Please recommend a 12 gauge slug mold for a noob

[M27]

I am trying to load decent loads to shoot out of a smooth barrel, Something "Remington slugger" like. Nothing much further than 50 yards.

I was looking to pick up the lyman 12 gauge foster slug mold, but after reading a bunch of post here it seams many don't like it.

What do you guys recommend instead

my only requirement are

I need to be able to get load data for it
it has to be able to be roll crimped
it has to be able to be cast with pure lead or maybe 40:1

Thank you in advance
Michael

[SuperBlazingSabots]

Hello Michael, welcome to this warm family of Slug Shooter's, the Lyman 525 slug in wad mold along with the required handles cost close to $ 100 and the slug is very accurate to 55 to 65 yards and from a rifled barrel can be good to 100 yards.

The cheaper Lee Drive Key mold costs only $ 18 plus change from MidSouth and the 1 oz will do a great job for you and if you want to push it faster than go for 7/8 Oz version!

The loading data is included with the mold but watch out some loads can shoot both ways and kick like a Mule!

If you read my post then you will soon find out that I love to fold crimp them and love to put a 16 or 20 gauge nitro card below the slug in wad from Circle Fly the cheapest place to buy nitro cards!

Feel free to ask questions.


Ajay
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Blazing Sabots, LLC
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[longbow]

I am one who has little good to say about the Lyman Foster slug. I bought a mould about 25 years ago and followed the Lyman load recipes exactly so was expecting the 4" at 100 yards accuracy they say is "possible". Well, I guess anything may be possible but 4" at 100 yards with the Lyman Foster is highly improbable in my experience!

I found I was lucky to get 8" to 12" groups at 50 yards.

I lived in a high snow load area and did a lot of shooting over the winter in heavy wet snow and recovered slugs in the spring. They were all distorted with collapsed skirts, cocked noses, uneven obturation. They still fit the barrel so this was what happened at firing when they obturated to fill the barrel.

Mine cast at 0.705" so are too big to fit into a shotcup and way too small for the 0.729" bore. They are even too small to suit the 0.710" I/C choke in my Browning BPS slug barrel.

The only way I got reasonable accuracy was to paper patch to bore diameter but even then I got fliers.

I have never tried the Lyman sabot slug but some people say it works well for them from smoothbore. I recently bought the Lee Drive Key slug mould and will be shooting some later today.

The Lee is getting pretty good reports form many in both smooth and rifled guns so it is probably your best bet. Also, there is lots of load data available.

I will post my results later. I hope they are good! If not, I will be sticking with round ball.

Longbow

[M27]

Thanks for the help so far.

I don't have the capability to do a star crimp so I have to use a roll crimp

What would it take to roll crimp with the sabot slugs

Is it possible to roll crimp with a round ball and no overshot card.

Are there not any good full bore slug molds out there.

What would it take to open up the Lyman foster slug to cylinder bore size, more who can do it for me.

[longbow]

Yes, I roll crimp round balls with no card wad over though card wads could be used.

Rapine made a nice TC full bore slug mould and a friend gave me a few to try. They seemed to shoot quite well... or at least much better than the Lyman Foster.

The Lyman sabot slug mould is almost full bore as is the Lee Drive Key slug. They are only the petal thickness of a shotcup smaller than bore size.

Buckshot has opened up at least one Lyman Foster mould a few years ago and posted photos. Erik at Hollowpointmoulds could likely do it as well.

Just as a note, SluggerDoug did a good write up a few years ago about how he got good accuracy from the Lyman Foster by "knurling" them up to bore size. You might find it using the search. It is a good read.

Personally I like the convenience of loading into a commercial wad. I find it much easier than building wad columns. If you just load a few slugs for hunting then it isn't a big deal but if you load up a bunch for fun shooting the commercial wads are easier.

I did get out to the range today and shot some Lee Drive key slugs but they did not shoot as well as my 0.678" round balls. I think the wad petals were a bit thick. They pushed down the barrel with not too much force required but the petals were a little distorted on recovered wads. I also cast the slugs from range scrap so almost as hard as ACWW. Lee recommends pure lead.

I shot 10 slugs at 50 yards and wound up with a 10" horizontal x 6" vertical group fairly evenly dispersed. In comparison I shot two groups of 10 0.678" round balls and got one group of 4" wide x 3" high with 4 almost in a horizontal row with one dropped low, and the second group 4" wide x 2" high.

I also shot some Lee slugs modified with an attached basewad and got a group of 10" wide x 6" high.

And I shot some 0.662" balls and got a group of 2" wide x 5" high.

Not my best round ball groups but certainly better than the slugs.

I plant to try the Lee slugs again either in different wads or I will make a sizer to reduce diameter by about 0.005" or a little more then try fit again. So far I have found that a very easy slide fit has given me best results with both round balls and slugs in wads. These were a bit tight and the extra hardness may not have helped.

Longbow