my CHEAP 12ga SLUG METHOD

jjbkozack

jjbkozack

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Slugs cost over 1$ each, too much for my volume of lead flying out of my barrel, so i researched and pinched some pennies to make some cheap and easy shells


Heres how i do it:

alot of cheapo wally-fart (or any) trap loads 7-1/2 or 8 whatever, a LEE SLUG MOLD and Laddle, and a shell crimper (lee is cheap or you can find one on the EE or EvilBay for cheap)
1/2" steel workbench not required but reccomended

any melting of lead is done outside and well vented
gloves and eye protection are required

1.
I take a large screw and thread it into the middle of the crimp one and a half turns, this is just to open up the crimp so I can get a prying tool in
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2.
I use a large cotter pin i found a princess auto, but anything round 1/8" or so will work, sand or file the edge smooth so it doesnt cut into the casing, it took me a few times to perfect this I found it best to pry near the lip on the part of the crimp that is pushed in, trying to keep the lip in as good shape as possible, after pulling up 4 of the crimps i pour out the shot
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3.
Carefully I inspect the wad making sure theres no stray shot stuffed between it and the casing, then I take a 1/4" multi driver and roll it with the shell to smooth it out
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4.
I put all the shot into the lead pour and heat it with a blowtorch till its totally liquified
this works better if I do a large run (as many as you have) to keep the preheat in the mold and make my life easier and spend less time around melting lead
I read the instructions that come with the mold and follow them to the letter, aside from preheating with the torch instead of dipping it into molten lead
36641_438661479803_645734803_5956463_7481525_n.jpg

any imperfections in the slug and i'll melt it down again
theres a ton of info about casting your own bullets that i read up on before doing it myself
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5.
once the slug is cool i gently push it into the shell
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making sure its absolutely seated and theres no deformation of the wad
35218_438663259803_645734803_5956580_2623820_n.jpg


6.
crimp the shell
35218_438663264803_645734803_5956581_6037357_n.jpg

as a bonus the lee reloader will also serve good for reloading spent casings for trap and more and more slugs

7.
Voila ready to penetrate a crAPPLE laptop that pissed me off
paint marker'd the shell to clearly decipher it from the normal #8 trap loads
35218_438663269803_645734803_5956582_7384529_n.jpg


The rounds are accurate enough and very lethal to a old crapped out laptop, or making a crimson mist out of red water in 2l bottles

Lee doesnt suggest but insists you use a rifled barrel, ive shot them through a cylinder bore with good results, but they will be more accurate with a rifled barrel anyway, i wouldnt even think about firing one of these slugs through a shotgun fitted with a choke

Ive seen a few threads where people suggest using "tape" "crazy glue" and or cut off the crimp of the shell to do this, like seriously #&(% dont do this!!! it may work but the shotgun is designed to fire a shell that rolls out and fills the chamber cutting off the crimped end of the shell may just bugger something up and BOOM there goes your face ya idjit, maybe even injure the poor innocent guy beside you at the range
Not what i want shooting beside me at the range

PLEASE IGNORE THE IDJIT REPLIES WHERE PEOPLE POST HOW YOU CAN CUT SHELLS AND OR PUT SOME FOREIN MATERIAL INTO A SHOTSHELL
I PREFER TO NOT BLOW MY GUN AND MY FACE UP


DISCLAIMER: I in no way reccomend or suggest you follow my method but this is how i do it
 
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I hope your wearing a decent pair of welding gloves handling a ladle of melted lead....
It only takes once & you'll have some more cool pics to post.:D
 
It's a novel idea but I'm thinking that it would be easier to cast some up before hand from pure lead and reload empties, it's easier then having to open the crimp on factory shells. You can also alter your load by using a wad that fills the case better with the slug, and a larger charge of slower burning powder and thus increasing velocity, and knockdown power.
 
when i did my last batch i tore apart 25 shells and melted down the lead all at once, it was way more efficient but also alot more work
ive looked over the post by blacksmithden and will one day do a monster melt like that

as far as barrel pressure i doubt it would change any
if anything it would assume a drop as you are shooting 1/8oz less weight down the barrel with the same wad, i chose the lee slug mold due to the fact it fits in a normal trap wad and has a "bridge" so it has alot more support where the slug meets the wad, and 0.68 is big enough

lmao! @ freebasing lead

if following this method I would definitly suggest you use welding gloves, ive got a cheap pair from princess auto that i use for dirty stuff like this, and a pair of rubberized gloves for handling lead (from my pellet gun addiction)
 
fralic76 said:
You could get used wheel weights and melt them down.
Click to expand...

Wheel weights may be too hard fo slugs, especially if someone fires the resulting slug though a choke. Factory slugs are swaged very soft for this reason.

Err on the side of caution. Shotguns operate at much lower pressures than rifles and handguns and their barrels are much thinner. It is very easy to get into dangerous pressures by substituting just one component in a listed load.

When a shotgun barrel bursts it is typically about 12" ahead of the chamber, right where a right-handed shooters' left hand grips the fore-end.

That said, enjoy your experimenting and keep us informed.

Cheers
 
I've done the exact same process once I bought my Lee slug mould, along with Wheel weight lead (I've actually been selling the resulting slugs here, please check it out).

Good job on opening up the crimp; I do something similar, but they tend to come out manky looking - even when re-crimped with my MEC 650 JR. Still, they work; I've already converted two boxes of 7 1/2 trap loads, loaded onto a 50-rd bandolier, slung in the closet for when the zombies come!

that said, they definitely ruin a pop bottle's day. I've used them in both my 870 and 11-87, with mod chokes, and Im still here; plus the accuracy is decent out to about 50 yards. Haven't tried it past them but I imagine I could swing a 8-12" group. In a rifled barrel, they would doubtless perform much better. I wouldn't necessarily use these former traploads for hunting in this low powered configuration(I'll be working up a much hotter load for that, with high-brass hulls) but the slugs themselves are dynamite zombie/bear/deer/moose medicine.
 
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