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Thread: Foster slugs in rifled barrels

  1. #21
    Boolit Master

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    I would like to investigate a little lighter payload. The MP mold drops a 525 gr slug. I'll have to cast some fosters today & weigh them. They should be around 450gr. Not too worried about recoil. If I can shoot 40 rounds of the 50 BMG in my avitar at a sitting I'll be OK. I think recoil from my Benelli Nova with 2 1/4 oz of sixes, 3 1/2 in. twelve kicks the most & I even have a recoil reducer in the buttstock. A lighter payload might give me a little more range although 100 yds would be a real long shot where I'll be hunting besides, you don't need 500 gr to kill a deer.

    Bob
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  2. #22
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    You guys do realize that a Slug in a Shot Cup or a Sabot Slug, doesn't actually touch the bore? Only the plastic touches the bore?

    However that plastic will build up and create accuracy problems just like leading does.

    Randy
    "It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
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  3. #23
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by richhodg66 View Post
    This has probably been asked before, but since Fosters are supposed to be full diameter, are they safe and do you see any benefit from shooting them in a rifled barrel? Fosters are cheap and easily available, just got to wondering.

    A concern would be shooting an un lubed projectile through a rifled bore would create a lot of leading. Anyone with experience on this?
    fill base with beeswax and load under slug a 1/4 hard card saturated with bore butter, no leading

  4. #24
    Boolit Master gpidaho's Avatar
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    In a rifled shotgun bore, I prefer a full bore round ball or slug, powder coated and a a few thousandths over bore size. Gp

  5. #25
    Boolit Master

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    My foster slugs I cast today are .692 diameter and 440 gr. As cast, they are a loose fit in my 12 ga cases. I will powder coat these & shoot them " naked". I'll have to read up on loading these. I know I'll need a gas seal over powder wad & then filler wads under the slug to adjust payload length to get a good crimp. I may roll crimp this first batch.
    The mold from Miha should cast around .678. I can load these in a shot cup so I won't powder coat these unless I could use a few thousanths to fit the shot cup better. The Miha mold is on a plane over the Atlantic right now. Now I have to dig out my shotshell loading books & pick some loads.

    Bob


    PS: Good thing I reload. Checked Natchez today. Not even one box of slugs in stock.
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  6. #26
    Boolit Grand Master

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    At 0.692" you won't get any decent accuracy... at least in my experience.

    My Lyman Foster slug mould casts at 0.705" and I never managed to get decent groups from them. Too big for shotcups and too small for the bore.

    At 0.692" yours might fit some shotcups. I have some Claybuster 1 oz. wads that a 0.690" ball is loose in and they cast a couple thou large.

    Found that the naked Foster slugs cast from soft lead upset to fill the bore but due to the sloppy fit they upset differently every time.

    Shooting into deep soft snow then recovering slugs is quite enlightening!

    I tried paper patching with reasonable success using heavy brown paper and patched to bore diameter. Groups shrunk from 8" to 12" at 50 yards to around 6". Not great but better. Had too many fliers though so figured paper patches were either getting damaged opening the crimp or possibly weren't releasing consistently.

    YMMV

    Longbow

    PS: Oops! This is a rifled barrel thread! In that case those 0.692" slugs wouldn't do well if not in a shotcup!
    Last edited by longbow; 04-15-2021 at 12:02 AM. Reason: Added PS

  7. #27
    Boolit Master

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    I'll have to check all the different shotcups I have to see if I have one the Foster slug will fit into. Don't expect I'll have much luck. I should probably load up the Fosters as planned & shoot them in the smoothbore Nova first. I already have open sights on the Nova's rib for turkeys plus I have a saddle mount for a scope. In the end, I just want to be able to pull the trigger on a deer within 75 yds with complete confidence it will be DRT. It will take some range time to get to that level.

    Bob
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  8. #28
    Boolit Grand Master

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    I've never figured out Lyman's logic in making a mould that generally casts too large for shotcup and way too small for the bore.

    Like I said, mine casts at 0.705" so too big for any shotcup I have found but way too small for any normal 12 ga. bore. Others have posted that their moulds cast at 0.705" as well and some posted that their molds cast as small as 0.685" or 0.690". Quite a variation!

    I think the Lyman slug was designed before plastic shotcups so not fitting is no surprise but being so much under bore size is.

    To qualify, if cast from soft lead Lyman Fosters do upset to fill the bore... at least mine did when loaded to Lyman recipe. So thar means any logic saying they are undersize so they fit through a choke is wrong... if they swell to bore diameter then they gave to swage back down to choke dianeter.

    Having said all that. Your 0.692" slugs may fit some wads and could certainly be sized down a few thou then would certainly fit in a wad. If so they should shoot fine in rifled gun.

    I guess you could argue that if they sell up to fit the bore they should work in a rifled gun but my recovered slugs showed tilted noses and uneven bases due to inconsistent bump up, I am sure because they are so undersize so tilt as they swell up.

    Again YMMV.

    Longbow
    Last edited by longbow; 04-15-2021 at 10:45 AM. Reason: Spelling

  9. #29
    Boolit Master

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    If they're casting at 0.692" I would try them in a Federal 12S3 wad with a 0.125" x 16ga. or 20 ga. nitro card in the bottom of the cup. The 12S3 has proven to be a tough wad in my experiments, yet it will squish down to conform to the rifling. It may be necessary to fill the base of the slug with hot glue, maybe not, but I'd fill it to insure the slug doesn't yield to much diameter under pressure.
    "We take a thousand moments for granted thinking there will be a thousand more to come. Each day, each breath, each beat of your heart is a gift. Live with love & joy, tomorrow is not promised to anyone......"

    unknown

  10. #30
    Boolit Master

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    Just checked with Ballistic Products. They don't have any nitro card or other over powder wad on stock. I could do as indicated in a few load recipes and cut the petals off 12ga wads and use that as an over powder wad. I could then cut the case off to get the proper height for a roll crimp. I'll use Fiochi cases with parallel walls as opposed to the tapered walls of AA cases. How does that sound?

    Bob

    PS: Ballistic Products did have Claybuster Slug Wads in stock so I ordered a bag of those. Also got some Federal primed cases. Thats one way to get a few primers. No Hazmat either.
    Last edited by midnight; 04-18-2021 at 08:08 PM.
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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check