reload/hunting cheap slugs

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bdiddlez

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Hey, just wanting to know if anyone has hunted using slugs made from the lee mold

http://leeprecision.com/bullet-casting/bullet-slug-mold/

how far and how accurate. damage to animal as well if you could!
and most importantly the cost it took to make the shell!

Basically I am looking for a cheap decently accurate slug to go through a smooth bore shotgun barrel (id love to be able to shoot slugs and bird shot while out hunting...everything's a target :)
 
Haven't hunted with them (yet) but I have done a lot of loading and testing of these slugs.

Out of a smooth bore I have them shooting about 4" @ 50yds with 5 shot groups moving just shy of 1400fps (factory slugs advertised at "1600fps" chrony ~1450fps for me)
Putting 20ga nitro cards under the slug inside the wad practically cut my groups in half at any range.

My current favourite load is:
Remington high brass hulls
CCI 209M primers
40gr Bluedot
Claybuster clone of WAA12R wad
2x .125" 20ga nitro cards under the slug
6-point star crimp

Using only 1 nitro card groups about 6", no nitro cards in a WAA12 wad was grouping 7-8" (all at 50yds).
These are the Lee key-drive 1oz slugs.
I haven't tried them in my rifled barrel yet but have it on my to-do list. My parents property outside Sudbury allows rifle hunting so it's not a priority for me this season.

As for cost:
$0.04 - primer (1000 @ $37.99)
$0.23 - powder (40gr Bluedot @ $34.99/lbs)
$0.05 - wad (250 @ $11.99)
$0.02 - 2x 20ga nitro cards (1000 @ $8.50)
$0.00 - hulls (collected once fired hulls from friends who shoot buckshot and slugs for fun but don't reload)
$0.00 - lead (using up my free reserves; will have to buy some soon)
------
$0.34 - with free lead

If you have to pay for lead:
$0.14 - lead (1oz @ $50/25lbs)
------
$0.48 - buying lead shot to melt

Of course those prices don't take electricity cost, equipment cost, or your time into account as those vary quite a bit. You also may be able to get lead for $1/lbs instead of the $2/lbs I'm paying if you can find a local supplier. That would bring the slugs down to $0.41 each paying for lead. Cheapest I've found 1oz factory foster slugs is about $0.75 each (the Winchester boxes of 10). If these prove able to stay under 6-7" @ 100yds in my rifled barrel I wont be forking out $3 each for sabot slugs anymore.
 
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Ive reloaded them, just in the casting process you need to make sure no lead is between the molds when you close them or they wont fit in the shell, as for accuracy, 38 gr blue dot, waa12 wad and rem gun club shell, and about 3-4" in accuracy. Cost to me for components is about $0.18 per shell.
 
I use Unique for my reduced recoil slugs. It maxes pressure before reaching the same velocity as BlueDot.
For load data I use the "Lyman Shotshell Reloading Handbook" and "Reloading for Shotgunners".
 
Get a box of 25 trap loads for 6-8 bucks. Open the hull, dump out the 1oz of shot, melt the lead and pour into the Lee 1oz slug mold. Slide the slug back into the hull and shoot way at 24-32 cents apiece. Might not be powerful enough for hunting, but it sure is cost effective!
 
ive hunted with the lee 1oz slug dose the job I just used 1 oz shot data and remember follow the data to a t with any shotshell hull wad powder and primer need to be right payload can be a slug or even buck as long as it weighs the same or less then the intended payload of shot
 
LUTNIT said:
Haven't hunted with them (yet) but I have done a lot of loading and testing of these slugs.

Out of a smooth bore I have them shooting about 4" @ 50yds with 5 shot groups moving just shy of 1400fps (factory slugs advertised at "1600fps" chrony ~1450fps for me)
Putting 20ga nitro cards under the slug inside the wad practically cut my groups in half at any range.

My current favourite load is:
Remington high brass hulls
CCI 209M primers
40gr Bluedot
Claybuster clone of WAA12R wad
2x .125" 20ga nitro cards under the slug
6-point star crimp

Using only 1 nitro card groups about 6", no nitro cards in a WAA12 wad was grouping 7-8" (all at 50yds).
These are the Lee key-drive 1oz slugs.
I haven't tried them in my rifled barrel yet but have it on my to-do list. My parents property outside Sudbury allows rifle hunting so it's not a priority for me this season.

As for cost:
$0.04 - primer (1000 @ $37.99)
$0.23 - powder (40gr Bluedot @ $34.99/lbs)
$0.05 - wad (250 @ $11.99)
$0.02 - 2x 20ga nitro cards (1000 @ $8.50)
$0.00 - hulls (collected once fired hulls from friends who shoot buckshot and slugs for fun but don't reload)
$0.00 - lead (using up my free reserves; will have to buy some soon)
------
$0.34 - with free lead

If you have to pay for lead:
$0.14 - lead (1oz @ $50/25lbs)
------
$0.48 - buying lead shot to melt

Of course those prices don't take electricity cost, equipment cost, or your time into account as those vary quite a bit. You also may be able to get lead for $1/lbs instead of the $2/lbs I'm paying if you can find a local supplier. That would bring the slugs down to $0.41 each paying for lead. Cheapest I've found 1oz factory foster slugs is about $0.75 each (the Winchester boxes of 10). If these prove able to stay under 6-7" @ 100yds in my rifled barrel I wont be forking out $3 each for sabot slugs anymore.
Click to expand...

whats the hull im pretty sure Remington makes more then one type of high brass hull
 
LUTNIT said:
Haven't hunted with them (yet) but I have done a lot of loading and testing of these slugs.

Out of a smooth bore I have them shooting about 4" @ 50yds with 5 shot groups moving just shy of 1400fps (factory slugs advertised at "1600fps" chrony ~1450fps for me)
Putting 20ga nitro cards under the slug inside the wad practically cut my groups in half at any range.

My current favourite load is:
Remington high brass hulls
CCI 209M primers
40gr Bluedot
Claybuster clone of WAA12R wad
2x .125" 20ga nitro cards under the slug
6-point star crimp

Using only 1 nitro card groups about 6", no nitro cards in a WAA12 wad was grouping 7-8" (all at 50yds).
These are the Lee key-drive 1oz slugs.
I haven't tried them in my rifled barrel yet but have it on my to-do list. My parents property outside Sudbury allows rifle hunting so it's not a priority for me this season.
Click to expand...

Why did the 20 ga wads make it group better? I would have not thought of trying that, unless I wanted the slug to sit higher for some reason.
 
Had my 870 at the range yesterday. Rifled barrel and 1.5-4.5 Bushnell Scopechief. My load was Lyman home cast sabot slug in Win red wad over 44 grs of Blue Dot in Gold Medal hull. Listed load in latest Lyman shot shell manual is 46.5 grs. Largest 3 shot group at 50 yds was 3". Most were around 2.5. recoil is "stout". Off a bench they are not exactly plinking loads for the recoil sensitive. Going to try some at 75 and 100 before next week's shotgun hunt in Southern Ont.

I want to try the 20 gauge card wad thing but haven't been able to find any yet. I also have the Lee mould but so far can't get it to shoot as well as the Lyman.
 
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"...slugs and bird shot while out hunting..." Suggest you read the hunting regs first. Aside from being extremely unsafe, it's likely illegal too.
 
antiqueguy said:
whats the hull im pretty sure Remington makes more then one type of high brass hull
Click to expand...
I've sliced buckshot, foster slug, and heavy game load (lead shot only) high brass hulls in half and can't find any differences. Same construction and same dimensions.
The sabot slug hulls are different though and I don't use them. They are actually about 2-1/2" in length once fired and don't form a good crimp.
I've never looked at steel shot hulls before so don't know about them.

Ganderite said:
Why did the 20 ga wads make it group better? I would have not thought of trying that, unless I wanted the slug to sit higher for some reason.
Click to expand...
The Lee key drive slugs really bite into the wad and recovered wads are often missing one or two pedals as well as the indent left by the slug base is often deeper on one side than the other. The 20ga cards fit inside a 12ga wad and prevent this so the wad separates cleanly when it leaves the barrel. There is a lot of threads about it on the Cast Boolits forums so I figured it was worth a try. I don't know why two .125" 20ga wads did better than one; I couldn't recover any to check.

I am modifying published load data so some people will say I'm risking a thermonuclear detonation. These are operating with noticeably less recoil than factory sabot slugs with a heavier payload. Also Remington sabot slugs sometimes stick in my chamber as they flow the brass into the ejector notch, these don't. So if those factory sabot slugs are "safe" than these are even safer. Also my smooth bore testing is in a barrel/action with a 3-1/2" chamber which is rated for 14,000psi vs. 2-3/4" and 3" chambers which are only rated for 11,500psi. So at max 2-3/4" pressure they can spike up to 22% higher and still be below what the barrel/chamber/action is rated for.
 
-sunray
you can have birdshot shells in your pocket to throw in the chamber for grouse etc. as long as its not ducks, geese ect. otherwise that is like saying I am not allowed to have small game tips along with broadheads on my bow....it is totally allowed

the main reason i started this was I dont have much practice with slugs and this would allow it at a reasonable price
 
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