Reloading slugs with lee slug mould

M

msg.drew

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
294   0   0
Location
Ontario
So I bought a slug mould... read the instruction casted up 100 of these to try it out I have a reloading machine to reload them... however I bought the slug mould thats supposed to be 7/8oz I know it says use pure lead but I used my alloy mix that I cast with... its worked find in pistols and black power...

The problem is my 7/8 ounce slugs are actually 1 ounce... which means I either got a 1 ounce mould in the box or the alloy thru off the weight... lee makes both 7/8 and 1 ounce moulds...

I am guessing because they weigh 1 ounce I should follow that data.

Another aspect is the recommend hulls they don't give much selection they show Winchester AA, which are pretty standard I have a bunch of federal trap and field they physically look the same but I am wondering if I can use them in substitute.
 
msg.drew said:
So I bought a slug mould... read the instruction casted up 100 of these to try it out I have a reloading machine to reload them... however I bought the slug mould thats supposed to be 7/8oz I know it says use pure lead but I used my alloy mix that I cast with... its worked find in pistols and black power...

The problem is my 7/8 ounce slugs are actually 1 ounce... which means I either got a 1 ounce mould in the box or the alloy thru off the weight... lee makes both 7/8 and 1 ounce moulds...

I am guessing because they weigh 1 ounce I should follow that data.

Another aspect is the recommend hulls they don't give much selection they show Winchester AA, which are pretty standard I have a bunch of federal trap and field they physically look the same but I am wondering if I can use them in substitute.
Click to expand...





it thought you could only relaod slugs in SLUG hulls?:confused:....
 
I use the federal purple hulls. The only thing that I read that the slugs need is the Win AA Wads to make them fly right. After that I just crimp as normal.

Put them in a marked box and shoot away. I find that they are pretty accurate.
 
It also needs to be wad with a short enough shot column section that the slug isn't too low in it, otherwise the crimp collapses inward.
 
slugs..

Have been reloading 12. ga. slugs for about 4 months now along with shooting .662 round ball and .715 ball loads

My Lee one ounce mold drops water cooled wheel weight alloy at about 470 grains avg. The .662 ball at 428 gr. and meant to be shot with a shot cup and the .715 ball at 525 grains avg. uses a shotcup/wad unit with the "petals" trimmed back to just below the balls equator to "cradle" the ball and keep it centered.
I don't have a shotgun shell reloading press and use simple hand tools to load and reload same.

I originally purchased 2 x 100 packs of Federal "Field & Range" at Cdn Tire at $58 out the door or about 23 cents each. These are 2 3/4 inch hulls with 1 1/8th ounce loads of #7.5 shot (492 grains) and have a claimed MV of 1200 fps.

I trimmed the ends off the Federal loads with a box cutter and dump out the shot for future use in my All Brass cases and then insert a slug..or appropriate sized ball in its place while using all the other Federal components.

The slug and the .662 ball are a loose /wobbly fit in the shotcup so borrowing an idea from the muzzle loader people...I cut a patch of cotton material (old T shirt) and place it over the cup and push the slug/ball into the cup now and the undesized slug is now "patched up" and is a centered and tight fit in the hull.

Have shot them as is and also with a ring of silicon sealant around the slug/ball to stand up to field use. Siliconed or not.. accuracy was the same and very good.

The second and subsequent reloadings of these hulls was with 17.0 grains of Reddot powder and I use a one piece Pink Winchester shotcup unit and also the Win. Orange one piece unit.
Have also replicated these loads with 35.0 grains Bluedot for similar velocities and have tested to 40.0 grains with slug and the .662 ball also.

Velocities with the slug and .662 ball is 1115 fps avg. and with the .715 ball 1000 fps avg. using the Federal 17.5 grains factory powder load and components.
Have also since used the same cheap factory Red Winchester loads from Cdn Tire and they work just as well as the Federals.

I use my 870 Rem. cylinder bore 18.5 inch brl. with a scope mounted and accuracy is about 1.25 inch/3 shots with the slug and the .662 ball and about 1.75 inch with the .715 ball at 30 yards.....have not tested further distances yet.

Purchased a "Roll Crimp Tool" for use with hand drill or drill press 10 days ago and re- did up the accurate slug/ball loads and roll crimped them. Range testing over the past few days was done and still provided the same accuracy...and they will hold up to "Field use" as good as Factory slug loads.

Figure it costs me about $1.10 ish to load 3 rounds...and subsequent reloads even less. Cost of slug mold was $26.00...wheel weights and my time to cast them is ...free!
 
msg.drew said:
So I bought a slug mould... read the instruction casted up 100 of these to try it out I have a reloading machine to reload them... however I bought the slug mould thats supposed to be 7/8oz I know it says use pure lead but I used my alloy mix that I cast with... its worked find in pistols and black power...

The problem is my 7/8 ounce slugs are actually 1 ounce... which means I either got a 1 ounce mould in the box or the alloy thru off the weight... lee makes both 7/8 and 1 ounce moulds...

I am guessing because they weigh 1 ounce I should follow that data.

Another aspect is the recommend hulls they don't give much selection they show Winchester AA, which are pretty standard I have a bunch of federal trap and field they physically look the same but I am wondering if I can use them in substitute.
Click to expand...


No.

They are Federal Plastic with paper basewad.
 
I have uesd AA hulls and white wads with ! ounce lee slugs I have also used Reminton STS hulls...Do you have the Lee data for slugs that comes with the mold?

I have found the weight of cast Lee slugs to be very inconsistant.

But they shoot well from my Grizzly 870!
 
Substitution of components will lead to different pressure, if you are lucky pressure may go down if you aren't you could Kaboom your gun.... Stick to the provided data. with no deviations.
 
Well my slugs from the 7/8 ounce mold are 444 Grains which is one ounce 1.01... but the fellow above that is casting the 1 ounce mold is saying his are 470 1.07 ounces

The weight of my slugs are almost identical...

I ordered some brand new Winchester AA hulls and proper components from the lee paperwork that came with the mould....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom