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Thread: What brand is your favorite 12ga slug mould and why

  1. #1
    Boolit Bub
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    Dec 2008
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    Western KY
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    What brand is your favorite 12ga slug mould and why

    Starting to do a little research on 12ga slug casting and wondering what you guys/gals are using and what you like or dislike about your specific moulds.
    thanks for any input/advice.

  2. #2
    Banned
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    If you really want the answer Lee 7/8 oz Drive Key slug in wad that use to be $19 at Mid South shooters. Very accurate to 50 to 60 yards.
    My favorite is Lyman 525 slug in wad but sadly its way over priced for $100 with handle.
    Very accurate to 75 yards and not bad even at 100 yards as some of us can get 4 to 5 inch 2 to 3 shot groups.
    Get the Mihec double cavity brass mold by contacting JMort and ask for additional base cavity pins to vary the slug wt. A Group buy !





    Safety first, here are some high pressure signs avoid it:



    Having this hull powder gauge surely help, the " O " ring set from a $1








    Please read my post 780 and 783 here: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-Sabot!/page40
    I'll be back and will help you more.
    Don't forget the fact most deer are harvested within 15 to 30 yards and 40 to 50 yard being a long shot ! !

    Best regards.
    Ajay K. Madan
    Super Blazing Sabots
    Last edited by SuperBlazingSabots; 02-28-2021 at 07:41 AM.

  3. #3
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    Continued from the previous post



    Best regards.
    Ajay K. Madan
    Super Blazing Sabots
    Last edited by SuperBlazingSabots; 02-28-2021 at 07:34 AM.

  4. #4
    Moderator

    W.R.Buchanan's Avatar
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    Smoothbore: Lee 7/8 and 1 oz. Drive Key Slugs, and Lyman 525 from the Mihec Mould. And don't forget Round Balls the original smoothbore round. In fact the term "Round" , came from Round Balls..

    Rifled Barrel: STI Hammerhead, or some of the Russian Full Bore Slugs.

    Randy
    "It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
    www.buchananprecisionmachine.com

  5. #5
    Boolit Bub
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    Western KY
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    Guys, much thanks for the wealth of info. I failed to mention in the thread that I had purchased a used lyman 525gr w/ handles for a very fair $40 in excellent condition some time back so I have that to start with. I will check on the others mentioned as well. Again, thanks you for your time!

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    I’m partial to the Lyman 525 sabot style . And have that style for the 10 , 12 , 16 , 20 and 28 . My 12 is a 4 cavity NOE , my 20 is a single cavity Lyman and the 10 16 an 28 are all single cavity Russian made molds . I use these in smoothbores I might add .
    Parker's , 6.5mm's and my family in the Philippines

  7. #7
    Boolit Master

    Hogtamer's Avatar
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    The lyman 525 is a dead-on killer for me out of rifled 870, 3" groups at 100 yds. 12 or so hogs and 2 deer. the last 2 yrs.
    "My main ambition in life is to be on the devil's most wanted list."
    Leonard Ravenhill

  8. #8
    Boolit Buddy
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    Round balls will probably give you the least trouble finding an acceptably accurate load, especially if you're going to use 1 load for a few different guns. With just a little more work, the lee and lyman wad slugs can be made to shoot well out to at least 50 yds. They tend to be a bit more picky about which barrels they do and don't like. I haven't tried the Russian slugs, but they are showing promise for others.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master




    EMC45's Avatar
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    Lee Key drive 1oz mold because its all I got.
    You can miss fast & you can miss a lot, but only hits count.

  10. #10
    Boolit Grand Master


    Join Date
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    A .735" ball mold form JT molds has become my gold standard. For comparison, my other molds include Accurate molds 73-943CN wiith hollow base, Accurate molds 73-770S, Lee 7/8 oz slug, Dixie molds .715" ball, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a couple.

    The Accurate 73-770S is a contender in a rifled barrel, although not very fun to cast. The 73-943CN is a dud, an idea I had that didn't pan out. The Lee 7/8 oz casts too large. It can shoot acceptably, but nothing spectacular. I haven't tried the .715" ball much, it would need a patch of some kind to shoot well. I've also tried a Lyman sabot slug, although I don't own the mold, and that slug has a lot of potential.

    The .735" ball casts like a dream. All round balls do, you can't go wrong. Typical accuracy is around 4" for a smooth barrel, and just over 2" for a rifled barrel at 50 yards. I've even got one load that was shooting 4" at 100 yards in my rifled ultra slug hunter.

    Federal gold medal 2 3/4"
    Federal 209A
    18 gr Unique powder
    X12X gas seal + (2?) 1/8" nitro cards
    2.8 cc scoop PSB buffer
    .735" ball lubed with Lee alox
    1/8" cork wad over ball
    fold crimp

    1000 fps
    likely low pressure but works fine in the cold

    It could have been 3 nitro cards, just adjust to fit. This is a low recoil load, sighted 3" high at 50 yards hits about 4" low at 100. I originally intended this load for a 5.25 pound TrackerII that kicks like a mule, but it turned out to shoot very well.
    Last edited by megasupermagnum; 11-19-2019 at 03:47 PM.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check