20 Gauge Swaged Slug

[vzerone]

I have a little winter project going, I'm swaging 20 ga Foster style slugs without the rifling fins. I made a die for my swage press to form the slugs. They are about 7/8 oz. I use a LEE .600 round ball mould to make my swage cores. I have some Cheddite hulls, fiber wads, plastic over the powder seal, and nitro cards still waiting to be delivered. I'll roll crimp them. I've already tested some proto-types with Win AA hulls with a folded crimp and results were very promising. If you remember I bought a rifled slug barrel for my Browning BPS pump shotgun and the 2 3/4 inch Winchester factory slugs shot into 3/4 to 1 inch groups at 100 yards. Here are some pictures of my swaged slug.

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[uncle dino]

Looks good! D

[rancher1913]

that looks very nice. would love to see a photo of the stack out of the hull just for reference.

[vzerone]

rancher I guess you mean showing a picture of the all the wads and slug in relation to the hull. I'll do that when my components come in.

I have learned something on some shotgun sites for loading slugs. They say that if you have a 3 inch chamber, which my Browning does, to load the 3 inch hulls to the the slug closer to the forcing cone. Much in the way we load our rifle bullets closer too for better accuracy. They said that slugs have a habit when loaded in 2 3/4 hulls and shot in a 3 inch chamber of tipping a little in that long jump and not starting straight. Too bad I read that after buying my hulls. But you know those 2 3/4 Winchester Foster slugs shot very well. We'll see.

[uncle dino]

Don't always believe everything you read. I have had 2 3/4 hulls perform better in 3 in chamber.. Depends on load ..d

[vzerone]

Don't always believe everything you read. I have had 2 3/4 hulls perform better in 3 in chamber.. Depends on load ..d

That's why I mentioned those factory 2 3/4 Winchesters shooting so good. Thanks for the advice.

[centershot]

Dang, that's a good lookin' boolit, vzerone! Can't wait to see the range report!

[William Yanda]

Tell us more about the die(s) you made

[EMC45]

Those look really good.

[vzerone]

Tell us more about the die(s) you made

I have an old Herter's 9 ton press. It's strictly, in my opinion, a handgun bullet press. I've made quite a few dies for it for pistol/revolver bullets. The first out of it's league die I made was for a 45-70 bullet. Well the 20 gauge slug surely isn't as long as the 45-70 bullet, but let me assure you the diameter is at the maximum limit of the die. Being I use pretty pure lead for the slugs I wasn't worried about over stressing it. I was more concerned with flexing the die rather then going beyond the press limit. Seems to be working very well so far. With normal pistol/revolver bullets I can set the punch and swage them in one stroke. With the 20 gauge slug I have to swage it in steps much like when you're forming brass to a smaller cartridge like from 30-06 for an example and you don't screw the sizer die in your press all the way. The Herter's press is in reverse where the die is in the ram and the nose punch is stationary.

Thank all of you that like the slug and don't think I'm welshing on you as tests are forth coming when this unusual weather breaks that we're getting here in north eastern TN. We're just getting some of that snow storm going up the east coast today.

Stay tuned!