20 gauge Accurate mold first batch

[epanzella]

Took delivery of my Accurate mold and just did my first batch of 90 slugs today. I ordered a 425 grain 20 ga slug that would drop from the mold at .629 (+or- .0015) with #2 alloy. The custom mold has great fit and finish and performs as ordered. Bullets look great and drop at 426 to 429 grains and .628 to .629 in diameter. I'm also happy with the camlock mold handles I got from Buffalo arms. If these things shoot half as good as they look I'll be a happy camper.

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[SuperBlazingSabots]

Good morning Epanzella, your pictures are very tempting, so far I have stayed away from full bore slugs but if you keep flashing those nice tempting pictures I might be forced to order one for me too!

Life is short and we got to do what ever it takes to make us happy.
Enjoy it while you are at it!

Warmest regards,
Ajay
BlazingSabots@Gmail.com
Blazing Sabots, LLC
www.BlazingSabots.com
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[LUTNIT]

That's the first I've seen mould handles like that. I may need to invest in a pair for personal "testing".

I have had similar results with dealing with Accurate Moulds. I ordered a 900gr .730" mould for 12ga and they drop .7305" to .7310". More recently I ordered a 200gr .314" mould based on the Lyman 314299 design. I specified .314" with straight WW's and after my first batch I found them to be .3140" to .3145". Couldn't be happier :D

It's just too bad they can't go below 30 cal so I can't get a mould for my 6.5mm Swede from them :(

[epanzella]

Tried 28gr Longshot behind the 425gr slugs and got 1450fps. The slugs pictured were retrieved after penetrating 5 inches of pressure treated pine 6x6. Other than the engraving of the rifling, the Lyman #2 alloy didn't deform at all. All shots were from 45 yards with an old lawnchair as a rest. Note the wad dent in a piece of pine, that would leave a mark!

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[jason f]

Looks good. I got the 450 grain accurate mold for the 20 and the 700 grain for the 12. I been loading the 20 with 33 grains blue dot. And the 12 with 40 grains blue dot

[epanzella]

Looks good. I got the 450 grain accurate mold for the 20 and the 700 grain for the 12. I been loading the 20 with 33 grains blue dot. And the 12 with 40 grains blue dot
Lotsa guys like Blue Dot for these big 20ga slugs but all I have is 800x, Longshot and 4227. Here in Ct everything gun-related is sold out and the dealers have no idea when their orders will be filled so I'm stuck using what's in stock on my loading bench. Blue Dot is #1 on my wish list.

[jason f]

Did you water drop or air cool them. They definately didn't deform much.

[epanzella]

Did you water drop or air cool them. They definately didn't deform much.
Air cool. I drop 'em onto a towel in a cardboard box. If you look at the top of this thread you'll see a photo of my cam lock mold handles. If you open them smartly the slug flies right out 3 out of 4 times and I need the box to trap them before they fall to the floor. I buy Lyman #2 alloy from Rotometals and that's some tuff stuff. I figure I don't need expansion when the slug is already 63 caliber and I'm hoping for exit wounds. Since I converted to 20ga I've shot two bucks with sabot rounds and neither bled a drop. One I saw fall but the other went 150 yds in the thick and I made a couple of lucky guesses when tracks crisscrossed (no snow) and was damn glad to beat the coyotes to him. I want dead right there or at least a good blood trail.
Ed

[SuperBlazingSabots]

Good morning ED PANZELLA, your load of 28 gr LongShot I feel you could get a bit faster if you try different OP etc.
Can you post a picture of your load set up like this:
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/12GaLightfieldslugcopy.jpg
the good thing about LongShot is that it hardly occupies much hull space, so why not give it a solid base like 1/4" nitro card along with a good OP wad should help!

Hoping it helps.

Life is short and we got to do what ever it takes to make us happy.
Enjoy it while you are at it!

Warmest regards,
Ajay
BlazingSabots@Gmail.com
Blazing Sabots, LLC
www.BlazingSabots.com
www.facebook.com/BlazingSabots?ref=hl
www.PreciousVideoMemories.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Preci...75489969155338

[M27]

Sorry if this question is compleatly noob ignorant but... while I can definatly hold my own when it comes to metalic reloading, I am a noob when it comes to casting and shotgun reloading.

How well do the short wide slugs fly, are they out of a rifled barrel or a smooth bore. I was looking at the 700gn 12 guage but was woried about its stability in the air.

[jason f]

I dont think they would work to well in a smooth bore barrel. The best thing to use is hollow base slugs for the shuttlecock effect.

[epanzella]

Good morning ED PANZELLA, your load of 28 gr LongShot I feel you could get a bit faster if you try different OP etc.
Can you post a picture of your load set up like this:
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/12GaLightfieldslugcopy.jpg
the good thing about LongShot is that it hardly occupies much hull space, so why not give it a solid base like 1/4" nitro card along with a good OP wad should help!
Hoping it helps.

Life is short and we got to do what ever it takes to make us happy.
Enjoy it while you are at it!

Warmest regards,
Ajay
BlazingSabots@Gmail.com
Blazing Sabots, LLC
www.BlazingSabots.com
www.facebook.com/BlazingSabots?ref=hl
www.PreciousVideoMemories.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Preci...75489969155338
'Afternoon, AJ
I don't have a pic handy but if you look at post #1 in this thread you'll see the slug. Order of components in a 3 inch Fiocci hull; 28 gr Longshot, red gas seal (CCS) 2 x 1/2 inch filler wads (BPI) 2 x 1/8 inch nitro cards, 425 gr slug (Accurate molds .628 dia. Lyman #2 alloy), roll crimp. I haven't shot from a bench yet but have shot them over screens on my property. The run low in the 1400's. 30 gr Longshot seems to have pierced a primer but they are the primers that came already in the Fiocci hulls so I don't know if they have extra thin cups or not. November is a long way off so I have time to be cautious. I'll probably shoot them off a bench to 100yds in the next few days.
Ed P

[epanzella]

Good morning ED PANZELLA, your load of 28 gr LongShot I feel you could get a bit faster if you try different OP etc.
Can you post a picture of your load set up like this:
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/12GaLightfieldslugcopy.jpg
the good thing about LongShot is that it hardly occupies much hull space, so why not give it a solid base like 1/4" nitro card along with a good OP wad should help!

Hoping it helps.

Life is short and we got to do what ever it takes to make us happy.
Enjoy it while you are at it!

Warmest regards,
Ajay
BlazingSabots@Gmail.com
Blazing Sabots, LLC
www.BlazingSabots.com
www.facebook.com/BlazingSabots?ref=hl
www.PreciousVideoMemories.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Preci...75489969155338
'Afternoon, AJ
I don't have a pic handy but if you look at post #1 in this thread you'll see the slug. Order of components in a 3 inch Fiocci hull; 28 gr Longshot, red gas seal (CCS) 2 x 1/2 inch filler wads (BPI) 2 x 1/8 inch nitro cards, 425 gr slug (Accurate molds .628 dia. Lyman #2 alloy), roll crimp. I haven't shot from a bench yet but have shot them over screens on my property. The run low in the 1400's. 30 gr Longshot seems to have pierced a primer but they are the primers that came already in the Fiocci hulls so I don't know if they have extra thin cups or not. November is a long way off so I have time to be cautious. I'll probably shoot them off a bench to 100yds in the next few days.
Ed P

Followup;
AJ,
Took the full bore slugs out to the range; they shot so bad I thought I was hallucinating. After I got home I checked everything and discovered the scope base installed at the factory wasn't locktited and was loose. After remounting it properly, I loaded 6 rounds with 26.0 Longshot and headed out to my halfass range behind the house. The 6 shots went into 3.5 inches at about 55 yards. This was off the hood of my truck so the load seems to have promise. Even though the recoil of these and even stronger loads don't bother me off a proper bench setup, leaning over my hood put me in an awkward position and the recoil was killing me. I was flinching like an old lady in a mortar barrage. Can't wait to get back to the club for some proper range tests. I'll keep you posted.
Ed P

[SuperBlazingSabots]

Hello ED PANZELLA, I would try switching the primer to Win.209 and 28.5, 29, 29.5 and then 30gr LongShot and watch out for any pressure signs like Ext marks or primer flattening etc.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/Extractormarkscopy.jpg
those are clear Federal hull above and
Fiocchi hulls below in the picture:
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/CCI209Mprimersignscopy.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/3inchFioBrownhulls.jpg
Here is a Wnchester hull with primer flattened:
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/Flattenedprimer.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/PrimercratermarksonFedExpandercopy.jpg

The Fiocchi hulls at least are known devils as we already know they are made a bit softer and show pressure signs early on, so we use that knowledge to our advantage a use those known devil hull in our tests than some unknown devil hulls! ( I mean in a good way )

Once I have my loads developed then I switch over to Federal hulls as they are made much stronger and not always show pressure signs!
Try not to shoot off of the hood of your vehicle as the gun will bounce upwards!

Keep us posted friend, we are waiting to hear back.

Best regards,
Ajay
BlazingSabots@Gmail.com
Blazing Sabots, LLC
www.facebook.com/BlazingSabots?ref=hl
www.facebook.com/pages/Preci...75489969155338

[epanzella]

Ajay,
First off, how are you feeling after surgery? Well, I hope. I'm not having much luck. I tightened and loctited the factory mount and took it back to the range. I ran out of Fiocci hulls so started a box of 300 Ballistic Products Multihulls. I loaded 24.0 gr Longshot behind a 425 gr Accurate mold slug with three different wad configs. First was a CCS red gas seal, 2 x 1/2 filler wad and 2x 1/8 nitro card. The second was a BPI brush wad with petals ground off and gas seal left intact with 1 x 3/8 filler and 2 x 1/8 nitro cards. Third was a paper sealing patch, 1 x 1/8 nitro card, 2 x 1/2 filler wads, 2 x 1/8 nitro card. These all shot bad (12 in @ 50yds). I don't understand how anything can shoot that bad at 50yds. My slugs look perfect. As a control I brought my hunting loads from 2012 (factory Federal 3 inch P209TC) and they shot one inch at 50 yds.(3 shots). The scope and mount were still tight. I'm new to loading for shotguns but have been loading Rifle and pistol for 40 years. My 300WSM handloads group two inches at three hundred yards. I took an unfired hull and cut the head off, then put the front part into the chamber. I took a new lubed slug and drove it thru the hull into the forcing cone and out the muzzle. It mikes .427 at the barrel grooves (raised on the slug) and they drop from the mold at .4286 with #2 alloy. Could it be the alloy? I've never cast bullets this hard. In my experience, the only thing that will make a gun shoot this bad is a scope/mount problem and I don't seem to have that. Man, I'm lost in space!
PS
I got 50% primer piercing with 24.0 Gr Longshot/BPI multihull yet I got zero piercing with 26.0 LS/Fiocci hull. All hulls ejected fine with zero leading of barrel. My next step will be to deprime a few multihulls and try WW209's. I'm clutching at straws.

[SuperBlazingSabots]

Hello ED PANZELLA, thanks for asking, I'm recovering now.

We are all with you in this, lets back off a bit, can you please cast a few more with ww and some water quenched.

Get your Fiocchi hulls and re prime them with Win 209 primer and we need a good OP wad to start with, BPI only has one OP wad for 20 gauge, the thinner one in red is not good, followed by a 1/4" nitro card and then 3/8 or 1/2 inch felt, top it off with another 1/4 inch nitro card and then your Slug and try 26.5, 27, 27.5, 28, 28.5, 29 and if all is well then 29.5 gr charge, be on the look out for pressure sign's.

I think your slug needs solid support from below and a certain velocity before it will shine!
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/20GaOPwads_zps90dedafb.jpg

My own Blazing Sabot's OP-1 wads in black are coming to me in a kit form with each Sabot and in short supply this very minute or else I would have sent you a few.

Best regards,
Ajay
BlazingSabots@Gmail.com
Blazing Sabots, LLC
www.facebook.com/BlazingSabots?ref=hl
www.facebook.com/pages/Preci...75489969155338

[white eagle]

Sorry if this question is compleatly noob ignorant but... while I can definatly hold my own when it comes to metalic reloading, I am a noob when it comes to casting and shotgun reloading.

How well do the short wide slugs fly, are they out of a rifled barrel or a smooth bore. I was looking at the 700gn 12 guage but was woried about its stability in the air.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v730/kempobb/abnewtarget.jpg
This was the very first Accurate 12 ga.mold made in this configuration
the slug shoots famously out of a rifled barrel
the shot high and to the left was the first one down the barrel
I settled in after that
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v730/kempobb/slug1.jpg

[BAGTIC]

[QUOTE=epanzella;2119624]Took delivery of my Accurate mold and just did my first batch of 90 slugs today. I ordered a 425 grain 20 ga slug that would drop from the mold at .629 (+or- .0015) with #2 alloy. The custom mold has great fit and finish and performs as ordered. Bullets look great and drop at 426 to 429 grains and .628 to .629 in diameter. I'm also happy with the camlock mold handles I got from Buffalo arms. If these things shoot half as good as they look I'll be a happy camper.



What kind of 20 gauge are you shooting that will take a .629 caliber slug? My 20 gauges are all tight on a .615 RB. Also I notice that my 350 grain RB penetrate deeper than your slugs. I suspect it is because of the flat nose of the slug but I expected the heavier weight to offset that some.

[jason f]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v730/kempobb/abnewtarget.jpg
This was the very first Accurate 12 ga.mold made in this configuration
the slug shoots famously out of a rifled barrel
the shot high and to the left was the first one down the barrel
I settled in after that
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v730/kempobb/slug1.jpg

How did you lube and hollow point your slugs?

[epanzella]

Hello ED PANZELLA, thanks for asking, I'm recovering now.

We are all with you in this, lets back off a bit, can you please cast a few more with ww and some water quenched.

Get your Fiocchi hulls and re prime them with Win 209 primer and we need a good OP wad to start with, BPI only has one OP wad for 20 gauge, the thinner one in red is not good, followed by a 1/4" nitro card and then 3/8 or 1/2 inch felt, top it off with another 1/4 inch nitro card and then your Slug and try 26.5, 27, 27.5, 28, 28.5, 29 and if all is well then 29.5 gr charge, be on the look out for pressure sign's.

I think your slug needs solid support from below and a certain velocity before it will shine!
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/20GaOPwads_zps90dedafb.jpg

My own Blazing Sabot's OP-1 wads in black are coming to me in a kit form with each Sabot and in short supply this very minute or else I would have sent you a few.

Best regards,
Ajay
BlazingSabots@Gmail.com
Blazing Sabots, LLC
www.facebook.com/BlazingSabots?ref=hl
www.facebook.com/pages/Preci...75489969155338
I'm out of powder right now so I'm on hold until I can get some. Thanks,
Ed P

[epanzella]

[QUOTE=epanzella;2119624]Took delivery of my Accurate mold and just did my first batch of 90 slugs today. I ordered a 425 grain 20 ga slug that would drop from the mold at .629 (+or- .0015) with #2 alloy. The custom mold has great fit and finish and performs as ordered. Bullets look great and drop at 426 to 429 grains and .628 to .629 in diameter. I'm also happy with the camlock mold handles I got from Buffalo arms. If these things shoot half as good as they look I'll be a happy camper.



What kind of 20 gauge are you shooting that will take a .629 caliber slug? My 20 gauges are all tight on a .615 RB. Also I notice that my 350 grain RB penetrate deeper than your slugs. I suspect it is because of the flat nose of the slug but I expected the heavier weight to offset that some.
I'm shooting an H&R Ultra Slug Hunter Compact in 20ga. The bore slugs .427 and a cast, lubed, slug driven thru the bore with a dowel mike .627. My slugs as dropped from the mold are .0015 over groove diameter. Everything I've read say slugs should be .001 to .002 over groove diameter so I think I' in the ballpark. I welcome any ideas pro or con.