Guys, I need some help. Wise, experienced advice.
I recently got a rifled slug barrel for my Mossberg 500A, and recently went shooting/ testing .729 Round Balls [Jeff Tanner mold] and some home-fabricated slugs: 16mm Socket Wrench Slugs.
Note: I am simply pouring out birdshot and replacing with equal or less weight of Round ball or Homemade slugs.
Last testing: the Round balls seemed reasonably accurate, but did not have much velocity: hitting up to 8 inches low of point of aim at 44 yards. [Remember - Birdshot catridges: not actual slug loads.] and the Socket Wrench slugs did much better.
I had initially been excited to be able to use my Lyman 525 mold to cast slugs to shoot with this [Again: simply replacing birdshot with Lyman 525 slug.] but I did the push-down through bore test with all my potential projectiles.
1. Round balls are Bore-size: went through bore with minor push of dowel [Maybe thats why I did not get good performance.]
2. Socket Wrench slugs - bore size: went through bore a bit harder. But went through without having to hammer. [Performed better]
3. Lyman slug, inside shot wad: did not go through bore without some hammering... [So I did not test-fire these]
So now the question is: was I being too hasty/ cautious in discarding the Lyman slugs?
Why?
1. The wads are plastic: because I did not have them sliding through easily does not mean the plastic will not squeeze through the forcing cone and bore on firing, and thus even grip the rifling better...
2. There is a thicker band at the bottom of the shot-cup: I can use a felt wad to raise the slug a little and avoid the "swelling"at the bottom of the shot-cup, so the slug can then pass through the forcing cone/ bore.
3. I can always do a little filing with a hand file or sandpaper on the circumfrence of the shot-cup to be able to go through the forcing cone/ bore more easily.
So I need your advice on what to do.
In your experience: is it possible to shoot Lyman 525 slugs inside a regular birdshot shot-cup through a rifled barrel?
I really would love to shoot those Lyman slugs from my rifled barrel...
[Note: I can only do the "Load Replacement" Reloading, I do not have access to reloading equipment and materials [Proper wads, powder etc...] in my country to build proper slug loads.]