made some ashtrays 12ga.

[randyrat]

I bought a Lee 12 ga. 1 oz slug mold today and made a few boolits up. Any loads out there that work real good?.. Lee did send some load data with the mold and i checked few powder manufactures. I have a number of different wads from 1 oz,1 1/8,1 1/4 and tons of Win AA hulls,,, and win 209 primers. Powder is mainly what i need, but which one? >>> Herco , Blue dot,Accurate #5,Hodgdon HS6........ I like an ash tray flying in the air over 1500 ft/sec.....Any thing to look for when loading these? Any suggestions are welcome.BTW i had fun making my first cast boolits, not too stressful.

[TedH]

I use HS6 with the LEE 1 ounce slug in WW hulls. I have not experiemented much at all with them, but what I have done has not been impressive. Will keep them on a pie plate at 50 yards.

[randyrat]

Are you using a rifled barrel or smooth.. I've heard that the rifled screw in choke tubes work for smooth bore barrels.

[handyrandyrc]

I use 1 oz. Lee slug, Winchester AA hulls, white Winchester Wad, and Herco for the powder. I can put them on a 2'x2' piece of carboard every time at 100 yards. That's with a Saiga 12 semi-auto shotgun, with an 18" barrel.

When they hit the dirt of the backstop, it's with a resounding THUMP -- I'm amazed at the momentum they carry.

[TedH]

Are you using a rifled barrel or smooth.. I've heard that the rifled screw in choke tubes work for smooth bore barrels.

I'm using a rifled choke tube. It was a noticeable improvement over a smooth bore/choke. Without it you were doing well to keep them on a pie plate at 25 yards. I image a rifled slug barrel would do better yet.

[randyrat]

I use 1 oz. Lee slug, Winchester AA hulls, white Winchester Wad, and Herco for the powder. I can put them on a 2'x2' piece of carboard every time at 100 yards. That's with a Saiga 12 semi-auto shotgun, with an 18" barrel.

When they hit the dirt of the backstop, it's with a resounding THUMP -- I'm amazed at the momentum they carry.

Is that a smoth bore barrel i'm quessing yes. Yeh it's amazing 400+ grain slug going over 1500 ft/sec

[snuffy]

Here's my attempt to load some of the lee slugs. These were shot in smoothbore BBLs, one was a stock Beretta 390, no sights. The other was my slug gun, 4X tasco scope 24 inch cylinder bore vent rib. The beretta was only so-so, maybe a 8 inch group at 50 yds. The slug gun cut that in half.

Those slugs were cast of wheel weight metal. No intention of hunting with them, just curious as to how they'd shoot. I plan on loading some I cast of pure lead to see if I could hunt with them. Also that's the 7/8 ounce model.

Components were grey handicap AA, WW 540, WW209, claybuster aa copy for 1 1/8 ounce. I never chronoed any of them, so don't know what the velocity is.

[357maximum]

[IMG]

Those slugs were cast of wheel weight metal. No intention of hunting with them, just curious as to how they'd shoot. I plan on loading some I cast of pure lead to see if I could hunt with them. Also that's the 7/8 ounce model.

.

My .02

Why do you feel you need pure lead? wheelweight alloy will get it done, and I am willing to bet the accuracy with ww will best pure lead (more stability/less crushing to the sides) . Your starting out with enough "MEPLATE" , there is no need to expand.....it will kill just as well out of ww....I promise... Look left that buck was killed with a lyman sabot type big a$$ airgun type pellet out of a 20 gauge in a fully rifle moss 500 canti- barrel at well over 100 yards....acww alloy and propelled by sr4756/ bp gas seal/stack of hardwads/and a shotcup with no cushion section(lage uniwad exterior)...1.5 to 2inch@100 because the cushions section was not allowing tippage and that = stability in the barrel...the wad is the weakest link, especially in a fully rifled barrel..it will get eaten up if the hull is not new or 1X fired....*suggestion* .if you can get some 20 gauge hardcard nitro wads to put in the shotcup under the slug your accuracy and crimp will proably get mucho better...better/ more stable platform=consistancy=better group....never dealt with THAT particular slug but have played with all four lyman moulds, and this seemed to be universals of truth in all of them......fun isn't it, good luck



well that was more than.02, but I hope it helps......the wad is the weakest link....fell free to pm me if you have difficulty finding components (ballistic products) or just wnat something to try, I have just about anything you may need to play , and play well.....I'm a sucker for old boxes of alcan wads for that very reason, i cannot help myself even though i do not play with punkin balls much anymore...I have lots and lots of data though....
michael

[TedH]

My .02

Why do you feel you need pure lead?

Lee states to ONLY use pure lead when casting slugs with their mold. Not due to how they perform when shot, but due to the difficulty in getting the harder WW slugs to release from the mold. I have tried both, and will never use WW in mine again.

I forgot to mention that I use a single thickness of cork gasket material cut the same size as the base of the slug to bring it up to the proper height so I get a good looking crimp. Thats not necessary if you can find the right combo of wad and powder to get the slug to sit higher.

[Ricochet]

The reason for specifying pure lead is so it'll squeeze down more easily in a choke constriction.

[357maximum]

Common sense is lost.....................the lawyers have made it extinct..............


.......maybe that drive key needs pure lead to shrink and release, but it would appear Snuffy has done alright, as his questions were not based around how to melt a stuck slug out of his mould.......

...........I can show you several mod/full chokes that have had tons of undersized slugs fired through them, no harm no fowl...(what they mostly are, cannot easily get a big/fat enough slug) lawyers will not allow it......so we have to contend with slugs bouncing down the bore......that is why the brenneke was so popular for years and years...it fits, and works....and they are NOT pure lead, and they are FAT.....and they work and work well through all chokes.....BHN of about 20 if memory serves.....

[oso]

Hey snuffy, I like the crimp I get using the gray WAA12L or CB 0178-12 with the 7/8 oz Lee slug.

TedH, does that filler wad keep the key from engaging to get any spin if there is any rifling in the barrel?

[7br]

Info from the old shooters talk forum from Smoker using lee 7/8 oz mould

HS-6 38.2 grains w/gray 7/8 oz wad, no filler. Adjust the press so that a minimal amount of pressure gives the proper length for a good crimp. As usual, all is never perfect so try not to use the ones that don't crimp well. Can't pove it but don't think they will group as well. Good luck Mark, let me know how you did.

Smoker

PS chron'd @ ~1425 to 1450, you got the drop stats .

From my fully rifled 870, This will produce 5in standing groups at 75yards for my wife.

[handyrandyrc]

I've used epoxy to fill in the hollow-ed out area in the underside of the slug. Same type effect as using a card between the wad and the slug. Less damage to the wad from ignition.

It mangles them most of the time, anyhow. I'm surprised at HOW WELL they DO shoot, as inaccurate as they are. But hey, rifles are rifles, and shotguns are shotguns. If I want accuracy, I'll pick up a rifle, right?

[doc25]

How about cutting the hull and make it a 2 1/2" or so and get a good crimp (and maybe get an extra one in the tube).

[TedH]

The reason for specifying pure lead is so it'll squeeze down more easily in a choke constriction.

That may well be part of it, but I had a hell of a time getting the WW slugs out of the mold without destroying them. The pure lead slugs come right out. Maybe its just my mold.

OSO,
I don't see how it would make any difference. It's no different than just having a wad with a shorter shot cup.

[randyrat]

One point; you'll never get your weight up to 7/8ths or 1 oz-12 ga. if you don't use almost pure lead (tin and atomony are lighter than lead) ,****not to mute the points made before****.. If they fly straight who cares. A ashtry is an ashtray flying that fast. I'm just happy i can load slugs in a 12 ga..Thats gotta be worth a couple deers at beer camp.

[35remington]

TedH, normally I don't have much use for Midway's Drop Out. All it does is gunk up the mould cavity and make undersized bullets.

However, used on the base pin only of the Lee shotgun slug mould, it works very well. Wheelweight alloys are entirely viable using it, and I respray as needed. I have cast many slugs this way, and they work just fine. Keep it out of the cavity.

Those of you that aren't into nosebleeds might want to try some of the trap load equivalents using the Lee slug so you don't rearrange your anatomy every time you fire a shot. Better for practice.

You might want to take Sundog's (I think it was him) advice about putting a stiff card wad under the slug if the wad column height allows. The reinforcing rib at the bottom of many wads tends to cant the slug in the barrel and that don't help accuracy. I see that 357max is saying the same thing. You also might want to try motor mica or new hulls for best accuracy. Examine your wads; if you're losing petals your accuracy is gonna suck. Rough hulls tend to tear petals.

Getting really good accuracy is difficult, but useable accuracy is possible.

Don't worry about the slug expanding because the design pretty much prevents much upset unless it hits something really solid. Like steel or a brick wall.

Beware of overtightening some collet chokes (like Mossberg's C-Lect Choke) when using slugs and these wads. Doing so can literally leave a big hunk of wad stuck in the collet. Not good.

[snuffy]

Common sense is lost.....................the lawyers have made it extinct.............. Ain't that a fact!


.......maybe that drive key needs pure lead to shrink and release, but it would appear Snuffy has done alright, as his questions were not based around how to melt a stuck slug out of his mould.......

I didn't have too much problems with getting the slug to release from the mold. It would always stay on one side of the mold, a couple soft taps on the hinge pin while upside down, it would fall free.

If I were to hunt with the lee key slug, I WOULD make it out of pure lead. I've recovered some factory loaded foster slugs from deer, they all expanded to some degree. I guess it's a feeling left over from condom bullets that need to expand to work. Probably don't need to expand with that big of a hole!

Examine your wads; if you're losing petals your accuracy is gonna suck. Rough hulls tend to tear petals.

Exactly! I always pick up the wads to examine what is happening to them after firing. When I was shooting these loads, I noticed a flyer. I had been picking up each wad as I fired them. I went to find that wad, one of the petals was torn off! Seems like it would allow the slug to go south-by-soutwest instead of straight forward.

Another concern of mine was the dished in appearance of my crimps. Seems like maybe the wad was damaged by opening that too deep crimp!?

Hey snuffy, I like the crimp I get using the gray WAA12L or CB 0178-12 with the 7/8 oz Lee slug.

Good idea OSO, the lighter payload wads are longer in the cusion section. I have some 20 guage cork wads from BP, they should work to get the slugs forward in the wad a little.

I just bought the Lyman sabot slug for 12 guage. I loaded a few,(made with pure lead), the groups were lousy from my slug gun. Also why in tarnation did they make them so dadgummed heavy,(595 gr.)? Geeze louise they darn near shook some fillings loose! Gotta figure out a way to reduce their weight. Maybe another groove for the "C" clip, to move the hollow base plug forward a scoshe, thereby casting a lighter slug?

[randyrat]

I bought a Lee 12 ga. 1 oz slug mold today and made a few boolits up. Any loads out there that work real good?.. Lee did send some load data with the mold and i checked few powder manufactures. I have a number of different wads from 1 oz,1 1/8,1 1/4 and tons of Win AA hulls,,, and win 209 primers. Powder is mainly what i need, but which one? >>> Herco , Blue dot,Accurate #5,Hodgdon HS6........ I like an ash tray flying in the air over 1500 ft/sec.....Any thing to look for when loading these? Any suggestions are welcome.BTW i had fun making my first cast boolits, not too stressful.

.................. Now i loaded some up with what powder i had. I used 1 oz shot wads, over 21 grs of Unique and a win 209 primer all packaged in a Win AA trap hull.. Then i loaded some up with 17.5 grs of Clays. I'll have to go shootin now and try some of these. I would think these loads are OK.. Load data for all of these are for 1 oz or 1 1/4 trap loads. Maybe i should tie the gun to a tree for the first few. I hope they don't shread my 12 ga.