Lee Slugs - Getting Started

[Bigslug]

Ordered the Lee 1-ouncer yesterday, and will be dusting off a Mec press that probably hasn't seen the light of day in 25 years. Metallic is old hat; shotshell is mystic voodoo.

Bear in mind I'm primarily after RIFLED barrel info, but will probably be lobbing them from ungrooved sewer pipe as well.

What I've gleaned so far:

1. 7/8th ounce wad cups are probably the desired vessel to stage the warhead at the right height for the star crimp.

2. You WANT the wad to jam into the drive key for a rifled barrel, but possibly not for a smoothbore. In either case, you want the wad to let go of the projectile easily. Seems like base wads are the order of the day for smoothbore, but not for rifled and that some manner of goo to help separation may be desired.

3. It would seem these things want to be soft. I scrounge and melt recovered slugs that test out around 40-1 / 8BHN. Figure to use that, maybe add some tin if the mold doesn't behave. I have a PID on the pot - how hot does this puppy need to run?

4. I have access to once-fired Federal 2 3/4 buckshot hulls. Anybody know what they equate to in the recipe books? Do they equate to ANYTHING? The Flite Control wad they come packed with is a rather different animal.

5. Back to the drive key. . .seems like you would want to deliberately line that up with the collapsible bits of the wad piston somehow. Any thoughts on that?

How am I doing so far? Any thoughts and pointers before I dive in the pool?

[Retumbo]

Your over thinking this whole thing.

[MAGA]

Great thread
Interested as well!

[zymguy]

re #4 how many hulls do you have? id probably focus on a recipe for a hull you have a lot of.
I like to use the same hulls as im using for my grouse/trap loads, i used the cracked ones i cut them on a drill press and roll crimp.

[Retumbo]

First thing you guys have to do is learn to use the "SEARCH" function. Lots of great info buried in this forum.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-for-lee-slugs

[Bigslug]

re #4 how many hulls do you have? id probably focus on a recipe for a hull you have a lot of.
I like to use the same hulls as im using for my grouse/trap loads, i used the cracked ones i cut them on a drill press and roll crimp.

We throw 'em away at work after they're fired, so the supply is basically limited by when I stop picking them up. I sliced one open and it's a once-piece, apparently non-tapered body.

[Moonie]

The mold comes with load data, you can look at it now on their website.

My current favorite load with my 1oz Lee:
2 3/4" Cheddite Hull Ched209 Hodgdon Clays 21.0gr PT1205 1oz Lee Key Slug Pressure 9500 1300fps with a roll crimp.

[MOA]

[Huntsman]

First thing you guys have to do is learn to use the "SEARCH" function. Lots of great info buried in this forum.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-for-lee-slugs

My favourite;

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...z-load-success!!

[curator]

Casting hot and keeping the base-pin hot is important with the Lee slug moulds. I use pure lead with about 1/2% tin added--just enough to get better mould fill-out. You may find that the addition of a 20 gage over powder wad in the bottom of the shot cup helps with accuracy. Look at your fired wad columns fr signs of the cup base being driven up into the slug's hollow base. The Lee "key" mostly prevents this but not always. One or two hard card wads under the slug absolutely prevents this.

[kycrawler]

My experience was with the 1 oz. I used ww and range scrap cast hot they filled out great. I used win aa hulls. Claybuster wads didn't work well for me win brand wads shot better . a hard card under the slug in the shotcup is your friend . the herco load in the Lee data was brutal. I ended up using a red dot load out of the Lyman shotshell book for a 1 1-8 trap load recoil was a lot kinder and deer couldn't tell the difference. On a good day I was getting 100 yard 2 in groups out of an hr ultra slug hunter . smooth bore shot pie plate size at 50 yds

[Huntsman]

Along with hulls, I'm sure I read on Shotgun world.com or in one of my Lyman shotshell handbook that Federal uses a tapered hull so wads must accommodate the hull. As for your buckshot hulls I'm not sure if they're tapered or not?
Here's a good read on hulls;
https://www.ballisticproducts.com/bp...in_general.htm

[Bigslug]

Pretty sure we're dealing with a non-tapered hull, both by simple appearance on slicing, and their being made for the Flight Control wad - which is basically a rigid plastic cylinder.

Sounds like I'll have some 'sperimentin' to do with wad type, orientation, and base wads.

[longbow]

In my experience Federal hulls are straight walled hulls. Their paper base wad hulls are the classic design with straight plastic tubes. The Federal Gold Medal hulls are one piece plastic but straight walled as far as I know.

The buckshot hulls are one piece, at least the ones I've seen, and I am sure they are straight walled as well. Not sure if they are the same as the Gold Medal hulls or not. A phone call to Federal should get that answered. I have a few in my collection of old hulls but have not reloaded them.

The tapered hulls are Win AA, Remington RXP and the newer styles of compression formed hulls.

Best to confirm load data with a reliable source like Federal or BPI just to be sure of safe load data.

Longbow

[deac777]

Here is some load data for the Lee Drive-Key slugs from Ballistic products.

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/load14_04_25.htm

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/load14_06_13.htm

[Bigslug]

Confirmation received from Federal - the Flight Control buckshot hulls are same as Gold Medal. Plenty of load data for those.

[Huntsman]

MOA,
Are those cast from pure lead or COWW or??
Looks like some good shoot'n!

[Bigslug]

I took the data card that came with the mold down to my local gun shop to look for components. Found a pound of Blue Dot and a bag of WAA-12 wads, which form a "recipe" with my Federal hulls. Since the data listed is for a screamin' 1,700 fps max load, I also bought a bag of WAA-12 SL's with a longer piston midsection in the hopes of dialing things down to a low-recoil, duty load kind of level.

I cast up a couple hundred over the weekend out of what to all appearances is 40-1 from smelted slugs picked up off the berms at the outdoor range (I knew segregating my range scrap was a good idea!). I had to jury rig a repair to one of the pins that hold the blocks to the handles when it fell out mid-session (what do you expect for $28 bucks delivered?). 825F seemed to be the ideal pot temperature. .68 caliber on the nose and a tad heavy at about 443 grains. Also right at .729" when you drop them in the wads, so it appears homework was done. Shiny little buggers. . .

In a case of serendipity, a MEC 310 press landed in my lap last week. I have yet to take inventory of what parts it needs to get running again, but I figure this will become a dedicated slug press, and won't have to de-tune the other from birdshot mode. NICE!

[Hogtamer]

would start 5 gr less than book to see if shoulder could stand it. Put one 20 ga 1/8 hard card in bottom of wad or wad will cram into base.. And the long wads sre prolly too long for a good crimp. Good luck!

[MOA]

Yes Huntsman. I use roofing jacks that a roofing friend gets me from every roof he replaces that has the old lead roofing jacks. I can usually put together about 3 to 4 hundred pounds of pure lead each summer. I do all my casting during the winter months of November thru March. Way to hot and humid during the summer here in the costal south.