Playing with FB slugs again

[bikerbeans]

I have an accurate mold the casts a 730g FB HB 0.732 slug. I have decided I want to try these slugs in a black powder cylinder choked 12ga ml. I plan to cast using a 1:30 SN/PB alloy so the slugs should be a around .729", I hope. Bores on the un-choked barrels measure about 0.723" so I need a size die. A friend is making the die and push through pin. Pin will be machined to match the HB cavity of the slug so I don't collapse the walls of the HB.

Off topic, I gave my friend some of these slugs, that I cast and heat treated for a rifled slug gun, so he could check the pin fit. He tried to size one and they are a nogo, so my heat treat seems to have worked.

I also plan to load the 3D sabots I have and see how they work in my marlin 512.

Should post pics and an update soon.

BB

[BNE]

Watching with interest. Just got a rifled barrel.

[Taylor]

I want to know about the sizer die,I think I want 2-- .729 and .730

[bikerbeans]

I want to know about the sizer die,I think I want 2-- .729 and .730

I just picked up the size dies and stem. I plan to cast some soft alloy slugs tomorrow and then size them. The dies I have are tapered for the entire length so if the slug is too small just mill off a bit of the die to increase the slug diameter. I will post some pics once I get the dies to my liking.

One die is made from a piece of 7/8" all thread, the other from an old cartridge sizing die.

BB

[Taylor]

anything new?

[bikerbeans]

Yes, my 12ga HB mold is giving me fits! Took me 1/2 hour to cast 5 slugs, sticking to the base pin, will solve that problem tomorrow.

Both dies worked and would size the slug from 0.734" to 0.722" in one pass. I used a soft alloy but nothing close to 1:30 alloy, gonna have to make a trip to the scrap yard for soft lead. The sized slugs will fit in the barrels of my ML so i hope to launch some with ffg later this week.

I had a "bright" idea and decided to size one of these slugs that had been heat treated and quenched. I used the thinner die made from 7/8" allthread. The heat treated slug went through the die but this 0.722" die now sizes at 0.729" I think I need to send these heated treated slugs to hogtamer in case he runs out of Zlugs.

I will get pics soon.

BB

[bikerbeans]

Sized versus unsized. 0.734" down to 0.721"

I have got to get a softer alloy.

BB

BB215238

[BigMrTong]

Looks interesting, what is your design / plans for the wads ?

[longbow]

BB:

Do you have thew drawing for that 12 ga. slug? That's a turbo design isn't it?

I thought I remembered turbo posting a drawing for his 12 ga. slug but have not found it. I did find the drawing of the 10 ga. slug and I have scaled that down to 12. ga. and made a smooth mould of the same proportions. Accuracy to date hasn't been spectacular but it turns out I should have checked my bore more accurately. The mould casts exactly 0.729" which I figured would be a perfect slip fit at maybe 0.001" under my 0.730" bore... except that I measured wrong and my bore is 0.733"+! Ouch!

So, I made a 0.733" sizer then knurled the slugs up then sized them to 0.733". Yet to be shot so far. Soon though... I keep saying soon and one day I'll get there!

Anyway, I remember turbo's post about his 12 ga. slugs from Brooks IIRC (I think that's the one) and wanted to try it.

Longbow

[bikerbeans]

LB,

The mold is from Accurate and was made for a friend of mine. The HB pin was not from Accurate and I don't remember who made the pin. Nominal weight with the HB is 730g, without the HB weight is 900g. I will try and remember to post Accurate's catalog number.

BB

[bikerbeans]

Looks interesting, what is your design / plans for the wads ?

Slugs are undersized to fit down a ML barrel. I am using winchester poly cup wads, old stuff out of their yellow box phase, and an overshot card to keep the slug in place.

When I load these slugs, unsized, for my rifled slug gun I use a x12x and a stack of 1/8" NCs to get the proper height for a good roll crimp.

BB

[Hogtamer]

730 grs....ouch! Yes, send me some BB, each one will make 2 slugs at my house, one to shoot, one to stash!

[bikerbeans]

730 grs....ouch! Yes, send me some BB, each one will make 2 slugs at my house, one to shoot, one to stash!


They do make nice ingots.

BB

[6pt-sika]

Sized versus unsized. 0.734" down to 0.721"

I have got to get a softer alloy.

BB

BB215238

Are those from the same mold I used ?

[bikerbeans]

Are those from the same mold I used ?

Yes.

BB

[longbow]

Okay BB. I thought that might be the same mould that turbo used but that one was from Brooks IIRC.

Like I said, I scaled down his 10 ga. slug drawing to 12 ga. and that 10 ga. I believe you shot with good success didn't you?

What do you use for a smokeless load under those? At 730 grs. Dixie Terminator load data should be right for those. They are a little heavier than I like but yeah, send me some and I'll do like HT and recast then shoot one and stash one! Kidding!

Even with BP at 730 grs. those will have some recoil!

Longbow

[bikerbeans]

LB,
In my marlin 512 I use xx grains of SR 4759, not a pressure tested load.

I test fired both barrels today in my smokepole using 60g of ffg goex. Not much recoil or velocity but a nice cloud of smoke. Hit the paper plate at 25 yards, nice round and big hole. Had a delay fire on the left barrel and pulled the shot off target. The BOSS (wife) then called about a horse emergency so that was the end of my range trip.

BB

[longbow]

I used to load up BP under 0.690" RB's and that was fun, both in my Pedersoli Side by muzzleloader and my old Cooey single shot (cartridge gun). I used up to 110 grs. of 3F with good effect! Not much accuracy but lots of fire and smoke! That is the single shot I had the Power Pac choke system on with muzzle brake. I wish I had a pic of that going off! Big fireball on the end of the barrel!

I'd bought the choke tubes and barrel adapter used but no muzzle brake so I made one out of stainless pipe in high school (that was a long time ago when dinosaurs still roamed the earth). That's the same kind of system I used to design my slow twist rifled choke tube (which is still stalled) but I'm rethinking. Brownells has silver solder on choke adapters that take Winchester choke tubes. One of those and a tight turkey choke or blank tube that I can bore then rifle would be much quicker and easier to make. Okay enough thread drift...

Longbow

[6pt-sika]

LB,
In my marlin 512 I use xx grains of SR 4759, not a pressure tested load.

I test fired both barrels today in my smokepole using 60g of ffg goex. Not much recoil or velocity but a nice cloud of smoke. Hit the paper plate at 25 yards, nice round and big hole. Had a delay fire on the left barrel and pulled the shot off target. The BOSS (wife) then called about a horse emergency so that was the end of my range trip.

BB

The larger diameter slug of the two molds you have I tried in an old MacFarlane double percussion 10 gauge we've had for years . The gun is pretty much like new even though its approx. 140-160 years old .

I started loading with either 70 or 80 grains of Triple 7 and went up in increments of 10 grains until I got to wear it was a bit on the tough side . Think that was either 110 or 120 . I was trying to get the thing to flatten out but it wasn't playing along . It did however shoot very nicely in a friends repro 10 gauge SxS and he only went to 80 grains .

I wanna get this one back on the drawing board but I have NO intention of going over 90 grains . I need to come up with a patch material . So far any of my standard material is a skoosh to thick .

Two or three years ago I got a fairly decent 000 Buck load worked out for the thing also with Triple 7 . But I was having trouble keeping the overshot card tight on the second barrel after firing the first barrel

[6pt-sika]

BB , I can't remember the diameter of the larger slug off the top of my head and I'm not at home to measure one . I'm thinking that one just "might" work okay in the Parker EH I just got with the factory cylinder and slightly tighter then cylinder barrel . Of course I'll most likely need to cut the petals off the wads and use a mylar wrap again .

[bikerbeans]

6pt,

The 10ga FB HB slugs is about 0.775" diameter with WW alloy. The weight is almost the same as the 12ga slug.

I found a local source of 97/3 pb/SN alloy. I plan to pick it up next week.

I agree my 60g ffg start load is a bit weak. Once I have a warm sunny day and a can of soft slugs I will slowly work up a load. The barrels are stamped 1 1/4 oz shot at 89 grains black powder. This load data appears lifted directly from the goex website or maybe goex borrowed it from pedersoli?

BB

[6pt-sika]

6pt,

The 10ga FB HB slugs is about 0.775" diameter with WW alloy. The weight is almost the same as the 12ga slug.

I found a local source of 97/3 pb/SN alloy. I plan to pick it up next week.

I agree my 60g ffg start load is a bit weak. Once I have a warm sunny day and a can of soft slugs I will slowly work up a load. The barrels are stamped 1 1/4 oz shot at 89 grains black powder. This load data appears lifted directly from the goex website or maybe goex borrowed it from pedersoli?

BB

The 12 gauge if memort serves measured about .730" of the couple I measured , they'd go thru the full choke barrels easily but the 10 gauge slug seems to me was as you say and wouldn't go thru my full choke Parkers or the modified choke in the LC Smith . But I am hoping this new Parker I just acquired is open enough in the cylinder barrel to handle the larger slug .

I wasn't by any means knocking your 60 grain load and it was actually more to the opposite . I gave myself a pretty nice bruise when I was doing it actually bruised the bone .

[bikerbeans]

6pt,

No offense takin' on my part, I just started way low because I couldn't find BP data for a 730g 12ga projectile. This sxs has a curved steel buttplate so I think that will be the limiting factor on powder charge.

BB

[6pt-sika]

6pt,

No offense takin' on my part, I just started way low because I couldn't find BP data for a 730g 12ga projectile. This sxs has a curved steel buttplate so I think that will be the limiting factor on powder charge.

BB

Mine is flat butt but still steel !
I had thoughts of a slip on recoil pad but the butt of this gun is to large for that . Coulda done the old trick of a bag of shot between my shoulder and the butt of the gun , but that's not very comfortable .

I think I got my idea of starting at 80 grains from the DGW catalog , but don't hold me to that .