Fairly new to reloading shotgun.

[Jjmwandell]

I've reloaded #8 shot for skeet and for bird however never really done much in the way of slugs. I have a lee 7/8 oz slug mold from lee and I'm shooting a mossberg 500 and I use Remington and Winchester hauls with appropriate wads. Are the slugs reliably accurate? They're pure lead and I have a strict quality control ( weight and shape) . Do I have to roll crimp the cases or can I use the star crimp already on the haul? Thanks for everyones help.

Justin.

[trapper9260]

I had just fold crimp them and adjust the powder if needed from the data . test and see what there group will be.

[SuperBlazingSabots]

Greetings Jjmwandell, just be sure when you use the loading data that comes with Lee Drive Key slug in wad is not too Hot as some of the loads are indeed Hot. As far as accuracy in concerned you need to choose the wad that is a fiction fit of say 5 to 8 lbs in the barrel for accuracy when you push it back wards without the nitro card below the slug for this test.


Best regards,
Ajay K. Madan

[Jjmwandell]

What's a nitro card?

Justin

[Minerat]

Nitro card is a thing fiber card used over powder or whereever needed in a load column. This may help explain.

https://www.ballisticproducts.com/mo.../products/118/

[Jjmwandell]

So I attempted to do what the picture showed and I couldnt get the slug with the wad down the barrel, the slug went down without a problem however together it was extremely tight, I couldnt even get it to go down a quarter inch. Do they make thinner wads? Do I need a wad?

Justin.

[TjB101]

I rolled 25 today with some repurposed Fetter hulls. I read somewhere that Lee slugs do well with conventional star crimp but these required a roll crimp. The Lee sheet is really old ... tons of 7/8 oz recipes on Alliant web site.

Fun to shoot ... I load for both smooth bore and rifled shotgun.

[SuperBlazingSabots]

Greetings, after your last comment the question of safety comes to mind and I'm starting to wonder what is the OD of your barrel at muzzle. Please check and report right back and what wad did you test it with?

From this chart on the bottom right you can see which wad is thinner for Lee slug in wad purpose.

Don't rush and calm down and lets take one step at a time, we are here to help and have all gone through this route.
Hoping it helps

Regards,
Ajay K. Madan
Super Blazing Sabots

[Jjmwandell]

Barrel 0.7140
Slug 0.6825
Claybuster shotgun was 12guage CB8118-12 standard .00460(Remington)
Pink shotgun was ( winchester) .003
Haul remington gunclub 2 3/4 - 1 1/8 -9
12 guage 2.75 -70mm
Winchester xtra-lite 8
That's all my measurements.
Thanks alot for your help guys. I appreciate it.

Justin

[Hogtamer]

The Lee loading data is on the stout side. Start several grains of powder lighter than what's suggested. You can always load heavier if you think you need to and good luck, it's fun! Oh yeah, stick with the star crimp too.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Your barrel has an Improved Cylinder Choke which is normally @.715.

Just use a Winchester AA12 wad or Claybuster clone as shown on Ajays chart above (Right Column under Lee Slug) it will be perfect for your Lee Slugs. Fold Crimp is easiest to do when starting out and these slugs work well done that way.

Good Luck

Randy

[gwpercle]

Justin ,
Tell your spellcheck the word you want for an empty shotshell is " hull" ...
it keeps changing it to haul and you aren't hauling anything .
All this stuff is confusing enough and wrong words just add to confusion .

Do what Randy says in post #11 , that advice is right on .
Gary

[pipehand]

Lol. I disabled my spellcheck. It kept changing "shotgun wad" to shotgun "was". 'Twas really quite annoying.

[longbow]

Yes, you need a wad but you need the right wad as Ajay has pointed out. Different brands and different "model" have different thickness petals, cup depth and cushion leg lengths. You need to use a wad that provides a good fit of slug/wad to bore and at the right wad column length to crimp. Also depending on the shotcup depth you may have to space the slug up on a nitro card wad or two and/or cut petals so they are about flush with the ogive on the slug ~ you don't want the slug sitting deep in the shotcup with a bunch of petal length in front of it.

If you wad column is a bit short you can space it up using nitro card wads under the slug (in the shotcup ~ 16 or 20 ga. work) or nitro card wad over the powder to space the wad up. Also, you can adjust fit some by spacing the slug up or down in the shotcup using nitro card wads. The petals are tapered so if the slug/wad to bore fit is too tight you can space the slug up so it bears where petals are thinner loosening the fit a bit. Some wads have almost straight petals and some have considerable taper to them.

If you roll crimp you can cut the hull and vary roll crimp depth some to accommodate different wad column lengths.

There's lots of variables in shotshell reloading! Too many actually (in my opinion).

It is best to start out using a proven recipe as it will take into account all the variables including wad column length for good fold crimp. The Lee recommendations should be a decent starting point or slug recipes from powder company sites and reloading manuals. Again, they are proven recipes using components that fit.

If you have a choked gun you may find that a slug/wad combo that fits the bore is too tight at the choke and shears petals. With soft lead slugs that may not be a problem but looking for wads after you shoot is a good idea. If the wads are badly beat up and accuracy is poor then you'll want to be trying some different wads... maybe somewhat looser fit to allow for the choke.

As for accuracy, if you aren't getting groups smaller than 6" at 50 yards then you should be trying different recipes and possibly substituting different wads but... be careful with substituting! I don't worry much about subbing wads to get good fit or correct column length but you do not want to be using a different type of hull or primer as pressures can vary considerably especially with primer changes. All 209 primers are not the same! Changing brand of primer can affect pressure by 3000 PSI which is a lot!

If you follow published, pressure tested recipes, or known to be safe recipes, there is nothing to worry about and again, I don't worry about a wad change as long as payload and everything else is the same as the recipe. Using a somewhat lighter powder charge is also generally not a problem except for hull volume and crimp so a lightened powder charge may require a nitro card spacer to allow good crimping. At worst, you might get a blooper with a lighter powder charge than recommended.

I'd start with following the recipes that Lee provided with your mould. Load exactly per the recipe then go shoot and collect wads. If accuracy is good then you are good to go. If accuracy is poor then you have to try different recipes and/or started experimenting with wads.

There's lots of knowledge here so if things don't go well post questions with details of what recipe you used and what the results were. I am sure you will be directed to good solutions leading to good accuracy.

Longbow