Unofficial 12ga Slug Penetration Comparison

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0faustus0

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The Unofficial Canadian 12ga Slug Penetration Comparison

I was always curious as to how far those 12ga slugs can penetrate and I wanted to compare my hand load to slugs that are available in Canada.

Here are the slugs that I wanted to test, because with some I got very good accuracy … and others had a good reputation for penetration. However, i did not get around to test all of them.

slugs_12ga.jpg


From left to right:

1. Rio Brenneke
2. Challenger (Gualandi) Slug
3. Winchester 3” Rack Master
4. Federal TruBall
5. Sellier & Bellot Sport Slug (Low Recoil)
6. Federal Power Shok Sabot Slug (did not shoot/test that one)
7. My Buck & Ball load (690 Round Ball, 21 pellets of #4 buck, 29 grains of Blue Dot)
8. Aguila Mini Slug

I started out last week end with a setup of 4 pine boards each 1.5 inches thick. To my surprise most of the slugs went right through those 4 pine boards … with the exception of two:

1.) The Aguila Mini Slug penetrated only 2 boards,
2.) And the Sellier & Bellot Sport Slug penetrated only 3 boards.

So, then I had to give it another try this week end … and this time with 8 pine boards … i.e. 12 inches of pine wood.

Here the set up:
(I fired from around 8 meters/yards from the target.)

Penetration_Test_Setup.jpg


And here the results:

Slug_Penetratipn_Test_8_Boards.jpg


(Here the link to a larger image.)

1.) Rio Brenneke penetrated 5 boards (I shot two rounds just to be sure … I had expected more from the Brenneke.)
2.) Challenger slug penetrated 7 boards (actually it was stuck in the 7th board and one could see the nose from the back)
3.) Federal TruBall slug penetrated 6 boards … now I was surprised by that one because it is a Foster slug.
4.) For my Buck & Ball load … the 690 round ball penetrated 3 boards this time … got stuck in board 3 in the back.
5.) Unfortunately I wasn’t able to test the Winchester Rack Master again, but it penetrated 4 boards without any problem in the first test.

And here a picture of the recovered projectiles:

Recovered_Slugs.jpg


From left to right:

1.) Brenneke Slug
2.) Brenneke Slug
3.) Challenger (Gualandi) Slug
4.) Federal TruBall
5.) Sellier & Bellot Sport Slug
6.) 690 Round Ball

For today the Challenger slug is the clear winner when it comes to penetration. It is a pity that it is not more accurate … I only got a 10 inch group at 50 yards/meters with the Challenger slugs. However, I get 2 inch groups with the Federal TruBall at 50 meters/yards ….

And here the velocities ...

1. Rio Brenneke: 1 1/8oz; 1410 FPS
2. Challenger (Gualandi) Slug: 1 1/8oz; 1610 FPS
3. Winchester 3” Rack Master: 1 1/8oz; 1700 FPS
4. Federal TruBall: 1oz; 1600 FPS
5. Sellier & Bellot Sport Slug: 1oz; 1345 FPS
6. Federal Power Shok Sabot Slug: 1oz; 1500 FPS
7. My Buck & Ball load: Weight 2.1oz; Velocity unknown
8. Aguila Mini Slug: 7/8oz; 1250 FPS

Voila ... so much for today ....

Thoughts anybody?

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p.s.: Update May 11th, 2020: I tested 5 more slugs. The results are further down in this thread .... here the link:

Penetration Test the 3rd (a couple more slugs)
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...ation-comparison.1635960/page-4#post-17038580

1.) RWS Rottweil Brenneke: 1427 FPS
2.) Lightfield Commander IDS Plus: 1700 FPS
3.) Winchester Rackmaster: 1700 FPS
4.) Federal Deep Penetrator: 1350 FPS
5.) Winchester BRI Sabot: 1350 FPS

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p.s.s: More tests ....

Birdshot penetration test:
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...ation-comparison.1635960/page-3#post-15046117

Penetration Test 2: Buckshot
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/threads/penetration-test-ii-buckshot.1724640/

Penetration Test the 3rd (a couple more slugs)
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...ation-comparison.1635960/page-4#post-17038580

Penetration Test the 4th (2 more low recoil slugs)
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...ation-comparison.1635960/page-5#post-18450733
 
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Nicely done! I have not shot anything with a Challenger, but I did cut one apart and was impressed by it's construction. Not surprised it penetrated so well. What was the shotgun used?
 
Excellent thread. Love seeing these comparisons.

If you end up going out again to do the ones you couldn’t, it’d be neat if you could add these to the list: https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1633101-Kent-Cartridge-Slugs-Opinions

I can’t find much info on line about them, and it would be neat to see how they stack up against the others.

Also, Winchester super X would be neat to see compared too, as it seems to be the one carried by Walmart and crappy tire around here.

Also Remington lol.
 
It’s interesting, Faust, that you haven’t found much accuracy with the Challengers. I haven’t used them a bunch, but found them to be among the most accurate, and hear good things from others as well.
 
Nice comparo, but I am surprised you did not include Score slugs.
Also Canadian made, not very expensive, and quite accurate. I have used hundreds of them at the range. They were grouping 5-7" at 100m with a Browning BPS Predator (rear peep), before I sold it. Now I can only get 7-10" groups at 50m using a Maverick o/u.
No idea about their penetration. Worth a try.
 
Another question, you say “pine boards” but they look like 2x8 spruce. Just wanted to verify in case I get the chance to compare some other slugs. Also, what’s the spacing you’re using there? About 3/4”?
 
Mikey66 said:
Nice comparo, but I am surprised you did not include Score slugs.
Also Canadian made, not very expensive, and quite accurate. I have used hundreds of them at the range. They were grouping 5-7" at 100m with a Browning BPS Predator (rear peep), before I sold it. Now I can only get 7-10" groups at 50m using a Maverick o/u.
No idea about their penetration. Worth a try.
Click to expand...

Score slugs are foster style slugs. Of the line up pictured, they are closest to the S&B slug.
 
kodiakjack said:
It’s interesting, Faust, that you haven’t found much accuracy with the Challengers. I haven’t used them a bunch, but found them to be among the most accurate, and hear good things from others as well.
Click to expand...

Kodiakjack, I did test the accuracy of all the slugs in the picture that I posted.
The Challengers were the worst for me. They gave me random flyers. But maybe I will give them another try …. maybe I just had a bad batch.

But I have heard from others that the attached wad sometimes gets damaged in the barrel when fired, and that is supposed to cause the flyers … because the wad stays with the slug. But I think I will try them once more just to be sure of my results ….

Rio_Brenneke_50m.JPG


Challenger_Slugs_50m.JPG


Federal_TruBall_Slug.jpg


Win_Rackmaster_Slug.jpg




Two more that I tested ....

Estate_Rifled_Slugs_50m.JPG


Remington_Slugger_50m.JPG
 
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