12ga slug accuracy

[Knifeman1988]

I have a Mossberg 12ga with a 24'' rifled barrel iron sights.
Shooting 2.75'' Win AA hulls, Win 209 primers, Clays powder @ 19.4 grs, using Win AA12 wads, 8-pt star crimp, Lee 1oz cast slugs #2 alloy Currently shooting @ 50yds and have almost a 10'' spread for a 5-shot group. (benchrest shooting)
Does anyone have any loads i can try to get it to at least a 5'' group? Any info would be great and be appreciated.

Travis


P.S. I have tried changing wads with some success.

[Buckshot]

............Might wanna try here: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=36

..............Buckshot

[44man]

There is a ton of information but I have to tell the truth. I have about every mold to big round balls, every wad you can think of and all kinds of cases. I use a Hastings barrel with a scope and so far I have not found anything that I can load that will shoot except buying Hammer Head slug kits. Just add powder and crimp. They will shoot real small groups at 100 yards.
Factory loads shoot but after over 50 years of playing with home made slugs, I have not figured it out.
If I had to hunt with a shotgun, I would just buy slugs.
I am a failure loading slugs.

[gray wolf]

You did say rifled barrel
Everything I have read and been told-- is that a rifled barreled for a shotgun is for sabot shotgun shells. I would think your leading would be heavy and your groups would be about what you are getting.
Have you tried sabot rounds (very expensive ) Or am I wrong here?

GW.

[Jayhem]

The AA12 wad is acting as a sabot to engage the rifling for the slug.

I use the Lyman 525 grain sabot slug mold and use AAF114 wads for sabots and out of my 22" Remington 870 with nothing but a rifled choke tube...I was able to easily get 3" groups at 50 yards with the open rifle sights. I use WSF powder, 2.75" AA hulls, star crimp and velocity is around 1300 fps.

[mpmarty]

18grs of Red Dot works for me just fine in Winchester AA hulls.

[gray wolf]

thank you for smartteing me up--I guess I mised that part about the wadd.

GW

[Harmon_Greer]

travis, i could not get the lee slugs to group in anything i own...or borrowed.

lyman vs Lee is day and night difference.

[yondering]

I have a Mossberg 12ga with a 24'' rifled barrel iron sights.


Is your barrel ported? I have the same barrel, with ports; it has burrs in the ports inside the bore, which grab the wad and ruin accuracy. I haven't figured out how to get rid of them yet.

[243winxb]

Lee 1oz cast slugs #2 alloy Lee Key drive slug instructions say to use pure lead. Follow instructions. Mine averages 7" & 100 yds. The flyer hurts the groups average. Most go into 4" Mossberg 500 ported cantilever rifled bbl scoped.

[randyrat]

Buckshot has some good advice there. I've read some on it and tried a few loads the best i ever had was between 5"- 8" groups @ 50 yds... I still have a hard time finding time to play with home made shot gun slugs. i also need to do a lot more reading on the subject.

Some of the tricks were to use shock buffers under the slug to prevent the slug from trearing up the plasic wad. Go to the "shotgun threads and you'll find some real good info there.

[catboat]

Might get some ideas here:

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewforum.php?f=118&sid=9f9b4353679953e36ce002a4cdff36cf

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=72762

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=73002

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewforum.php?f=77

The castboolit threads are about turning the diameter down of the base pin, making the skirt of the slug thicker. It evidently prevented some "wall collapse" of the slug skirt, contributing to accuracy.

I've read about "another way to skin a cat" when it comes to addressing wall collapse (mostly related to the Lyman "pellet gun" slug). Instead of changing the diameter of the base plug, you can fill the base of the cast slug with either hot melt glue (from a glue gun) or hot wax. These methods may "stiffen" the hollow base of the slug. Remember, you are adding mass to the slug. You may need to reduce your powder load, as pressure may be increased to above an upper specification limit.

Another thing you may want to try that is cheap, if not close to free, is to try paper patching the Lee slug. Use two or three wraps of thin paper (like tracing paper, or the type of paper around a hanger, or the thin tissue paper you find in wrapping paper in a shirt box) around the slug-then insert into the wad. The slight increased diameter of the paper-wrapped slug may help. Perhaps it will fill the grooves more in the rifled slug barrel. Changing the diameter of a cast bullet oftern contributes to accuracy. Maybe the same thing will apply to a slug in a shotgun wad/sabot, to make the sabot fit better in the barrel's grooves. Since the paper-wrapped slug is INSIDE the wad, you may not even have to twist, or tuck the end of the paper into the end of the slug. Perhaps the edge of the paper can be flush with the trailing end of the slug. You may have to overlap the paper 1/8"-1/4" over the end-but can leave flat (no twisting needed). Won't know until you try. These are the fun things in reloading. Try something. Keep notes, and build your next move from your results and experimentation. Be safe (watch pressure limits).

I'm just getting started in slug shooting/reloading. The idea of paper patching a shotgun slug for a few different applications (with or without a "sabot" type shot cup) has been brewing in my mind for a while. Doing it is simple, and virtually free. Who knows? It may help you out. That's what experimentation is all about.

Keep me posted if you try it, and what you've done. I'm interested in your results.

[7br]

I have had pretty good luck with the 7/8oz key slug. Groups about 6" at 100 from a ironsighted, rifled barreled 870. Seems like the load was HS6,Win AA hulls and Win grey hulls.