Load suggestions for the Lee 12Ga Drive Key Slug ?

T

theshootist

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I started with the Lee data provided with the 7/8 oz drive key mold:

Win AA hull
Win 209 primer
WAA12 wad
Hodgdon HS6 38.0 gr powder
Lee 7/8 oz slug

Where I run into trouble is once asembled, the top of the slug is way too deep in the hull, way too deep for a proper fold crimp. What am I missing?

Can anyone recommend a good load for the 7/8 or 1 oz Lee drive Key slug using Win AA hulls? I have a pile of the AA hulls and would like to find a good use for them. I was hoping to find an easy, simple load using the minimum of components for an accurate load. I have a roll crimp available for use as well.

I've spent a fair amount of time searching the net and this site but really no luck. Any suggestions would be most appreciated. I'm a bit dissapointed in Lee for the lack of data on reloading their slugs.

Thanks for your input!
 
If you don't want max velocity they load as a trap shell for any data for their given weight. 7/8 oz is 7/8 oz. While some may disagree the lee slug is housed in the wad and can be fired thru smooth or rifled barrels. I use only Remington gun club hulls. Clay buster Grey 7/8 oz wads and 40 gr hs6 it is over the listed amount but gives me 3" groups at 50 yards. However most of the slugs I load I just use my 7/8 oz skeet load which is about 19-20 gr 700x under a clay buster Grey wad n the rem hull. I get around 1375-1400 fps. 3" groups at 50 yards with my rifled barrel. 5" groups from various smooth bores
Not accurate enough to hunt with but they rip coons apart
My loads are proven in my guns. I suggest following proper published data
 
I ran into this with some recipes as well and read some helpful stuff on the Cast Boolits forums. I now stack 20ga card wads (.125" thick) under the slug inside the shotcup. Try 1 or 2 and see if it's enough; I've never used more than 2 personally (because I never had to).
Yes, it's changing the load so it will change pressure, but I found it to significantly increase accuracy with the Lee slugs without giving me any other problems. The plastic wad can get pushed into the cavities in the bottom of the slug and this can cause pedals to get pinched off and also the wad to not separate from the slug consistently. I had a lot of flyers (like 1 in every 3-5 shots) that disappeared once I started using 20ga card wads in the shot cups.

Personally, I found the 1oz slugs to shoot better than the 7/8oz ones as well. I can still get both to shoot 5-6" groups at 50yds from a smooth bore with IC choke consistently (bead sight only). On some better days I've had the 1oz'ers down to ~4" groups. The 1oz slugs just seem less picky and a larger percentage of the loads I tried worked well.

I order my card wads from Track of the Wolf in the US. Great site and apparently card and fibre wads are not restricted by ITAR.
 
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Thanks LUTNIT I was hoping you might chime in.

I was sure surprised to follow the LEE load recipe only to find there was no way it would crimp properly. Strange no data exists for the LEE slugs using a roll crimp. I'm disappointed with LEE's poor recipe, and the lack of LEE slug load data to begin with.

It sucks that I've got 1000's of good Win AA hulls and 4 molds (including a Lyman foster and sabot mold), yet I can't put a single decent recipe together.

Reloading slugs has been pretty discouraging to say the least. I'm tempted to just start choosing wads regardless of load data till I find one that fits properly for a crimp.
 
I just bought the 1oz slug mold..going to take a kick at the cat. Unfortunately I have heard the 7/8 is not as accurate. I have also heard to use a card so that the wad does not embed itself in the slug.

Best accuracy I have heard was about 4" at 100 yards.

You wana ship me a hundred of those hulls? Please?
 
Lee data is pretty sparse and the most common data book for slugs is the Lyman and obviously they will give preference to their own mold designs. I've never looked at the Ballistic Products load manual but from what I've heard most loads in it require some of their proprietary products to make and I don't want the hassle of ordering difficult to find, single-source products. Lee molds are everywhere and so are most components.

It is true that there isn't much data for AA and slugs. I've heard several theories on why including the high brass is required for more powerful shells to grip the inside of the chamber and that it's required for "structural integrity" of the loaded rounds (whatever that means). I've never really looked into any of the reasons to confirm them or not.

I load slugs into AA's as well sometimes and I remember how I interchanged data but don't remember where the data was from. I cut a whole wack of hulls in half and measured them to find the internal dimensions and found data for a hull that had the same internal dimensions as a AA. I tried it and it worked well. It used Bluedot though (as with most of my slug recipes) and Alliant powders, especially shotgun powders, are very difficult to find still.

I lucked out and picked up a few hundred Federal 00 buck tactical hulls from when the Ottawa police were out at the range and left it all on the ground. They're high brass and there's a lot of data out there for them so I've been using those for most of my loads since switching away from Alliant. As a result my tested loads that use HS-6, Longshot, and 800X are with Federal high brass hulls.

I have done some wad swapping myself when I ran into problems with too much or not enough space in the hull. Some 00 buck recipes required up to 1/4" hard compression that the crimp can't possibly hold in and some slug recipes are the same as that or sometimes the same as your issue. I measure the diameter of the wads at various points to make sure they are the same (some wads and hulls are internally tapered, some are straight) and usually reduce the powder charge by 10% or so and work up as if it was a metallic cartridge. I've not had issues with this method personally but it's not advised by many.
 
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I have been trying to load the LEE 1 oz slug into AA hulls as well. I have been using Unique and WAA12R wads. The problem I have been having is getting a good fold crimp that actually stays crimped after a little while it starts to open up. Using a LEE load all II for now until I can afford a better loader. Are there any suggestions out there?
 
Place a small shim under the case head when you crimp

Also make sure that the handle doesn't bottom out on the tables edge
I load all mine on lee load all 2. I'm on my 3Rd one
 
willysman said:
I have been trying to load the LEE 1 oz slug into AA hulls as well. I have been using Unique and WAA12R wads. The problem I have been having is getting a good fold crimp that actually stays crimped after a little while it starts to open up. Using a LEE load all II for now until I can afford a better loader. Are there any suggestions out there?
Click to expand...

Mind if I ask where you got your load info from?
 
I've been using the same Lee data as the OP for my 7/8 oz slugs.
I'm using the WW 12 SL wads (pink ones)
They're for lighter shot weight loads, so are a bit shorter in the payload area (longer compression legs)
I found that I have to seat the wad with the slug in it very gently. If I seat them too hard, they compress the wad legs and I get a recessed crimp.
Other than that, they crimp well and stay closed.
 
You can always trim the hull in order to get a nice crimp.
I usually have to trim 0.1" but your mileage may vary.
Adding fiber wads and/or cardboard discs to attain the proper "column length" is the tried and true method though.
 
7/8oz slugs need either the WAA12SL(pink) or the WAA12L(grey) wads to get a good crimp.

Your WAA12 wads are better suited for the 1oz slug.

Win AA hull
WIN209 primer
WAA12 wad
30gr HS-6 or 24gr of 800-X
1oz slug

Fed GM hull
FED209 primer
12S3 wad
40gr HS-6
1oz slug

I wouldn't recommend using any tapered one piece hulls(ex. Rem Gun club, STS, etc), I've never been able to load slugs in those hulls without bulging the hull.
 
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Nice tame load.

Win field load hull
CB lightening hull, pettels trimmed
30 grn HS6
Fed 209A
1 oz lee slug

This is a one time reload for those cheap Win hulls.
Have not done any accuracy testing, but is a fun load to shoot a closer targets. Next to no kick.
 
win AA hull
Win 209 primer
waa12r wad
universal clays 25gr
20g nitro card under 1oz lee slug
crimps shown here
theshootist said:
I started with the Lee data provided with the 7/8 oz drive key mold:

Win AA hull
Win 209 primer
WAA12 wad
Hodgdon HS6 38.0 gr powder
Lee 7/8 oz slug

Where I run into trouble is once asembled, the top of the slug is way too deep in the hull, way too deep for a proper fold crimp. What am I missing?

Can anyone recommend a good load for the 7/8 or 1 oz Lee drive Key slug using Win AA hulls? I have a pile of the AA hulls and would like to find a good use for them. I was hoping to find an easy, simple load using the minimum of components for an accurate load. I have a roll crimp available for use as well.

I've spent a fair amount of time searching the net and this site but really no luck. Any suggestions would be most appreciated. I'm a bit dissapointed in Lee for the lack of data on reloading their slugs.

Thanks for your input!
Click to expand...
 
willysman said:
I have been trying to load the LEE 1 oz slug into AA hulls as well. I have been using Unique and WAA12R wads. The problem I have been having is getting a good fold crimp that actually stays crimped after a little while it starts to open up. Using a LEE load all II for now until I can afford a better loader. Are there any suggestions out there?
Click to expand...

I had this same issue with the Lee 1 oz slugs in Federal Target shells and Federal Red wads (can't remember the number). I found that if I used a full stroke on my Lee Load All II to insert the wad effectively crushing the wad legs, the wad wouldn't bounce back to it's original starting point. This gave me the added clearance to get a nice lasting crimp around the pedals of the wad that wouldn't bow out over time.

It's a totally different load to what you're doing but it may still work.
 
Just came back from testing the LEE 7/8 oz slug loaded in Winchester AA hulls and in Champion (cheddite style) hulls
Used 38 Gr HS-6
CCI209 primers
Waa12 Wads (peddles trimmed back a bit)
Lee Load All press - and since the crimp was totally collapsed inward I took the shell back to the primer stage and pressed the apparatus for pushing the shell onto the primer into the top of the shell so it would press the hull peddles all the way in so it was like it is with a roll crimp.

Loads chronographed at 1520 to 1570 fps and were all over the center of my 24x24 target paper at 50 yards. Very little powder residue left in the barrel so powder seemed to burn compete enough.
It was end of the day - getting dark, wind was up a bit and spitting rain (sounds like hunting weather eh)
For a 50 yard shot they were actually quite high out of a Mossberg 400G with a vent rib barrel smooth bore and a cylinder bore choke tube.
I would not hesitate shooting a deer with this load with what I saw today at the range - I intend to do some more experimental shooting but have limited components at this time.
Have those Nitro cards and a real roll crimp tool on my Christmas Wish list but hey - sinking that crimp worked very well today.
 
Interesting!!! I have a load I worked out using 700X as the powder because I finally used up all my 1992 purchased Winchester 540 (HS-6). The 700X in the same hull / was was a little over half the charge of the HS-6 and it's a flake powder vs a ball powder so the whole thing packaged down a bit further.

The hull crimp was inward to the point I could see the slug and the hull tips were jammed against it. I ended up cutting them open and abandoning the load without shooting it. I think I'll try this trick with the primer stage to drive the crimp right into the slug and see how it goes.

I wonder how much it increases pressure with the crimp tucked in like that...

Thanks!
 
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My setup crimps real nice.btrick is to get the wad/slug to sit at the right height.

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