Wad for 7/8oz lee slug

[glockky]

I have just started reloading for shotgun. I recently casted a bunch of the lee 7/8oz key drive slugs. The problem I have ran into is the wad slug combos being way too tight. Like I can’t begin to push these through the barrel of any of my shotguns.

Being as I am a new shotgun reloader all I have on hand is Winchester AA 12 red wads. What wads should I purchase that will give me a smaller diameter. I know this probably isn’t a big deal to someone who has all kinds of wads laying around to try but I’m not there yet.

Also with the limited availability of components right now I’d like to get recommendations on a couple to try so I can keep an eye out for them and hopefully find some in stock.

[dannyd]

Look at shotgun reloading on this site.

[longbow]

Did you not get the Lee loading data sheet with your mould? The wads they list should be a reasonable fit for most guns.

Here is a link to the PDF:

https://leeprecision.com/files/instruct/SM%203529.pdf

Another good place to look for loading info is here:

https://www.ballisticproducts.com/load14_06_13.htm
https://www.ballisticproducts.com/load14_04_25.htm

BPI tends to promote their own products in their load data but the info is good.

Also, look up SuperBlazingSabots using the search. Ajay has listed a large selection of fit info for wads and slugs. Very handy info!

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...mold-load-data
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-Sabot!/page31

The second link is his lengthy thread full of info.

Shotgun bores tend to vary a lot as well. I have one with 0.729" bore and one with 0.733" bore so "good fit" in the 0.733" bore is tight in the 0.729" bore and rifled guns tend to be even tighter,

The Winchester AA Red wads I had were quite thick and soft. I didn't find them at all satisfactory for the slugs I was using at the time. I didn't have my Lee moulds then. I found that the "other" Winchester wads in 7/8 oz., 1 oz., and 1 1/8 oz. (Pink, yellow and white) have a tougher and thinner plastic. Those have worked well for me with several slugs including Lees.

My Lee 7/8 oz. mould casts smaller than my 1 oz. mould and it is a bit loose for fit in the 7/8 oz. wads for my 0.733" bore gun. a wrap of paper solves that.

Also, I suggest you put a 16 ga. or 20 ga. 1/8" nitro card wad under the slug to keep the wad from pushing up into the cavity. Even with the drive key I find that wads distort and sometimes fail due to pushing into the cavity without the nitro card wad.

Take a look at the Lee info and Ajay's suggestions then check your bore diameter. From that you should be able to order a bag of wads that will be suitable. Even if tight the Win AA Reds may work. If they are too tight the petals will squish and accuracy may be poor but worth a try if you already have them.

Longbow

[TjB101]

AA pink in my rifled barrel with the Lee 7/8 slug. Two cards under slug. For smooth bore I’m using Fed 12S0.

[glockky]

Thanks for the replies I’ll try to find some of the wads mentioned. I guess I was just surprised how tight the AA12 wad was. I have 5 12 gauge shotguns and none of them would even begin to let the slug and wad start in the barrel.

I even removed the barrels and tried from the breech end with no luck.

[megasupermagnum]

I would shoot them anyway. My experience is that if you can push them through by hand, they shoot like garbage. A tight fit, is a good fit.

[longbow]

It wouldn't hurt to try them. At worst they won't be accurate.

I found the Win AA Red wads had petals that were too thick for any slugs or balls I had so petals sheared and accuracy was poor. Also, the gas seals seem to fail easily with slugs. The plastic seems quite soft so maybe not suited to higher pressures? I have to think they are okay with whatever shot loads they were intended for but like I said, the other Winchester WAA wads have thinner petals and tougher plastic.

Ajay (SuperBlazingSabots) recommends a firm push through the bore for smoothbore, Counter to msm's finding I got better results with a fairly light push effort through the bore. I'm sure wad type, slug type and of course bore dimension will all affect what works for you and your gun.

Contrary to my experience, and similar to msm's, 725 says he uses a 0.702" ball in a shotcup for rifled gun and that has to be a very tight fit yet he gets good accuracy.

Look for wads after you shoot. Generally, at least in my experience, if wads are mangled with sheared petals fit is too tight and/or pressure is too high for that wad (assuming no sticky hull extraction which means pressure is too high!). Mangled wads usually = poor accuracy. If accuracy is good but wads mangled don't worry about it!

Longbow

[megasupermagnum]

For the record, I have not got either of the Lee slugs to shoot to my liking. Only that the tighter fits were not as horrible.

[glockky]

I got my new hull vise and roll crimping tool in from the reloaders network a couple days ago. I’ll try to roll some up this week and report back.

[FullTang]

The genuine Winchester wads have thinner petals, but the red wads probably leave the slug seated lower down in the thicker part---could try a card under to rectify this. Pink wads are great, and I've also had much success with WT12 orange wads. Do not substitute Claybusters, as they have an annoying rib on the petals which interferes with a proper fit. The thinnest wads available are the Windjammer style 8 petal wads, but I've found that the cushion section is just too flimsy to support my slug loads, so my results have been really bad with these. I'd agree with the notion that the plastic is, well, plastic. It can crush and deform, so you're unlikely to have a Kaboom! However, I have found that my overall favorite shotgun wads, the PT1215 and PT1210, are indeed too thick for my H&R rifled guns with Lee slugs, and I do get some early pressure signs (sticky extraction, extractor bulges, flattened primers) in otherwise very conservative loads. Not the case in my Benelli Nova Tactical (smoothbore) with the same exact loads; in fact, as Mega said, the tight fit makes them very accurate in the Benelli. Just trying to point out that it is possible to take this principle a little too far.

[TonyfromItaly]

Hello, here in italy we used the lee 7/8 and 1 oz slug successfully on hog hunts with nobel sport GT wads. Great fit and good accuracy. the height of the wad depends from the density of the powder and from weather you roll or fold crimp. https://www.ballisticproducts.com/No...tinfo/139GTT1/

the 7/8 oz we can load to about 1700 ft-sec with pressure within normal limits

[dannyd]

I use a PT1205 wad works great out to 25 yards with 7/8 oz Lee Slug.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Tony From Italy: What kinds of shotguns are you using on your Hog Hunts ? SXS, O/U's, Semi Autos, or Pumps?

You guys are light years ahead of us as far as shotgun technology and we'd all like to hear what you guys use on your hunts?

Also some pics of your reloading machines would help us understand how you load ammo.

Randy

[TonyfromItaly]

Tony From Italy: What kinds of shotguns are you using on your Hog Hunts ? SXS, O/U's, Semi Autos, or Pumps?

You guys are light years ahead of us as far as shotgun technology and we'd all like to hear what you guys use on your hunts?

Also some pics of your reloading machines would help us understand how you load ammo.

Randy

Hello Randy, i use a Beretta 391 light. Most of us use semiautos, mostly Berettas A 300 series. Older Berettas in my opinion are better then new ones. Benelli is another one used. I am fortunate i have, within 40 miles, 3 gun shops and reloading shops that have pressure barrels to test our loads. Everything changes as far as pressure and speed when your reload a slug compared to shot. I will put pictures if you guys are interested. Now we are almost under house arrest, we cannot go hunting due to the covid-19 restrictions.

[TonyfromItaly]

Hog are hunted in different ways. One was is the "Braccata", meaning a certain territory is surrounded by 40 -60 hi-powered rifles, one guy avery about 50 yards, like a militia. Inside the area there are the drivers with dogs and send the hogs to the outside positions. We are all connected with walkie talkei, so we know there the hogs are going. Sometimes 50- 60 kills a day. In those hunts is important to use rifles becouse smoot bore often rebounds, ricochet, and people have been killed with the rebounds. Positioning the hunters is very important for safety reasons. It is a militia like operation.

[Hogtamer]

Tony, those are the exacr wads 8 recommend for the Lyman 525 slug with hot glue in the base of slugs. Are your hogs feral like these or European boar?
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...11868-Hamicide

[TonyfromItaly]

Hello, i lived several years in Georgia, Atlanta and Marietta. Used to hunt deer in Hancock county. Good old days they were... Anyway, in italy hogs are just like the ones in your pictures, max weight 280 lbs for a huge big boar. Normally boars go from 180 to 220 lbs when they are adults. In middle Europe, hogs a bigger then here.
For the Lyman 525, which i load too with roll crimp, i would suggest a wad with a rigid (stiff) base like the Nobel Sport GT or the ones you have from Federal. Impressive stopping power this slug we are talking about. I have tested them up to 1540 ft-sec with 840 bars. I know that with progressive powders, they can go faster with less pressure.

Here guns are proofed at 3 level of pressure. Some have a max of 900 bars (13050 psi), most 1200 bars (17400 psi), some 1350 bars(19600psi). according to the barrel you have, you can increase to powder to be within safety limits.

[TonyfromItaly]

[W.R.Buchanan]

OK: I guess your reloads look just about perfect off that machine? I kind of like knew what your machines looked like as others have posted pics of them in the past. However I am always hoping to enlighten others as to what the rest of the world does.

The 12 ga shotgun is NOT an American invention, and since you guys make some of the best shotguns on the planet, it is always wise to consult what the Italians are doing. Most all of the premade Slugs BPI sells are from Gualandi, and I have met their rep at the SHOT Show (Luca) a few years ago and talked Formula 1 and Ferrari with him..

It appears to me that the vast majority of Hunting in Italy gets done with Shotguns? Are there restrictions on High Power Rifles, or Pistols? Or are shotguns just the weapon of choice?

You input is valuable to us, You have a completely different perspective than we do.

And sorry about China trying to kill all of you in Italy, just like they did here. Hope you are doing well.

Randy

[TonyfromItaly]

Hello Randy, i actually would like to buy that machine, but i do not have it. I have a mac 600 for depriming and resizing, and star crimping. After the crimp, i run the shell throught a spool on the drill, so all shell are the same height. (height of shell con increase or decrease combustion of the powder). Given the fact that we do not have a lot of game exept wild hogs and row deer, we do not shoot a lot of shell a years. Therefore i weigh every single dose of powder, then for the shot i use the mec 600. For slugs, i use new shells, so i only need the drill and the spool. Beside Gualandi, we have a lot a other companies manufacturing components. For example the Thug slug is made in Italy. It is more precise that the gualandi slug, better on thin skineed game like deer and small hogs. The gualandi is a harder lead, has the tendency not to deform and runs right through the animal. (Would be great for bear)
We do not have restrictions on high powered rifles, we do on pistol and black rifles. They cannot be used for hunting, only for shooting is authorized ranges.

Given the fact that the younger generation is not interested in hunting, as the older pass away, their guns are either sold as a block, or taken by the authorities. If you do not have a permit, you cannot have them in your house. Therefore you can find in excellent condition, used over and under, and side by side, for 3-400 euros. Berettas A 300 series in perfect conditions for 150-200 euro. Recently a got an old Breda semiauto 12 ga ( spring recoil operated like the old A 5) for 50 euro, and a Benelli 121 with St. Etienne barrel for 100 euro. They shoot marvelously.