Homemade alternative for slug wads

[Jjmwandell]

hello, im looking for an alternative to bought slug wads, anyone have any suggestions?

[megasupermagnum]

For 12 gauge, a 3/4" punch. Then the sky is the limit. I'm still looking for a source for hard card stock. 1/8" felt from Durofelt is great. Cereal boxes make great overshot cards.

[la5676]

I've always used the slider boxes primers come in. About the same as a cereal box I suppose. But, us old people don't each much cereal, just get it when the grandkids come.

[Rally]

For 12 gauge, a 3/4" punch. Then the sky is the limit. I'm still looking for a source for hard card stock. 1/8" felt from Durofelt is great. Cereal boxes make great overshot cards.

Might look at the Farm Supply type stores or places that sell salt for water softner. They used to put a heavy poster type board between the salt and the pallet, just slightly smaller than the pallet.

[Jjmwandell]

Do you just cut it out and place it over the powder? I normally load with birdshot and buckshot. Ive never done slugs. How i would picture it going is; powder, cardboard, slug, filler cardboard, crimp? Do i need a special tool to crimp for a slug or will my lee shotgun loader crimp it like for birdshot? Anyone have any good videos on properly loading slugs?

[megasupermagnum]

Do you just cut it out and place it over the powder? I normally load with birdshot and buckshot. Ive never done slugs. How i would picture it going is; powder, cardboard, slug, filler cardboard, crimp? Do i need a special tool to crimp for a slug or will my lee shotgun loader crimp it like for birdshot? Anyone have any good videos on properly loading slugs?

There is lots of info on this site for loading slugs. Fold crimps work great with slugs.

[Brick85]

Would 1/8" Masonite ("tempered hard board") be too thick or too hard for this?

[tomme boy]

I have used the paper that the car air fresheners are made from. Used them for load fillers to bring the shot or slug up to get a good crimp. I worked at a place that made them so was able to get a bunch of the scrap blotter stock as what we called it.

[William Yanda]

I have a bunch of the corner protectors from pallets of rubber tiles. 3/16 thick or so, now I have to find a way to stamp out 12 ga. blanks.

[bcp477]

Darn near anything can be used for wad material. Cotton balls, wool fibers, dacron fiberfill, felt, cork discs, kapok, etc.
As megasupermagnum said, with a 3/4" punch to cut the wad material...the sky really is the limit.

[bcp477]

I have a bunch of the corner protectors from pallets of rubber tiles. 3/16 thick or so, now I have to find a way to stamp out 12 ga. blanks.

All you need is a 3/4" arch punch. You can get one at most any home store.

[toallmy]

Are you trying to load full bore slugs without a wad with petals ? What slug are you going to load ?

[Jjmwandell]

I have a lee mold for slugs. And when i load them with my wads i use for shot, it causes rhe haul to buldge

[toallmy]

I use a clay buster wad without ribs inside of the petals to load a similar slug in 2 3/4 12 gage loads . If you like I could send you a few to try , if they work for you a 500 ct bag goes a long way loading slugs .

[bakerjw]

Go to a craft store like HobbyLobby. They have all thicknesses of card stock there.

[littlejack]

I make mine out of the spacer material in liquor boxes. No, I don't drink, so stop the rumors before they get started. The material usually runs .040 thick. I only use the hard pressed material, not the softer material. The soft material doesn't punch very clean for me. The liquor stores around here are very good about letting me rummage around in their boxes.

[GhostHawk]

Don't forget those foam trays they sell meat on.

Place one of those 1/8" thick above a thin cardstock and you have a little cushion and a nice solid base.

[rancher1913]

you can cut the petals off and your slug will stop bulging the case but you would be better off getting a smaller mold.

you can use ceiling tile if you need fairly thick stuff

[gpidaho]

I've used clean sheep wool packed in tight with black powder loads. Gp

[Cap'n Morgan]

You can make all sizes of wads from pulped paper, they're not felt-quality, but unlike hard card wads they will compress and seal under pressure.

Here's the secret recipe: Soak shredded newspapers in water and let it sit for a couple of hours - for best results you can use som sort of blender (but don't let the wife catch you in the act) Take a fistful of the concoction and squeeze it to get most of the water out. You'll end up with a grey dough which can be pressed into whatever simple mold you can come up with - use some sort of punch to compress the wads and get as much water out as possible (a drill press is great for the job). Once the wads have dried some, they can be removed from the mold cavities to speed up the drying process. Allow for some shrinkage - I can't remember the exact percentage, but a test will give you an idea.