Slugging a barrel.........interesting method

[SHMACKITY2K]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuNoo4m6jso

Wanted to know what the professionals thought of this method.

[Light attack]

Nice video. I too have wondered how to best slug my barrels. The only thing I would do different is to use a micrometer instead of a caliper. Good job.

Light Attack.

[williamwaco]

Nice video and good idea.

I would like to know the diameter of the slug after casting and before slugging.

Welcome to casting. You will find it very frustrating and very satisfying.

One word of caution.

Be VERY careful about casting videos on youtube there is a lot more bad information there than good.

see:

http://reloadingtips.com/index-recommended-videos.htm

for some recommendations.

.

[flysubcompact]

Smhmakity, I saw that same video a while back and tried it. It works nicely. Thanks for sharing the know how.

Williamwaco,


Where is John Galt?

(If you don't know, you owe it to yourself to find out. )

Mind sharing the GPS coordinates to Galt's Gulch, just in case? :)

[SHMACKITY2K]

Thanks flysubcompact and williamwaco. I appreciate the feedback.



Nice video and good idea.

I would like to know the diameter of the slug after casting and before slugging.

Welcome to casting. You will find it very frustrating and very satisfying.

One word of caution.

Be VERY careful about casting videos on youtube there is a lot more bad information there than good.

see:

http://reloadingtips.com/index-recommended-videos.htm

for some recommendations.

.


Smhmakity, I saw that same video a while back and tried it. It works nicely. Thanks for sharing the know how.

Williamwaco,



Mind sharing the GPS coordinates to Galt's Gulch, just in case? :)

[SHMACKITY2K]

Nice video. I too have wondered how to best slug my barrels. The only thing I would do different is to use a micrometer instead of a caliper. Good job.

Light Attack.

Why is a micrometer better than a caliper? Is it significantly more accurate? I already have a Kobalt digital caliper and would rather not buy another measuring device unless completely necessary. I'm cheap. LOL. It's why im getting in to casting.

[fouronesix]

Good thinking, I like the technique!

As to the caliper comment. Some insist on using a .0001" mic to measure this type stuff. I find that a good quality .001" caliper can easily be judged down to .0005"- which is plenty good enough for me. I have three different high quality .0001" mics and use them only once in a great while but most of the time I grab the calipers for most of this stuff.

[rbertalotto]

Nice video...great idea!

But you have the collett backwards on your bullet puller....if you turn it around you don't need to take it all apart to insert a cartridge.....just saying..

[fouronesix]

Nice video...great idea!

But you have the collett backwards on your bullet puller....if you turn it around you don't need to take it all apart to insert a cartridge.....just saying..

Huh? The way the OP inserted the case in the puller collet is exactly the way I set mine. Seems to be the easiest way to insert most cartridges- especially bottleneck types. Also, If you don't take the cap off and open up the puller body how do you get the bullet and powder out??? Just saying.

[Sweetpea]

Oh yeah... it's backwards!

[454PB]

It looks like it worked very well.

A couple of suggestions......oil the barrel and the slug, it makes it drive through more easily. I prefer a brass rod, but you can use steel if the rod is wrapped with electrical tape to avoid rifling damage.

Use the softest lead you have, and if you have a mould, use that for the cast slugs.

Lay a piece of leather (or even an old leather glove) on the anvil. It adds padding and prevents slippage.

I've done a lot of precision measuring in my life, a micrometer is better, but with experience, a quality caliper will be accurate within .0005".

And finally, a slug can reused by placing it in a vice and squeezing it up a few thousandths.

[Jeffrey]

Is the barrel / slug oiled or dry?

[Wayne Smith]

Sounds like a lot of work to me. Just take the fishing weight and drive it through an oiled barrel. Use a stopper dowel to size it up to full size if you want.

[mdi]

Nuttin' new, I learned from a fellow caster about using a fired case as a mold for slugging quite a while ago. I also use this method to make hardness testing slugs. But, the fellow's premise , in the video, is wrong. A lead ball won't "rock or tilt", and will have a usable portion of the ball, not a "short area" for measuring, unless it's too small to begin with. Every method of slugging a barrel with a round ball that I've heard/read about talks of a "lead ring" swaged from the ball as it's inserted into the muzzle, meaning the bullet is sufficienty larger than the bore.. That won't wobble as it goes down the bore...

Other than that it's an OK video.

I'm a retired Heavy Equipment Mechanic and I approve this post. 8-)

[1Shirt]

Guess I am one of the knot headed old guys, who has never slugged a bbl. Have always just shot the weapon with different sizes until I got the accuracy I wanted. Been doing that for well over 50 years, so guess I will continue. However, that said, IF----I were going to slug a bbl, it would be by this method. Good video, well thought out!
1Shirt!

[rmatchell]

looks good to me, Ill have to try it. I also liked the commit about starting casting because your cheap. Yeah I know it is a cheaper way to shoot but we all know that this hobby can be like a sickness, got to love it.

[MtGun44]

'I can judge down to .0005 with my caliper' Sorry to report that no matter what you
think you are reading, the instrument itself is accurate to +/- .001", so if you think you
are reading .3585 it could be anywhere between .3575 and .3595. I work in the
aerospace industry where it is mandatory to do measurement correctly, can't have
really expensive parts not fit up correctly. Our training is that the measuring device
rated tolerance band (+/- .001" = .002) must be at MINIMUM four times smaller
than the tolerance on the drawing. So, if I have a drawing with a .001 tolerance,
I must use an instrument that is rated at no worse than .00025". Normally this is
a good micrometer with a +/- .0001" rating.

Do what you want, but if you think you are actually measuring to .0005" accurately
with a +/-.001" caliper, you are wrong. If you really want to get good results, I
recommend a .0001" reading micrometer. Many out there, but the Fowler brand
at Enco Tools is usually offered at or under $35 plus shipping. No financial interest
in Enco, just a decent tool supplier.

Will you blow up the gun without a caliper? Of course not. Is it possible to get
great results without a good mic? Of course it is. But you are flying blind and
guessing a lot. If that is good enough, relax and use the caliper. If you really
want to get into controlling the boolit fit and get control of things, get a good
mic. No skin off my nose either way.

With a .30-06, you can skip slugging, buy a .310 or .311 sizer die, load up some
boolits over 16 gr of 2400 and have a really great chance of excellent results.
But if it turns to worms, you'll have no idea why or what to change or if it
has changed.

Bill

[SHMACKITY2K]

'I can judge down to .0005 with my caliper' Sorry to report that no matter what you
think you are reading, the instrument itself is accurate to +/- .001", so if you think you
are reading .3585 it could be anywhere between .3575 and .3595. I work in the
aerospace industry where it is mandatory to do measurement correctly, can't have
really expensive parts not fit up correctly. Our training is that the measuring device
rated tolerance band (+/- .001" = .002) must be at MINIMUM four times smaller
than the tolerance on the drawing. So, if I have a drawing with a .001 tolerance,
I must use an instrument that is rated at no worse than .00025". Normally this is
a good micrometer with a +/- .0001" rating.

Do what you want, but if you think you are actually measuring to .0005" accurately
with a +/-.001" caliper, you are wrong. If you really want to get good results, I
recommend a .0001" reading micrometer. Many out there, but the Fowler brand
at Enco Tools is usually offered at or under $35 plus shipping. No financial interest
in Enco, just a decent tool supplier.

Will you blow up the gun without a caliper? Of course not. Is it possible to get
great results without a good mic? Of course it is. But you are flying blind and
guessing a lot. If that is good enough, relax and use the caliper. If you really
want to get into controlling the boolit fit and get control of things, get a good
mic. No skin off my nose either way.

With a .30-06, you can skip slugging, buy a .310 or .311 sizer die, load up some
boolits over 16 gr of 2400 and have a really great chance of excellent results.
But if it turns to worms, you'll have no idea why or what to change or if it
has changed.

Bill

Thanks MtGun44. Much appreciated.

[MtGun44]

Oh, yeah. It does look like a neat way to make a slug. Of course, a lead
ball that is oversized works pretty good, too and I have a bag of .45 and .50
cal muzzle loader balls that work pretty well.

Just stay away from a wooden dowel. Brass, aluminum or steel is much
safer. We've had some folks fracture a dowel on a long angle and wedge
it so tight that they wound up spending a LONG time with a brass homemade
drill drilling it out.

Bill

[454PB]

That caliper reading is verified with a Starret micrometer, and I don't recommend anyone use a caliper IF a micrometer is available.

We sometimes get carried away with measurements used for casting, and not many people need to measure a bore slug to .0001" anyway.

[Sweetpea]

I liked the idea, and I needed to slug the barrel on my new 1911.

Usually I use LRBs, but I didn't have any big enough.

I took some pieces of pure lead (from previous sluggings) and melted them into a case over the kitchen stove.

Popped them out, went to slugging, and was getting weird results. Come to find out, they popped out at .450, just not big enough.

I don't know if this was because the acp is a lower-pressure round, or what.

I'm sure I will try it with other calibers in the future.

[captaint]

Jeffery - Oil that barrel up good. don't have to have it dripping, but anything but dry. Mike

[opos]

Nice video presentation...I see where it's a good technique but I'd be a bit challenged to use that method with a long straight case like a 45Colt or a 44 mag...you'd get a pretty long slug...wouldn't work for a tapered case like my 30 carbine....also cleaning and then light lube before might make driving the slug through easier...I learned a trick (maybe on here) about using a shell holder instead of the collet in the kinetic bullet puller....more solid platform and I keep losing one piece of the 3 part seat...so I just use a flipped shell holder.

[mdi]

I liked the idea, and I needed to slug the barrel on my new 1911.

Usually I use LRBs, but I didn't have any big enough.

I took some pieces of pure lead (from previous sluggings) and melted them into a case over the kitchen stove.

Popped them out, went to slugging, and was getting weird results. Come to find out, they popped out at .450, just not big enough.

I don't know if this was because the acp is a lower-pressure round, or what.

I'm sure I will try it with other calibers in the future.

You'll have to fill the case all the way to the mouth; the ID is tapered to the case head. Also I use fired brass, not sized...

[FAsmus]

Gentlemen;

No one here has addressed the true method of slugging a barrel ~ That being shooting a conventional load of your choosing into a snow drift.

This is easy stuff: Just go find a big snow drift (no problem at this time of year) and shoot your favorite cast bullet load into it the long way. Be sure, if you are checking different loads, that you mark the bullets such that you may identify them when you recover them later on.

Unless you are very lucky or really patient you will never find the bullets in the snow. You'll have to wait until the snow melts and pick them up off the bare ground. ~ It happens every spring and the bullets you recover will be absolutely pristine/perfect - ready to measure to the 0.0001.

There is virtually nothing to it except a little patience.

The results of this procedure will - I guarantee it - be enlightening.

Good evening,
Forrest

[giz189]

Gentlemen;

No one here has addressed the true method of slugging a barrel ~ That being shooting a conventional load of your choosing into a snow drift.

This is easy stuff: Just go find a big snow drift (easy stuff this time of year) and shoot your favorite cast bullet load into it the long way. Be sure, if you are checking different loads, that you mark the bullets such that you may identify them when you recover them later on.

Unless you are very lucky or really patient you will never find the bullets in the snow. You'll have to wait until the snow melts and pick them up off the bare ground. ~ It happens every spring and the bullets you recover will be absolutely pristine/perfect - ready to measure to the 0.0001.

There is virtually nothing to it except a little patience.

The results of this procedure will - I guarantee it - be enlightening.

Good evening,
Forrest I have not found a snow bank yet. Been lookin for 2 to 3 days now. LOL

[quasi]

it takes a good caliper in good shape to be accurate and consistent to .001.

[MtGun44]

As I stated before, to accurately do measurement, the measuring tool needs to be more accurate than
what you are trying to resolve. Based on aerospace standards, for my company, the ratio is
required to be 4:1, so that means a .0001" mic will accurately be able to work to tell you if you are OK for
a .0004" tolerance band.

So really the .0001" mic is really just going to tell you for CERTAIN whether you are looking at a
slug that is for sure between .3578 or .3582. Remember, ALL measurements are INACCURATE
by SOME amount, instrument error and human error are in the mix. The question is can you
accept the inaccuracy and still be within your required range of allowable dimensions.

I didn't make this up, this is developed from decades of precision manufacturing
experience where it is extremely expensive to make a mistake. We have some assemblies that cost
a quarter million each. If some part down inside fails to function, the unit is scrap - fully welded
and sealed final assy, essentially impossible to rework. This is how we almost never scrap one.

This is part of mandatory training and procedure for all engineers and inspectors, the requirements
for what measuring tool to select for different inspection processes, based on the tolerance needed
in the measurement.

Do you care this much? I do much of the time, but if you don't - use a caliper. Again, trying
to help understanding precision measurement. If you don't want it or need it, forget it.

A caliper has +/-.001 mechanical accuracy. So if you read .4295, it is pretty certain that the
real dimension is somewhere between .4285 and .4305. Don't fall into the trap that if you
read .4295, the dimension IS .4295. That is almost guaranteed NOT to be correct. But if
the range from .4285 to .4305 is close enough for you, then you are good to go with a
caliper. If not, you need a more precise measuring tool.

By the way - I just got a .0001" Fowler mic in the mail from Enco. I'll be sending to to my brother
who has recently stepped up to precision reloading and needs to upgrade his measuring tools.
He used to just reload ammo. Now he is working reloading ACCURATE ammo.

Bill

[44man]

A good way to make a slug and I have done that but round balls work fine. Other things bother me like the collet on backwards! [smilie=1: I would never use fiberglass, only brass. Then to beat the puller on hard lead and to use it to pound a slug through can damage it. A heavier hammer works best. ONLY beat a boolit puller on a block of hardwood.
Now if you want a better measurement, get the slug in an oiled bore, put a brass rod in from the other end against the slug and upset the slug with another brass rod on top of the slug before pushing it out. Then use a good mike. I can even do that with a revolver and round balls work perfect. I have explained how with a revolver many times. It takes very little force to upset the slug, a tap or so.

[FAsmus]

Gentlemen;

In the event you don't have snow in your area, and we don't - at least not in July and August - here is the alternate method:

Make up a test round (depending on caliber) with just a few grains of 700X or Bullseye (like 1 or 1 1/2 grains) under your well oversize bullet. Take it out to the casting shed or wait until your important other is out of ear-shot from the test area and shoot it from your test arm into a large pile of rags for recovery ~ always making sure that in the event you have too much powder there is a solid backstop.

I always start a bit hot and reduce the powder charge slightly until the bullet just barely trickles out of the muzzle. Ideally the nose will just make it out, allowing you to pull the body of the bullet gently out the rest of the way by hand.

Good morning,
Forrest

[44man]

That works! Just never hit anything with the slug.