Reloading 12 ga sabot slugs

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charles49

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happy days! happy days! my oh my what a wonderful day.!!!!!hi folks, new member here and today was my first time making sabot slugs from wheel weights.
first lets start off and i would like to thanks members of this site for the information they blog, i was able to gather enough info to give the slug making a try.
i was able to purchase a sabot 12 ga 1.1/8 oz mold today
plus i also purchased a lee pot that runs on 110 and i must say works like a charm.
as i already have enough wheel weights to sink a small boat i was off and running.
first step, of course melt the weights and remove the junk, after i almost filled the pot i placed a cube of wax into the pot and the fun begins.
now i am sure some out there know that wax and lead don't like each other and the second that wax hit the pot, i swear a one foot flame shot out like it was the 4th of july, damm near poop,in my pants.
lesson that was learned, put small amounts in,not large pieces.
ok and after[the fireworks,i could see more junk on top and after that was removed, i used my wife's muffin tin, of course i had to pick the one she likes the best , so tomorrow we go shopping.
so in closing i have melted the lead twice so far and the result is beautful, make you cry slugs that i can't wait to throw down range
i would like people to comment good or bad, so i can learn more as my next attempt is to build a small lead tower, about 10 feet tall ,going to give shot making a try, oh by the way, yes i had proper gear on and a lead rated mask.
by for now
charles49
 
Right on man! I'm having good luck with Lyman sabot slugs, Fed. Trap hulls, win. primer, Alliant blue dot powder.
Good to hear someone else getting into it and enjoying it.I'm moving toward buckshot casting next.......
 
charles49- Sounds interesting, glad u had fun. Don't forget to separate the zinc, steel and other mystery weights/crap from the pile before u melt. Any zinc can spoil the batch outright. I would say it is not all that necessary to flux the melt ( using wax sawdust whatever) if u just do some careful skimming of the oxides and junk when melted.

I use a gas torch fired homemade furnace to do the initial smelt of the scrap lead, then just carefully skimming all of the junk before I pour, now done this way about 300lbs or so. Comes out pretty nice looking and soft too. On my furnace I have to put the small pieces aswell, it becomes kinda a PITA to cut small bits all the time for the pot but it does go alot easier in the long run.

As long as u have good ventilation u shouldnt need a mask. if u are doing it as a full time job well that's different, Now im not saying it isn't a bad a idea, IMO its not necessary. Safety glasses, face shield is best, is about the most needed thing next to gloves for PPE.

what kind of mold are you using to make the projectiles and what form of sabots are required to be used? this to be used in a riffled barrel?
 
squirrelnuttz said:
Right on man! I'm having good luck with Lyman sabot slugs, Fed. Trap hulls, win. primer, Alliant blue dot powder.
Good to hear someone else getting into it and enjoying it.I'm moving toward buckshot casting next.......
Click to expand...
thanks for the reply
i have been doing a lot of research, including talking to people at my range who also reload. i have decided this weekend to try a low tech method before i build and i am not kidding a small drop tower.
the idea is, have a piece of metal with sides that has the correct size hole, say number 4 and pour the lead thru it from a height of three feet or more.
i plan on using a scaffold i have which is ten feet and a large reclycing blue box , ours has no holes in the bottom.
my liquid of choice will be a mix of oil and water heated prior to placing in the blue box
from my conversations with the other reloaders the water is cold will make the shot have holes in them.
anyway no harm in trying and i suspect i will have to try a few different ways until i get it right.
for example i can now load my slugs for 19 cents per ,as i have hundreds of federal gold cases from the range, compare that to the cost of 1.00 per slug retail, i am a happy camper.
all the best
charles49
 
mckutzy said:
charles49- Sounds interesting, glad u had fun. Don't forget to separate the zinc, steel and other mystery weights/crap from the pile before u melt. Any zinc can spoil the batch outright. I would say it is not all that necessary to flux the melt ( using wax sawdust whatever) if u just do some careful skimming of the oxides and junk when melted.

I use a gas torch fired homemade furnace to do the initial smelt of the scrap lead, then just carefully skimming all of the junk before I pour, now done this way about 300lbs or so. Comes out pretty nice looking and soft too. On my furnace I have to put the small pieces aswell, it becomes kinda a PITA to cut small bits all the time for the pot but it does go alot easier in the long run.

As long as u have good ventilation u shouldnt need a mask. if u are doing it as a full time job well that's different, Now im not saying it isn't a bad a idea, IMO its not necessary. Safety glasses, face shield is best, is about the most needed thing next to gloves for PPE.

what kind of mold are you using to make the projectiles and what form of sabots are required to be used? this to be used in a riffled barrel?
Click to expand...
hi thanks for the reply
and good advise.
i am trying my best not to put anything other than lead in the pot, however as i am only melting at between 625 and 650 degrees, if something slips in i can remove it before it melts. i did one more pot last night, can't seem to get enough of it lol. by having a inch or two of pure lead ready to go and now that i have made up some muffins, i was able to get a much better melt this time as the lead would melt right alway and anything left was lifted out prior to it melting.
i am still putting my muffins thru twice and thinking of purchasing something to test the hardness, any suggestions?
as for the mold, i am using a lyman, sabot 1.1/8 slug, and its a thing of beauty.
my current 12 ga is a savage smooth bore , (security 18.5) pump.
my next one is going to be a rem side by side a club member owns, and i also look at a percussion side by side as i have a interest in muzzle loading.
after that then its 303 lee model 4
thanks again
all information helps a lot
charles49
 
Some thoughts on the shot tower... The blue bin is made of Polypropylene, it really isn't meant to hold much in the way of weight of a liquid, and with a warm or hot liquid it will weaken the structure of the bin and there may be a possible failure, ie. oil all over the place. The city will freak. Not only because of the oil spill, but the lead shot on the ground and the blue bin witch is loaned to you by the municipality( of course u can get one at walmart), maybe use a laundry sink basin for a container or a cut down plastic barrel.

There is also a device called the Littleton shot maker, it is a bit pricy to buy but the Idea could be worked upon easily to make and people have. There has been a few people on the Castboolits and other forum sites that have done work with this and homemade versions, along with experiments in coolants and such. With this machine u can set it up in the same place you do your smelting and other casting. I have no experience with this device so I cannot comment really, but it seams a bit of work but I can see the potential as I havent seen any shot for sale lately other than the steel stuff.
 
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