna try the two Parker EH guns at 50 yards .


Also loaded a couple shells with 0000 Buck to try in the Smith as well .