Olde Tyme Slug Experiments

[Apocalypse]

Saw this on the International Ammunition Association web site, thought many here (Longbow) would be interested to see (Paper hull, wood screw attaching wad to slug):

https://forum.cartridgecollectors.org/t/puzzling-shotshell-fabrication/28273

[Hogtamer]

Oh yeah, LB would claim that!

[longbow]

Yeah, those are my kinda slugs!

That Remington cylinder looks a bit odd. He didn't post diameter but the wads will be 12. ga. wads. Novel idea putting the screw in from the nose. That would solve an issue I had with the gas seal compressing wads but not the screw (duh!) leading to distortion of the gas seal. Not sure how Brenneke accomplishes theirs but I suspect that "felt" wad is pretty solid. I would like to get my hands on some Brenneke Classic slugs again. I have not seen any in years and they are not locally available. I may be able to find some in a larger city when I travel.

Since that wad in the wadcutter slug says "Remington Express" it makes me think that is a factory loading but I've certainly never seen one like that. As long as the slug is a good fit and wads don't distort it should work okay. In fact I'd be surprised if they didn't do better than typical factory Fosters... back in the "old days" anyway.

Thanks for posting that. Very interesting.

Longbow

[725]

Looks like the screw is a little off center, which makes me think it's a bench top special. A factory product, even a weirdo, would probably be as centered as engineers could make it. Grabbing and holding the various wads, I'm sure, was an attempt to make it drag and not tumble, to enhance accuracy. Very cool.
Any thought of contacting Remington to see if they would comment on your photos? Would love to nail down some history on this one.
725

[missionary5155]

Greetings
Thank you for posting this. Would not be hard to make a "drilling jig" for a drill press to get a hole centered down through a slug and wad to keep it all in line.
Mike in Peru

[JSnover]

I don't think the screw is off center, I think the shadow just makes it look that way. Those are some odd scratches on the nose though. If it's homemade it's decent quality.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

It still looks off-centre to me, and I would also suspect something home-made. it could be true that there is no evidence of firing, for someone who didn't reload could have replaced the shot in unfired cartridges.

In general paper cases simplify the problems of slug use a little, as their thickness makes the internal diameter closer to that of the bore.

[Tatume]

In my opinion the screw is off center. The left-right margins appears to be the same, and smaller than the bottom margin.

[longbow]

While the shadow on the loaded cartridge makes it tough to be sure the dissected pic shows the slug nose and the hole appears centered to me.

Could be home made but I have to wonder how a guy would un-crimp a paper hull without damaging it then re-crimp like a factory round.

Certainly would be interesting to get more info and know for sure if it is a factory slug or homemade. If factory it's one I've never seen. Lots 'o stuff I haven't seen though!

Longbow

[jeremy360]

I curious, why does everyone think that it would be uncrimped and re crimped? Couldn't the screw just have been installed on the finished cartridge (no, I'm not about to do that...but someone else might)?

[Apocalypse]

That was my take on it as well.


I curious, why does everyone think that it would be uncrimped and re crimped? Couldn't the screw just have been installed on the finished cartridge (no, I'm not about to do that...but someone else might)?

[longbow]

Not arguing that it couldn't be done but that would infer that the slug was a factory loaded slug which we don't know. The consensus is that the slug is homemade so the only way to get it into the hull with a roll crimp is new hull or un-crimp factory hull, remove shot, put slug in, re-crimp.

Getting the screw in straight might be an issue if drilling into a factory loaded slug/wad column. Pre-drilling wads in a jig would ensure the hole was centered and screw straight.

Now, up to this point I don't think a new hull has been discussed. I have to think that new paper hulls were available for reloaders so if the hull doesn't show signs of being fired then that is also a possibility whether the slug was commercial or homemade.

The plot thickens.

Longbow

[JBinMN]

I am not sure that everyone here did so, but... If one scrolls down into the comments lower on the page, there is also some more info & pictures. I am wondering by the comments here if perhaps some did not go further down the page & see those other comments/info & pics...
:???:

It seems that the author(OP) of that topic himself commented further down & showed he had opened up the shell. He shows that a #6 shot overshot wad was placed below the slug before the screw was installed. ( As Longbow mentioned in his post about the Rem Exp. wad)
Likely meaning that someone disassembled/broke down the shell & then reassembled. Helping to keep the "stack" the right proportion as compared to a #6 shot wad/load column( "stack")
They apparently just did a fine job with the roll crimp.
[That would also answer posts #10 & 11 question here in this topic]

At least the above is "My" opinion about what went on with that shell.

Below that info/pics by the author is some more info & some pics of French & German slug shells that also used screws. Those as well, I would think , were also " home reloaded". [ Did not recall them being mentioned before in this topic, so another reason I thought they may have been missed by some here.]

All conjecture on my part, like most everyone else, but I thought I would comment what I was thinking, as it seemed some folks here may not have noticed the info/pics lower down in the posts, in the topic.

If I am wrong about that, then,
"Nevermind.".

Sure is interesting, & makes me want to experiment though. Thanks! for sharing your find!
:)
;)