Loading Lyman Slugs for my A5

[W.R.Buchanan]

So far I have not been able to get anything resembling "Accuracy" from Lyman Slugs shot from both my Mossberg 500's with Vang Comped Barrels.I attribute this to the back bored barrels which open up to .745 before choking back down to .730 at the muzzle.

My logic is that these slugs must be Launched Perfectly Square and In Line with the bore of the gun and the over size of the bore is more than enough to insure that these slugs will NOT be launched perfectly in line with the bore,,, EVER!

These guns shoot Foster Style Slugs like Lees and Federals pretty well (50 yards) as those slugs are less affected by any discrepancies in alignment than the Lyman Sabot Slug is, due to the shape. The big flat nose just directs the airflow off the front of the slug in whatever direction it is pointed and the slug is sent Willy Nilly into the world, in a totally random fashion.

However last week I saw groups from Leon/ Blood Trail and Hal/Hogtamer that were Rifle Accuracy in every respect.(1-2" at 100 yards) In both cases they used established loads from the Lyman Book and shot those loads from Rifled Barrels. I think Leon's gun is an H&R Handy Rifle and Hal's gun is an 870 with a Hastings Rifled Barrel. Both have scopes mounted.

Since I have this really great MIHEC Brass Mould that makes Lyman Slugs better than anything Lyman ever did, I am pretty serious about making them work somehow.

I have loaded quite a few of these slugs into O/F Federal Blue Hulls using low powder charges and Roll Crimps. These shoot fairly well from my A5 with the Buck Special Barrel which is a Smooth Bore with an IC Choke. I got around 3" at 50 yards which is acceptable from a smoothbore barrel. But I am looking for more like 2" at 100 yards from the Hastings Barrel for my A5. This should be doable as that gun has shot a 1x1.5 group with open sights at 50 yards with STI Slugs with my Brass Inserts.

So with that in mind I went to the shop yesterday and found a bunch of Pretty Green O/F Rem STS Hulls that were stashed and looking for something special to do with.

I got out my Lyman book and shuffled thru it until I found what I was looking for which was 18 gr of Green Dot with a WAA12 wad, and Rem 209 primer. Fold Crimped. According to the book these should be running about 1150 fps at @10,000 psi.

I loaded the first one with no card under the slug and the Crimp Closed a little deep, so the next one got a .125 card and it came out a little proud, so the next one got an .070 card and it closed perfectly,,, so I finished the box like that. See pic.

I also "Finished" these by running them into a Roll Crimp Tool I got off the Reloaders Network. You'll note, the nice rounded front edge on the hull, which took care of the flared edge left by the Fold Crimp Tool. This will enhance feeding in my guns. This is Common Practice in Italy as they are pretty serious about their shot shell reloading over there, and really serious about making things that look good IE: Ferrari's and Women.

So now all that has to happen is to go up and shoot some in the A5. Have to do it this week as next week we are gone to Front Sight for a 4 day Shotgun Class and 4 days of Pistol Shooting.

Randy

[Mr Peabody]

What alloy do you cast these with?

[W.R.Buchanan]

Just plain Wheel Weights. That's all I use on just about everything. On long skinny boolits I add some tin.

Randy

[Mr Peabody]

You make me think I ought to get that mold.

[Hogtamer]

2 things regarding the lymans that you may want to tinker with if your loads are not really accurate. The top "ring" of the slug is the widest diameter. I found that a wad fit where the slug was flush with the top of the wad is preferred. Also overfilling the base of the wad with hot glue then trimming flush with a warm razor knife prevents the wad from jamming into the base or blowing the wad cup. These slugs have become my go-to loads as they are devastating on deer and hogs and once you find the happy spot are as easy to load as birdshot.

[W.R.Buchanan]

2 things regarding the lymans that you may want to tinker with if your loads are not really accurate. The top "ring" of the slug is the widest diameter. I found that a wad fit where the slug was flush with the top of the wad is preferred. Also overfilling the base of the wad with hot glue then trimming flush with a warm razor knife prevents the wad from jamming into the base or blowing the wad cup. These slugs have become my go-to loads as they are devastating on deer and hogs and once you find the happy spot are as easy to load as birdshot.

This is why I'm going down this road. The shape of the slug is such that all it's energy should be expended at impact, that big flat nose has to be devastating.

Plus that,,, They just look so cool.

You say you got complete penetration on every pig you shot. I gathered that you were in the 1500 fps range? So that is a little faster than my 1150 fps loads. Still I don't see anything walking away from one of these slugs.

Randy

[littlejack]

Hey fellas.
I've read a few times that the Lyman slug shoots better cast of pure lead. Have you fellas found that to be true? I've always cast mine from wheel weights plus a dab of tin.
One piece of information and advice I've taken from you all, is working on a better solid base for the slug to set on, to get a good square launch from the muzzle. I think the biggest culprit that may be causing this issue, is the cushion section of the wad tilting. Not sure yet about my plan of attack yet. As mentioned in different posts, maybe trying multiple BPI wads stacked. I do have another option I want to try first though.

[Drm50]

I hunted with a Brn Lite 12 A5 for years. Was involved In making slug guns and loading slugs. I tried Foster and Lyman. Loading with roll crimp and loading in cup wads. I never got the job done.
It wasn’t from the lack of trying. I shot Brenneke 2.75” and would do under 3” at 100yds. I have 3 other slug guns sighted for factory Rem slugs. A 870/ scope, 1100 and 1897 Win. They will come close to 3” but factory Fosters seems like there is always a flyer. It’s not the gun, it’s the slugs. The secret of accurate slugs is uniformity of tension in the shell.

[Hogtamer]

The clear fed plastic hulls used here tell the tale. The wad on the left is more stable than the trap commander on the right but the shot cup is the same on both. And I used a clear frangible os wad from BPI to get crimp right

[Mr Peabody]

Is anyone following this thread using the .680 pellet slug from NOE?

[W.R.Buchanan]

Is anyone following this thread using the .680 pellet slug from NOE?

I sold mine when I got the Mihec Brass Mould. The Aluminum Mould was pretty finicky and lots of rejects all the way thru the casting session. The Mihec mould produced a perfect slug on the second pour and the rest were perfect as well. I went thru and poured around 100 of them on the first session.

Can't say enough about Miha and his mould making . I've been a machinist for along time. I couldn't make a mould like his on my best day or week or month.

Randy

[Mr Peabody]

Thanks Randy