Part 2 ~ I finally made it to the Range!

[longbow]

So, I made it to the range again! That's two weekends in a row.

This trip was more informative and I got some decent results... and learned (relearned in some cases) some lessons.

I took 13 different slug types to the range which was probably too many but some were out for a second spin (elimination testing) and some were modifications of slugs that had worked reasonably well before.

Overall results were mixed but I got three not bad targets out of it all and some confirmations of slugs not to try again or things to watch for.

All shooting was at 50 yards and all from a smoothbore single shot with rifle sights.

I also had a good rest this time. I made myself a cross stick rest with base that worked very well. While it is made from scrap lumber and my carpentry skills are far from good it turned out pretty well and works perfectly (in my opinion anyway). Pic sitting on the snow in my backyard:

216463

I like it anyway! It is easily adjustable and allows me to sit high so better to absorb recoil and I shot 70 rounds last Sunday so lots of recoil!

Base is 18" long with 18" feet on it and cross sticks are 22" or so long with lots of height adjustment.

First the successes!

1) Lee 1 oz. slug sized to remove taper then paper patched to snug fit. Same as I had done with the 7/8 oz. slugs last outing and in fact these were loaded at the same time but not shot. Pic:

216464

Not too bad.

- largest spread = 6”
- 4 in about 4”


2) Home made TC 490 gr. HB glue filled in shotcups:

216465

- largest spread = 7” (could be the shooter)
- 4 in 4”

3) Full bore knurled 565 gr. slug (glue filled) from home made mould:

216466

- largest spread = 6 1/4” (could be the shooter)
- 4 in 5 1/4”
- the nice clean holes (5) are from the 565 gr. slugs. I ran out of targets so re-used one here with some tape on the back.

This time this slug was loaded over a hard card wad column and worked not badly. Last time I had loaded these over a cushion leg after cutting petals off the wad. I won't be doing that again as they shot very poorly!

So those were the successes and not too bad overall.

Lots of failures too:

- Nessler Ball clones were tested again both as cast so slightly under bore diameter and knurled up then sized to bore diameter. Neither shot well.

These are from a mould I made based on an old drawing. Nessler Balls were used widely during the Crimean war and in the American Civil War. There were a kind of Minie designed for smoothbore muskets and supposedly improved both accuracy and range over the typical loose round ball. Couldn't prove it from my testing!

They weighed 585 grs. and packed quite a punch out to 125 yards smashing a fairly large rock... but accuracy was poor.

- Lee 7/8 oz. slugs. Well, another failure here but that is my fault in loading. This time out I felt and heard significant differences in recoil and BANG! and I actually had 3 bloopers out of 10 shots. I used Unique which is likely a little slow for such a light payload but certainly there was very inconsistent ignition/powder burn. That would explain very poor accuracy. Some were shots as cast and some with added glue skirt but all gave poor accuracy. These will be retested with faster powder and maybe to a recommended recipe as well!

- 0.678" RB's. Another anomaly! I have had very good results in the past but these last two trips not so good. However, to qualify things. The payload is slightly long and the fold crimps started to open slightly. Again, there was inconsistent recoil and BANG! so I am guessing that ignition/powder burn was not consistent. Poor loading technique on my part.

Several other slugs were shot as well with some of the same observations made re inconsistent ignition. I did have trouble with roll crimping the Federal hulls last time so used mostly fold crimps this time. The fold crimps seemed to work better with these hulls. Some slugs had roll crimps and some fold crimps.

I need to buy a bunch of new hulls that are suitable for roll crimping. My Fiocchi hulls roll crimped very nicely but the plastic is a little more flexible than the Federal hulls.

I also learned (relearned a few lessons):

- make sure the payload fits properly!

- make sure the crimp is good and solid

- I noticed that I had mistakenly used Claybuster wads for several wad slugs and every one I recovered had burned/blown/damaged gas seal... EVERY ONE! I had grabbed a handful of wads thinking they were Winchester wads (not Winchester AA Red wads though). Now the Winchester wads I recovered were all good. DON'T USE CLAYBUSTER WADS FOR SLUGS! I knew that.

- I had also used some left over Winchester AA Red wads for some 0.678" RB loads. Recovered Winchester AA Red wads were all damaged... I knew that so why did I used them? Who knows!?

- Take a hat! Actually while it makes a good excuse... the sun actually was in my eyes for part of the shooting making it difficult to see the sights... really!

Overall it was a much better day and as always, good to be at the range. Having gotten better results and learning (relearning) a few lessons was good too. And... I like my new rest! It helped eliminate some (but not all) shooter error.

There's more but you guys are probably bored by now. I'll post more when I have things all tuned up and have some impressive targets to post (hopefully).

Next trip will likely include some Russian Paradox slug testing thanks to Kraken Fan #69 who sent me a large box of slugs to play with. Interestingly the tail wads fit into my full bore 565 gr. slugs like they were made for them so... I may just try that out too.

Longbow

[dsh1106]

Nice work !!
I always find your testing interesting.

You have a lot more patience with various combinations than I do, I have read thru a lot of posts and tried all sorts of combination with the LEE slugs and I can't get any consistency.
I guess for the time being I'm going to stick with my .678 RB with it's 5" groups.

I'm still pursuing the elusive Lyman rifled slug kit. I really want to see for myself what that kit actually produced (SLUG SIZE) before I give up on that idea.

Scott

[Cap'n Morgan]

Seventy rounds! Aimed shooting!! You're made of stronger stuff than me. You really should consider some sort of scope for your gun. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, but it will take some of the strain of the shooting - especially during the last few seconds before the hammer drops ;)

Good to see things are looking much brighter this time around. Looking at your results, I can't help wondering if the Lee slug(s) could be improved on by a drastic sizing to bring them down in size, and at the same time perhaps elongate them a tad. Then "patching" them with an extra layer of cut off petals, upside down to compensate for any taper in the petals. The thicker the layer, the better the protection against deforming in the forcing cone, and the slugs should stabilize better in the bore. Don't worry if you end up with a combined diameter much larger than the bore; it will squeeze down just fine, and a tight fit is what we're looking for (nudge nudge, wink wink)

[longbow]

Yeah... 70 rounds! That was last Sunday and my shoulder is still a bit "tender". Accumulated recoil wasn't as bad as I'd expected since most loads weren't maxed out. Some were pretty skookum but most were on the moderate side. That and my new cross stick rest allowing me to sit high helped a lot with absorbing recoil.

I really shouldn't have bothered with that many combinations but I had loaded many several months ago so figured it was time I shot them.

The copper tube skirted slugs were a bit of a disappointment. I have shot varying versions using 0.662" RB's, 0.678" RB's and my new TC spigot fit slugs. They have done fairly well in the past but did not work well this time. Partly due to the fact that the ones I had completed and loaded had a slightly undersize nose driving band. I have modified the mould and the 490 gr. HB slugs have the same nose design but larger nose driving band, so... that's one I'll try next time. Benefits of the copper tube skirt are that it is easy to get and easy to work and makes a nice consistent lightweight skirt when filled with glue (not all of us have access to injection moulding equipment!).

I'll limit myself to just a few designs next time and vary loads a bit to try to tighten groups up. Crimps are, I suspect, a major contributor to the inconsistencies. I'll have to play with those Federal hulls to try get better crimps until i can get new hulls.

I've found the Lee slugs okay as is but really don't like the taper on them which is why I decided to size then PP them. Seems to work with the 1 oz. but I need to get a good load going with the 7/8 oz. I have some Green Dot but that is as fast as I have. I may have to pick up a pound of 700X or Red Dot if I can find it. A better deep roll crimp may also allow Unique to work but 7/8 oz. is a pretty light payload.

As for the Lyman Foster, I wouldn't waste my time. Even if the slug can be made to shoot reasonably accurately it is a thin fragile slug. I really don't much like them. The old Rapine full bore 530 gr. was a nice slug but no-one makes a mould anymore.

Not sure where you will find a slug rifling kit these days. A guy sold one on this site a few years ago. I thought about it but really don;t like the slug or the mould so didn't bother.

SluggerDoug make a "knurler" using helical gears to "knurl" helical grooves into Lyman slugs displacing lead and bringing the slugs up to bore diameter. He reported good accuracy from them.

Paper patching the Lyman Fosters helped for me but I think the paper patches tended to get torn opening crimps or patches didn't come off cleanly or something as there were still fliers. Could even have been wads pushing into the HB cavity as I wasn't smart enough to fill in those days. But again, I have not been interested in the Lyman Foster so no more testing. My full bore slug is much more substantial and shoots better even if groups are still a bit large. I'll work on it!

Anyway, things are looking up and if I take more care in loading I am sure groups will shrink some more.

Longbow

[Hogtamer]

I still chuckle at "skookum" LB! Yes, good crimps are mandatory. BTW, for the "poochy" loads the best wad I found has been the HCD 18 from BPI. If you need more height you can add a hard card under the wad base and the shot cups are a perfect fit for the 7/8 slugs. https://www.ballisticproducts.com/HCD-Wads/products/659/ And the frangible plastic 12 ga OS cards make a great crimp. https://www.ballisticproducts.com/Clear-Overshot-Discs/products/112/

[longbow]

Hal:

Yeah, I really messed up on the crimps ands that is undoubtedly part of the issue with the 0.678" RB's. I had three in 2 3/4" right smack in the bullseye but two more dropped about 6" low. I could feel the difference in recoil and hear the BOOM! vs. bang. I'm thinking those slightly popped crimps were enough to make a significant difference. I did run them through the press again but by the time I got to the range they had reopened. DOH! Good help is hard to find...

I used mostly fold crimps last trip because I had so much trouble roll crimping those Federal hulls. Not sure if others have the same problem. If they are cut right down past the old fold crimp they do okay but if there is any fold crimp left, even after "conditioning" with a home made spin doctor, they just didn't roll crimp well.

I have to order some hulls from Canadian BPI so will look at those wads too. I also need a couple thousand nitro card wads and hard card wads as well. I want some of those plastic gas seals like uncle dino uses too but last time I tried to order them there was more than a little confusion. I want bunch of felt wads too... I am going to try making "real" Brennekes!

I've got a plan together to get my rifled choke tube finished up too. Its about time!

Longbow

[Outer Rondacker]

Great read and nice work. You just made me think about pulling out my old shotty. And reminded me I have some lyman slug moulds I really should sell as I have cast a lifetime supply already. Keep up the good work.

[longbow]

Just for fun here's some pics of some of the slugs I shot and some recovered wads. Don't know why I didn't put these in the original post but it was getting long.

216557216558216559216560

From left to right:

- copper tube skirt TC glue filled before then after ~ accuracy wasn't too good but I'll retry these as they have done well before (same nose as small nose band TC 490 gr. below ~ the larger nose or paper patching may work better)
- 0.678" RB on copper tube skirt ~ same comment as above (slightly different skirt flare but same idea)
- 2 Nessler Ball (Balle Nessler) clones ~ once again even knurled to bore size they did poorly (I think overhyped during the Crimean war!). These have a small HB with a weird little tit in the middle and thick skirt.
- full bore TC 565 gr. ~ one of the stars of the last trip
- 3 Lee 7/8 oz. slugs ~ I'll get faster powder and a better load, these guys should be shooting well but haven't so far
- wide large diameter nose band 490 gr. HB ~ another star from the last trip
- small diameter nose band 490 gr. HB ~ did shoot well
- 520 gr. TC ~ total failure! Still not quite sure why but these just have not done well
- 2 TC glue skirt slugs from a previous outing ~ these have shot quite well in the past so will be given another chance. These get paper patched up to size. These two went through an 8" diameter tree then into a rocky bank
- Lee 1 oz. slug with added glue skirt ~ didn't shoot any of these this time but in the past they shot better than plain slug... except the glue skirts can leave the slug even before firing! The slug with the skirt hasn't been fired but the skirt is removable. The two skirts beside it were found on the 100 yard berm. Cold lead and hot melt glue don't bond well.
- WW AA Red shotcup that was loaded over a gas seal and hard card wad column (using up leftovers) ~ as usual petals sheared/burned. This one had a 0.678" RB in it. Every one I found was damaged; don't do this again!
- Winchester wad with crumpled petal ~ I found three like this. Not sure form which slugs but Ill have to check my MEC wad guide fingers to see if there is something wrong. I haven't seen this before.
- 1/8" nitro card wad from under a Nessler ball ~ zoom in and take a look at the swollen center with the dimple in it. The Nesslers are HB with a funny tit in the middle. Hard to believe a nitro card wad would distort that much but so they do under 10,000 or so PSI!
- 2 hard card wads that were under HB slugs on a previous trip ~ again hard to believe a hard card wad can distort that much which is why we need good wad columns!
- Claybuster cushion leg used under a 565 gr. full bore slug from two weekends ago ~ accuracy was poor where the same slug loaded over hard card wad column did well last time and note the damaged gas seal
- Claybuster wad used for wad slug by mistake ~ note damaged gas seal ~ every Claybuster wad I recovered had damaged gas seal where none of the Winchester wads had damaged gas seals

More lessons learned (relearned):

- DON'T USE CLAYBUSTER WADS FOR SLUGS!
- DON'T USE WW AA RED WADS (or cups) FOR SLUGS! Other Winchester wads work well for me but not WW AA Red!
- make sure that the wad column is solid and dependable because they take a severe beating when you pull the trigger! Wads will distort, push into HB slugs, delaminate, etc... even hard card and nitro card wads!
- slug/wad fit is important! Very important! ~ I had two almost identical slugs in the TC 490 gr, one with small diameter nose band and one with large diameter nose band. The slug with large diameter nose band was a snugger fit and shot well, the other did not.
- don't take so many different types of slugs out at one time!

Not sure if I will get shooting this weekend but I'll be back out there shortly! Got to restest the best slugs and do some load/crimp work.

Longbow

[KrakenFan69]

My use of the CB 1114-12 wad with the Lyman has been excellent. I have recovered many wads for inspection and they almost all show a nice even collapse and no tearing of the petals. I've actually been quite happy with CB wads. Hmmm. What choke was used again?

Kraken Fan #69

[longbow]

I'll have to check the number of the Claybusters I have. They are for 1 oz. shot loads. Oddly the gas seals I cut off and used under the 565 gr. slugs looked great. It is the ones used for Lee slugs and others that didn't do well. Like I said, every one had a damaged gas seal.

My gun is cylinder bore... or at least the one I shot those in. I have had problems in the past with Claybuster wads and slugs. My gun runs 0.734" bore diameter so a bit large. Maybe that has something to do with it. I'll have to check and see if there are any wads available locally. I usually order because there is little to no local selection.

So far the best wads I've tried with slugs are the Pacific Verelite. They seem to be tough and good cushion section. Federal wads seem to be popular for slugs so I'll see what's available. I will read back through Ajay's recommendations too and maybe order some BPI wads when I order hulls, card and felt wads.

Longbow

[Retumbo]

I have been using nothing but Claybuster wads for slugs with good results. I have e been using Windjammer, petals cut over HS-6. My 1oz slugs sit on top of two nitro cards. AA hulls.

@50 yards

http://i.imgur.com/2qfUUrQ.jpg

[longbow]

Well that's looking good! What slug?

The Claybusters I have are Winchester clones and have not done well for me at all, and some others have posted similar comments... except Kracken above. Different guns or loads making the difference? Different Claybusters clone?

I also found that with the Federal hulls my home made roll crimper was a bit tight. Not sure if the Federal hull plastic is thicker or just stiffer but they seem to need a bit more clearance than other hulls I've used to roll over well. That won't affect the wad issue, it is just another variable in the mix. My roll crimps were not good two weeks ago.

Lots of variables in slug loading. I wish I had better access to components so I could try a few more things, then when it all works be able to get those components easily. I used to shop in the States but since 9/11 that is a no go now.

Longbow

[Retumbo]

People have found that the AA clones are tight where the petals join the wads. People who have had luck usually have a nitro card or two under the Lee slug.

My trimmed wads and two nitro over shot cards. The petals hit right at the widest part of the Lee 1oz slug

216646

[longbow]

I always use nitro card wads under the slugs, and any HB slugs other than Lee are glue filled so solid base. I've had nitro card wads push into HB slugs without filler. Lesson learned.

That certainly looks like a better wad design than the Winchester clones I have... though the real Winchester wads work well for me.

Are you roll crimping or fold crimping?

I was mostly roll crimping with the Fiocchi hulls and had good success, but not so good roll crimping the federal hulls. We'll see now that I've modified the roll crimper.

Longbow

[bikerbeans]

"Lots of variables in slug loading. I wish I had better access to components so I could try a few more things"

LB,

Be careful what you wish for or you will end up like me. I have two plastic storage systems, each with four 4' wide shelves, each unit is 6' tall. Both are completely full of slug reloading components plus I have more slug supplies in my reloading room. Of course I have exactly zero new 12ga hulls, hard cards or x12x seals. I am currently cutting gas seals off 12s3 wads and trimming 3" rem high brass hulls (so they will roll crimp) so I can load slugs for a hunt next month. Seems with slugs you never have the right components and most of the time the "right" components don't work.

BB

[KrakenFan69]

"Seems with slugs you never have the right components and most of the time the "right" components don't work."

BB

Ain't that the truth! I'm starting to collect a multitude of hulls, wads, slugs, buckshot, shot, homemade overshot and overpowder cards, Fiiber wads... Still not enough. I continually seem to find load data I would like to try that uses components I don't have.

*sigh*

Kraken Fan #69

[longbow]

Yes, every time I look at a load and want to try it I can't get that powder, or hull, or wad, or primer or in some cases all of the above! The only primers I can get right now are Federal 209A so for some loads I will have to drop a few % of powder charge as my understanding is that the Federal 209A is "hot" and results in higher pressure than Win 209 or CCi 209. If I'm not near a max pressure load I'm not to worried about that but...

I guess one benefit of building wad columns using gas seal and card wads is that it isn't hard to get that "stuff" and column height can be tailored to the slug being used... except it is likely going to be full bore then.

Hmmmmmm... that take me back to the Brenneke Classic again! Oh well.

Longbow

[jeremy360]

Very interesting testing. With so many variables, it seems to be an art more than a science.

Thanks for sharing.

[longbow]

You not far off with that statement Jeremy! I keep saying that slug reloading borders on a black art!

Not sure why there are so many variables especially hulls. It would be nice if all the manufactures settled on one hull design at least and one primer "heat" as well or maybe two... regular and magnum. That would take some of the variables away. There are still the powder and wad issues but not that much different than metallic cartridge reloading.

However, it is what it is so gathering up as much reloading info as possible seems to be the solution. No one powder manufacturer/hull manufacture/ ammunition company or whatever is going to put every combination of every component together in a nice reloading manual for us!

I like loading wad slugs because they are quick and easy to reload but the wad is another variable where with a full bore slug you are building a gas seal and wad column behind it so likely more consistent and easy to get all the "stuff' for.

I dunno! I feel like I am starting all over again with just the change in hulls!

[725]

longbow,

Ever use a cork wad under the ball? I use a 1/4" cork 20 ga. under my roundball 12 ga. and it works good for me.

725

[longbow]

I have not tried cork. Felt and cork are two under slug/ball wads I want to try, though so far I've found that the hard card wad columns has done best for me when I load anything but wad slugs. Oddly the wad slugs seem to do well where cutting petals off so I can use the cushion leg has not done well. I have to think it is at least partly due to less length/stability of the "wad" possibly resulting in tipping in the forcing cone and/or the cushion leg leaving the slug poorly at the muzzle if it is tipped or unevenly compressed. Speculation on my part of course. Good slo mo video would be good here!

Anyway, I have tried fiber wads but generally gotten poor results with them. I figured the fiber wad under a a 0.735" RB would be good but I got poor results. Maybe too soft? Cork and felt would be much firmer and Brenneke uses felt on their Brenneke Classic (very hard felt but felt).

I have to get an order together so will include felt and cork to try.

I'll also say that several of the fold crimps on the first range trip had opened slightly and several of the roll crimps were not pretty. It seems my roll crimper was a bit tight for the roll over of the Federal plastic. After a bit of machining the roll crimps now look good. Hasn't been a problem with any other hulls I've used. I don't think the type of crimp (roll or fold) matters as much as a good crimp. I didn't do myself any favours with the poor crimps. This trip yielded better results and hopefully the next, better again.

Longbow

[megasupermagnum]

I made it to the range today myself. I have bought a new Mossberg 500 turkey model, with 20" barrel. I tried turkey loads, seemed to pattern good enough. I tried some 2 buck, and I was very surprised with a 100% pattern at 30 yards with a cylinder choke. I then tried slugs, and that's were things went bad. After wasting ammo at 50 yards, I wasted ammo at 25. I was shooting round ball loads that were accurate in multiple smooth bore guns, and rifled guns. Still, I could not keep shots on paper, at 25 yards. I do know the bore is less than perfect. Even with a cleaning rod, you can feel the tight and loose spots, and it is far from being smooth. I may have to call Mossberg about this. I did try a second ball load, with no success.

I also decided to dust off the accurate 73-770S mold that I've struggled with in the past. It's still a bear to cast with, even running a PID to keep metal temp perfect, and a hot plate to heat the mold. I used a 94/3/3 alloy that I've come to really like. While the slugs have cosmetic problems, they do all weigh within a few grains of each other. I also decided to try them without any lube at all. I had failed in the past pan lubing, I even tried to make a custom soft lube that turned into a mess. I don't have any liquid lube to try, so I just said screw it. I loaded 30 grains of Bluedot, (2) X12X gas seals, and a 1/2" fiber wad. I apparently lost my hard card wads. Slugs weighed about 775 grains. First I shot the ultra slug hunter with those round ball loads, and put 3 into a single hole at 50 yards. I adjusted the scope, and put another 3 into the bullseye. When I tried the 73-770S slugs, they shot a little low, but much more accurate than last time, and a tiny amount of leading in the first inch of barrel. I moved out to 100 yards, and missed 3 times. Eventually I figured out they were hitting WAY low, around 16" low. After adjusting the scope, I put my last 4 shots into a 4" group. After the first shot, the leading never grew. I shot a total of 20 un-lubed slugs, and about 10 un-lubed balls with no problems. I may try some Lee Alox, but I'm happy without. Pan lubing is a mess, and I never got a lube that didn't totally ruin accuracy. I had trouble keeping shots on paper at 50 yards before, and now I have a completely acceptable group at 100 yards. I'm going to try all hard card wads, different combos, and put more Bluedot under them next time. I also loaded a shell with 100 grains of Reloader 17 to see how it fits. Ed Hubel says this will put the slugs up around 1500 fps. Even with 34 grains of bluedot around 1150-1200 fps, I didn't think the recoil was all that bad. I also added weight to my ultra slug gun, so it is 10 pounds 6 ounces. It soaks up recoil nicely.

[bikerbeans]

Mega,

Good to hear the naked slugs fly well and didn't lead too badly. I have some "naked" slugs load but haven't tried them, maybe tomorrow.

I have to set my PID to 800F to get good slugs from my 73-700S mold. I use a bottom pour pot, hold the mold on an angle and let the lead hit the funnel part of the sprue plate. If I let the lead go straight into the cavity without hitting the sprue plate I get bad slugs.

The Hubel load is gonna get your attention, I ran this on the JBM recoil calculator.

10# shotgun 770g slug, 34g powder, 1,200 fps = 37.3 ft-lb recoil energy

10# gun, 770g slug, 100g powder, 1500 fps = 83.7 ft-lb recoil energy. This is in the recoil range of a 416 rigby or 458 win mag.

BB

[longbow]

Mega:

No personal experience here but it seems to me I've read that some Mossbergs are back bored and have pretty large bores. Might be worth checking if you don't whether it is or isn't back bored.

Were the round ball loads full bore or ball in shotcup? If in shotcup did you recover any wads? The wads should indicate if there's problems with oversize bore, rough bore or choke entry issue.

What is your round ball recipe?

Longbow

[megasupermagnum]

I would say the slugs leaded less than factory rifled slugs. It's such a minor amount, it's barely worth saying. I never thought to run the lead stream on the plate, I always tried straight through. I also tried pressure pouring, and got mixed results. On one hand, some slugs look really good this way, on the other, the the nozzle freezes if I hold it on a little too long, and that ruins the process. I had tried at 750F at first, but I found I had to wait 20-30 seconds between pours to let the mold cool. I ran at 700F, and it was much better. The cosmetic issues I'm getting look like tiny pieces of lead get pulled off, either from opening the mold, hitting the towel, I'm not really sure. It seems they are good enough, but casting these is for sure is a struggle compared to smaller bullets. I'm casting with a bottom pour. I normally prefer aluminum molds, which this one is, but I have to think a brass or iron would be better. I could run it cooler, and the temp would be better distributed with the long waits between pours.

As for the Mossberg, 500's are not back-bored. I was trying full bore .735" balls. I tried to slug it with a ball, and it seems to be a little large, at .732"-.733". The thing is though that there are at least 2 different spots that are obviously looser than the rest. You can even see it in the light.

[longbow]

Okay, my Cooey runs 0.733" so you're not that much over stock. I just wondered if it might be backbored because that could affect wads, and slugs would tend to be loose if cast for "standard" bore. Somebody mentioned something about backbored barrels and I had it in my head they were Mossberg.

Those loose spots sound a little strange. It'll be hard to determine just how loose they are too as anything that gets to them has to go through the tight sections.

That could be what's causing grief too. I find that my slugs that cast to exactly 0.729" are quite inaccurate in my 0.733" cylinder bore but if I knurl up then size back to 0.733" they shoot pretty well... or at least have shot pretty well. After today's results (Part 3) I will be retesting knurled full bore slugs again as they did do well last time. I'm narrowing down what doesn't seem to work so retesting what did okay to good. I'm betting when I finish I'll be back to round balls!

Anyway, if your slug gets a chance to tip in the bore it won't take more than a thou or so, I don't think, to cause inaccuracy. I'd be talking to Mossberg about that barrel. If it isn't more than a thou or so you may be able to lap it out and even up the bore but it is work and the bore should be pretty much dead on diameter from end to end.

Longbow

[725]

Hope they work for you. A 20 ga. cork under my .702 ball sets everything in place for my weirdo 12 ga. RB load. I'm very confident with my scoped H&R Ultra and this load.

[longbow]

Your load isn't all that "weirdo"!

TRG3 posted his load using a 0.690" RB in a shotcup (can't remember make) with two opposing petals cut off and he says he gets deadly accuracy in an USH (IIRC but rifled gun for sure). Now that's a bit "weirdo" but it works for him!

[dsh1106]

Not sure where you will find a slug rifling kit these days. A guy sold one on this site a few years ago. I thought about it but really don;t like the slug or the mould so didn't bother.

Longbow

LB

I was in pursuit of the slug making kit again. I was out bid again for one of these kits, it wasn't even a complete kit and someone took the price to $200!!! Apparently my curiosity is going to cost me some serious money.

Scott

[longbow]

Yikes! I'm afraid I'd just stay curious... or get someone to bore the mould out to bore diameter.

I am too cheap for that!

Longbow

[missionary5155]

Greetings Longbow
Thank you for that photo of the table model Cross Sticks. That is far better than my idea. Pretty much I have been sitting in the dirt behind "regular cross sticks" for the last years as I could not come up with a better idea. But one advantage was to be practicing and testing the same way I sit on a high spot and wait on some critter to goof up.
Going to have to do a little wood work this summer and get out of the dirt and bugs.
Mike in Peru until June

[longbow]

Mike:

Thanks for the kind words.

I wanted a rest because I got tired of laying down with the forearm laying on a sand bag or two nd getting beat up with 12 slug recoil. I first thought of BP style cross sticks but wanted something stable for the shooting bench so figured "Why not anchor the feet to a base?" so out came the tools and scrap lumber! Nicer wood and a better carpenter could make this quite aesthetic. Mine is strictly utilitarian.

I made the base 18" square so it is big enough to use on the ground sitting or even sitting on a stool or in a chair with longer sticks. So far I have only used it on the shooting bench but am quite happy with it.

It is simple and it works which is good because I'm pretty simple too!

Longbow

[missionary5155]

Good morning Longbow
Thank you for being none complicated ! Simple stuff works just fine in our household. Thank you for that added 18" base figure. Gives me a good start point for figuring wood lengths... I can do this one !
Mike

[longbow]

Mike:

A point for your construction, I took my basic idea from BP cross sticks (and being too cheap to by cross sticks) and a portable take apart target frame a friend has. The base is one vertical (on edge) 2" x 4" x 18" long with the flat feet (on the flat 2" x 4" X 18" long) screwed to it at 90 degrees. That on edge 2" x 4" is drilled through over the feet. Then there is a clamp board drilled to match, also an on edge 2" x 4" x 18" long. The clamp board holds the vertical target posts (2" x 2") boards against the on edge board on the feet. The clamp screws are long 1/4" carriage bolts with wing nuts fed through both on edge 2" x 4"s. The 2" x 2"s are simply clamped and so can be moved sideways to accommodate different target widths. I replaced those 2" x 2" with my cross sticks.

So really my simple rest is a scaled down target frame with trapped sticks. I used 1" x 2" and 1" x 3" more or less (scrap lumber).

The words may not make a lot of sense. I can take some more pics if you'd like or put a sketch together for you to follow. If you are a carpenter at all though I am sure you will figure it out. Anyway, let me know if you want some more pics to make things clearer or a sketch, I'd be happy to help.

Longbow