12ga Slugs - Factory Ammo - Penetration Test
I was always curious as to how far those 12ga slugs can penetrate and I wanted to compare my hand load to slugs that are available in Canada.
Here are the slugs that I wanted to test, because with some I got very good accuracy … and others had a good reputation for penetration. However, i did not get around to test all of them.
From left to right:
1. Rio Brenneke
2. Challenger (Gualandi) Slug
3. Winchester 3” Rack Master
4. Federal TruBall
5. Sellier & Bellot Sport Slug (Low Recoil)
6. Federal Power Shok Sabot Slug (did not shoot/test that one)
7. My Buck & Ball load (690 Round Ball, 21 pellets of #4 buck, 29 grains of Blue Dot)
8. Aguila Mini Slug
Shotgun was an 870 Police with ghost ring sights and fixed IC choke ..
I started out last week end with a setup of 4 pine boards each 1.5 inches thick. To my surprise most of the slugs went right through those 4 pine boards … with the exception of two:
1.) The Aguila Mini Slug penetrated only 2 boards,
2.) And the Sellier & Bellot Sport Slug penetrated only 3 boards.
So, then I had to give it another try this week end … and this time with 8 pine boards … i.e. 12 inches of pine wood.
Here the set up:
(I fired from around 8 meters/yards from the target.)
And here the results:
Here the link to a high res image:
http://kalypso.net/temp/Slug_Penetra...t_8_Boards.jpg
1.) Rio Brenneke penetrated 5 boards (I shot two rounds just to be sure … I had expected more from the Brenneke.)
2.) Challenger slug penetrated 7 boards (actually it was stuck in the 7th board and one could see the nose from the back)
3.) Federal TruBall slug penetrated 6 boards … now I was surprised by that one because it is a Foster slug.
4.) For my Buck & Ball load … the 690 round ball penetrated 3 boards this time … got stuck in board 3 in the back.
5.) Unfortunately I wasn’t able to test the Winchester Rack Master again, but it penetrated 4 boards without any problem in the first test.
And here a picture of the recovered projectiles:
From left to right:
1.) Brenneke Slug
2.) Brenneke Slug
3.) Challenger (Gualandi) Slug
4.) Federal TruBall
5.) Sellier & Bellot Sport Slug
6.) 690 Round Ball
For today the Challenger slug is the clear winner when it comes to penetration. It is a pity that it is not more accurate … I only got a 10 inch group at 50 yards/meters with the Challenger slugs. However, I get 2 inch groups with the Federal TruBall at 50 meters/yards ….
And here the velocities ...
1. Rio Brenneke: 1 1/8oz; 1410 FPS
2. Challenger (Gualandi) Slug: 1 1/8oz; 1610 FPS
3. Winchester 3” Rack Master: 1 1/8oz; 1700 FPS
4. Federal TruBall: 1oz; 1600 FPS
5. Sellier & Bellot Sport Slug: 1oz; 1345 FPS
6. Federal Power Shok Sabot Slug: 1oz; 1500 FPS
7. My Buck & Ball load: Weight 2.1oz; Velocity unknown
8. Aguila Mini Slug: 7/8oz; 1250 FPS
Voila ... so much for now ....