Lyman 20 ga. sabot mold question/problem

[JAMESGR]

farmbif, I cast some more slugs using pure lead today. They are the same size as the ones cast with 95/5 solder added. I loaded a few using 3/4 oz. shot data with 16.0 grains of Unique.
My new rifled barrel for my Mossberg 500 20 gauge got here today. I'm going to try both of the cast slugs in the rifled barrel and the smooth bore. Probably start out at 25 yards. Just to get an idea of slug placement on paper. Lyman is closed for Easter holiday so I couldn't talk to them about the ring in my mold. I'm going to call a machinist friend and ask if he can do something to fill in that part of the mold. Doesn't hurt to ask.
I'll let you know how things work out.
Thanks for the info. really helpful
JAMES
JAMESGR

[Hogtamer]

I always heard the 20 ga version cast too small. Maybe the ring around the bottom was a fix for the small diameter. I love the 12 ga version and can shoot it into 3” at 100 yds. Killed a ton of hogs with it. If you’ve got the fit you have a killer.

[farmbif]

rifled barrel should make big difference in accuracy

[rking22]

Mine have the ring at the base, .574 at the nose and .559 at the skirt. I don’t remember the alloy but it easily scratches with a fingernail. Shooting at 50 yards from an early 70s M37 with issue Raybar and mid bead, 3 inches was pretty normal. No memory of the load but you will need to fill the base to keep the wad from sticking into the base. When that happened the group was a foot and you could see the tears from the wad in the paper. I used cow and they shot well, but was a pia! We are a rifle state so it was an experiment when I was looking to do everything with one gun. Oh, I shot them in Rem gun clubs or AA compression formed with clay buster AA20 clones. Did not bother to check fit to wads, they’re plastic. Choke was mod as I remember, I no longer have the gun.

[JAMESGR]

I tried out the new rifled barrel on the Mossberg 20 ga. today. only shot 5 with Unique and 4 with 800-X. 30 yards, that's where the shade was. I got in a hurry when loading and forgot to put glue in some of the slugs. 800-X : 2 cast 13# lead and 9.5 ozs. of 95/5 solder and 2 pure lead. Both sets were scattered about 8" apart. Glue was put in all 4 of these. The Unique loads were : 2 without glue were 6" apart and the 3 with glue in the base 3.5" high group was 2 1/2 ". The recovered wads definitely showed that the glue made a difference in the wads. The ones without glue showed signs of being shoved into the base of the slug the crush section was mashed sideways and the wad was torn where the slug rested. FUN DAY!!!!! I'll cast and test some more soon. Comparing the smooth bore barrel to the rifled barrel should be interesting . Not tomorrow gotta mow and weed eat ahead of the rain.
Thank y'all for the replies
JAMES
JAMeSGR