I'm looking at picking up a 12 ga. slug mould. I'm familiar with the Lyman 525 gr. slug but have noticed the Russian hollow base slug moulds on EBay and wondered if anyone here is familiar with or has tried one. I like the Lyman design as it can be loaded in hulls like the AA or Remington Premier with a fold crimp rather than roll crimp and it appears the same can be done with the .Russian slugs.
Anyone tried one of the Russian 12 ga slug moulds?
- Thread starter ted_dent
- Start date
I bought one a few years ago with a couple different cavity pins. I've never used the the Lyman but I have a few hundred 525 slugs on hand. The Russian ones might have external dimensions that differ by a few thousandths here and they but fly just as well in my guns. I like the ability to chose the larger cavity pins also so you can try what works best for your gun. The mold itself was quite well built and I don't regret buying it. I have the 16ga and 20ga models on my wishlist.
When you're getting ready to load them though, you pretty much have to fill the cavity with something so the wad doesn't get forced into and stuck to the slug when fired. I like to use hot glue - I made a jig to cut pieces of the Dollarama 1/4" sticks to 9/16" long (IIRC). Cover a small baking tray with upside down slugs and fill all of them with a piece of glue. Bake in a LEVEL toaster oven or BBQ until glue is all liquefied. It will make a dome shape and some will have bubbles - small angled wire in vise grips heated with a torch will go in and pop the bubble without the glue sticking on it. Let them cool and the glue will level off. I may be wrong but I think this process also anneals the slugs when cast from WW because they seem softer after the baking.
When you're getting ready to load them though, you pretty much have to fill the cavity with something so the wad doesn't get forced into and stuck to the slug when fired. I like to use hot glue - I made a jig to cut pieces of the Dollarama 1/4" sticks to 9/16" long (IIRC). Cover a small baking tray with upside down slugs and fill all of them with a piece of glue. Bake in a LEVEL toaster oven or BBQ until glue is all liquefied. It will make a dome shape and some will have bubbles - small angled wire in vise grips heated with a torch will go in and pop the bubble without the glue sticking on it. Let them cool and the glue will level off. I may be wrong but I think this process also anneals the slugs when cast from WW because they seem softer after the baking.
Thanks for the reply and tips. Are you roll crimping or fold crimping the hulls? Can you use the same load data as with the Lyman slugs?
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hatman1793
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
FortuneCookie45LC has done some extensive investigation on two or three of the Russian slug molds. Including wads & powder coating the slugs. Seems very impressive & FC45 has tested these too.
I think the hardest part is obtaining these Russian molds, & I think they need special wads too.
I think the hardest part is obtaining these Russian molds, & I think they need special wads too.
There are some substitutes for the lyman 525 slug, the original was designed for Winchester red wad ( WAA12R) but these are not manufactured any longer , some of the subs don't work as well might have to trial and error till you find what works best.
I fold crimp and yes as long as the slug your mold drops is lighter than the 525 the same data can be used. I tend to go a bit lighter than the loads printed in Lyman manuals though to save my shoulder and guns.
Just to confirm - you are talking about the copy of the Lyman 525, not the "zveroboy" or "paradox" right?
I have loaded up a few hundred of them in Winchester AA hulls and the white wads. I slightly trim the wad petals and drop two homemade shotcards punched out of cardboard with a 5/8” gasket punch in before the slug. This allows the wad to seperate from the base and the spring in the cardboard makes for a nice snug fit when I roll crimp. I should also mention that I trim the hulls down for the roll crimp using a homemade tool.
Oh and watch the handles on the Russian molds. A little flamable hahaha. The roll crimp tool I use was purchase off of Amazon but is Russian made as well. Works nicely chucked in my drillpress and I set the depth guage to give me a consistent crimp every time.
Attachments
Yep. the Lyman copy.
I would rather fold crimp just because I'm already set up for that but your roll crimped slugs look pretty sweet.
What the h*ll happened to the one handle
I was looking at the Lyman 525 but it's not hard to find tons of people saying it pretty well only works with acceptable accuracy from a rifled barrel. Are these Russian profiles very accurate? The other slug I'm looking at is a heavy monster from NOE, in 10 and 12g. I have similar reservations about accuracy.
Accuracy and home cast slugs is not necessarily a losing proposition, but the fact is that factory sabot slugs and modern rifled barrels will outperform almost anything we can make ourselves; you just have to pay dearly for it.
I typically get 3" groups at 75 yards with the rifled barrels I have using my pet load (Fed Top Gun / W209 / 28gr 800X / 12S3 / slug & 8pt crimp) BUT (and big BUT) there has to be little to no wind. These slugs are big and slow which means lots of surface area and lots of time to move the slug before it covers those 75yds. Depending on your load, the distance at which the slugs stops being super-sonic comes into play and then all hell breaks loose. I can get smaller groups with faster loads (~1600fps) but I need an extra 20 grains of powder (Blue Dot in my case) and a cork filler wad for 3" hulls , and I'm on the 3rd feed latch on my 11-87 from either excessive recoil, violent activation of the action, or both. Not fun.
That said, my horseshoe up his a$$ brother can cloverleaf the slower load (which I give him for free!!) at 50yds with his fixed choke modified 1100 and has never seen a deer farther than that from his favourite tree-stand. Go figure.
You gotta load them and shoot them to find out. Just be glad in the knowledge that you'll be doing it for close to 50 cents a shot instead of 5$ and can control what you want, how you want and in a way you want to do it.
I typically get 3" groups at 75 yards with the rifled barrels I have using my pet load (Fed Top Gun / W209 / 28gr 800X / 12S3 / slug & 8pt crimp) BUT (and big BUT) there has to be little to no wind. These slugs are big and slow which means lots of surface area and lots of time to move the slug before it covers those 75yds. Depending on your load, the distance at which the slugs stops being super-sonic comes into play and then all hell breaks loose. I can get smaller groups with faster loads (~1600fps) but I need an extra 20 grains of powder (Blue Dot in my case) and a cork filler wad for 3" hulls , and I'm on the 3rd feed latch on my 11-87 from either excessive recoil, violent activation of the action, or both. Not fun.
That said, my horseshoe up his a$$ brother can cloverleaf the slower load (which I give him for free!!) at 50yds with his fixed choke modified 1100 and has never seen a deer farther than that from his favourite tree-stand. Go figure.
You gotta load them and shoot them to find out. Just be glad in the knowledge that you'll be doing it for close to 50 cents a shot instead of 5$ and can control what you want, how you want and in a way you want to do it.
Well, I broke down and bought the Sabot slug 12 gauge bullet mold (Svarog Match 4 in1 complete set). I was skeptical about ordering from Russia but I lucked out as it was on sale for about $108 US (usually $128) so i took a chance. I didn't want to wait for the regular shipping even though it was free so I paid the $13 US extra for expedited shipping instead. Talk about quick service! It shipped out from the dealer in Russia on Tuesday and I received it today. I've had packages take longer than that to cross Ontario. Haven't had a chance to try it yet but it appears to be very well made and nicely finished. The thing I like about this mold vs. the Lyman is that this has 4 separate base inserts which create different size base cavities so i can throw weights from 525 gr. down to 432 gr.
I hope to do some casting this week & will post pics.
I hope to do some casting this week & will post pics.
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I would rather fold crimp just because I'm already set up for that but your roll crimped slugs look pretty sweet.
What the h*ll happened to the one handle
Lol. Apparently the varnish on those handles is pretty flamable. Was heating the mold with a propane burner and it lit up. Oops.
The roll crimp is achieved with another Russian tool I bought on Amazon. Chuck it up in my drill press and set the depth and I get a nice repeatable crimp every time. I made a tool to cut my hulls down as well for a suitable amount to facilitate the roll crimp.
If the supplier you're thinking of is in Brampton I emailed him and asked if his moulds had the 4 base plugs for different slug weights. I waited a week & didn't get a reply so I just ordered from the Russian source. When the Brampton supplier finally answered he didn't have any stock here anyway even though his EBay ad didn't say that.
- Location
- castlegar B.C.
ordering from Russia was fast and easy. They have much better prices when you order direct anyways.
At one point I had 6 russian slug and round ball molds.
You should find good results from the match slug although it casts a little large and is hard on wads. Personally only had luck with the heaviest slug and cast of wheel weights. Softer lead and deeper skirt caused the skirt to obturate way too much and shear thevwad pettles at the base of the shot cup. I found the accuracy erratic and inconsistent.
With the smallest base pin and water dropped wheel weights I could manage 4" groups at 50 yards consistently sometimes cloverleaf groups mostly not, and often you will get a slug that will shear its petals and go squirley.
I found modeling clay filling the base works just as well as hot glue to support the skirt and is much cleaner and quicker to do. Trim the wad petals about half way along the front driving band. Put your wads in a bag with a tiny bit of powdered graphite, it helps the slug release from the wad.
To get good results from a smoothbore everything has to be exactly right 100% of the time or you will be disappointed
Its half luck and half magic, but lots of fun and rewarding once you find the right combo.
At one point I had 6 russian slug and round ball molds.
You should find good results from the match slug although it casts a little large and is hard on wads. Personally only had luck with the heaviest slug and cast of wheel weights. Softer lead and deeper skirt caused the skirt to obturate way too much and shear thevwad pettles at the base of the shot cup. I found the accuracy erratic and inconsistent.
With the smallest base pin and water dropped wheel weights I could manage 4" groups at 50 yards consistently sometimes cloverleaf groups mostly not, and often you will get a slug that will shear its petals and go squirley.
I found modeling clay filling the base works just as well as hot glue to support the skirt and is much cleaner and quicker to do. Trim the wad petals about half way along the front driving band. Put your wads in a bag with a tiny bit of powdered graphite, it helps the slug release from the wad.
To get good results from a smoothbore everything has to be exactly right 100% of the time or you will be disappointed
Its half luck and half magic, but lots of fun and rewarding once you find the right combo.
Good info. Thanks.
sharp shooter
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Essex county (Ontario)
I have had great luck with the Lyman 525. I can roll a propane tank out to almost 150 yards. At 50 yards I can cloverleaf with a Hastings rifled barrel on my auto 5. At 100 yards I have shot a 6" group with my open sights. My slugs weigh just over 500 grains, I used some old #2 lead
AA hull, 12S3 wad, slug cavity filled with wax, 16ga shot card at base of wad, max dose - 3_ grains Long Shot, Fed 209A primer.
You need a mouth guard o shoot these but they are awesome!
AA hull, 12S3 wad, slug cavity filled with wax, 16ga shot card at base of wad, max dose - 3_ grains Long Shot, Fed 209A primer.
You need a mouth guard o shoot these but they are awesome!
