What powder for 12 ga slug reloads?

M1Garandfather

M1Garandfather

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Hi..... Well I have been casting up some Lee 12 ga 1 oz slugs , and some 68 cal round balls.... I got out to try some today , and the results were ok , but not real good...
What I was trying was 30 grs of HS-6 with a Lee 1 oz slug in a Win WAA114 yellow wad with card wads under the slug to build it up to a proper height for crimping with one card wad over the slug...
Anyways , my biggest complaint was with the Hodgdon HS-6 powder , it was burning very dirty , leaving a black greasy fouling in the bore...

At 40 yds shooting from kneeling position I "think" it might be good enough to hunt deer with with the group (pattern!) I was getting... Like I said , not great... So what would be another good choice of powder?... I've read Herco and SR 4756 is good , some use Unique even , and some like Blue Dot..

Opinions & your own results would be appreciated... Thanks

Bob
 
When the rain stops I will do some more slug load research. But this is Vancouver...

How do you find the recoil for 30gr of HS6?
I went as high as 36gr and could barely feel it. As opposed to the punishing factory Winchester Super X 1 oz slugs.
 
I use the lyman slug. In a win AA, 44gr of blue dot, win red wad, win 209 primer. groups well for a slug about 2" at 100yds. But make sure if you use a scope to have lots of eye relief!!! Cronys at around 1485-1500.
 
Thanks for the replies fella's..... The 30 gr load of HS-6 was a mild one , hardly any recoil to speak of.. I tried a few reloads at 32 grs also , pretty much the same...I was shooting them in a Cyl smoothbore barrel by the way... The factory Winchester 1 oz slugs are loaded to 1600 fps , so there's the heavy recoil - mine are down around 1200 fps I bet...
I'm going to experiment with a different filler wad under the slug , right now I'm using multiple thin cardboard type wads I make myself... Perhaps that would make the accuracy better.

Ruger007 -I've read on several other websites that Blue Dot is used alot , your 44 gr load would be a real attention getter for sure!.. Most guys are loading there's down around 38 grs for mangeable recoil..

Thanks for the help , and yes - keep me posted of your own loading efforts Legi0n...

All the best

Bob
 
M1 I went and checked my notes from a few years ago when I cast and shot a fair number of the drive key slug (1 oz). The only difference between my loads and yours was that I used 36 grains of HS 6. The velocity out of my 20 inch Model 870 was closer to 1450 than 1500 on average though some did get up there. Best of 5 three shot groups at 25 meters was 2 1/2 inches and worst was just under 5 inches. This was good enough for anticipated use at the time. So, stuck with that load. I don't think HS6 is particularly clean, but I wonder if the 30 grain load is a bit low for good ignition? I noticed that the minimum load for AA hulls, W209 primer, F114 wad and 1 1/4 oz of shot is 30 grains.
 
BCFred - Thanks for the tip on the powder charge , I should have thought of that myself - I think your on to something ;)
Yes , low powder charges don;t burn as clean , so I am going to bump them up and try again.

Thanks all for the help

ALl the best

Bob
 
I know that Ed Hubel(of 3 3/4" From Hell fame) seems to speak highly of Alliant steel for slug reloading if you are looking for the best possible performance.

If you are looking for something that is more middle of the road(performance wise) Herco might be something to look at.
 
I am using herco...its got quite the muzzle flash in the dark coming out of my 22" rifled barrel. Max loads have some decent performance I crono'd mine they also have simmilar kick to factory slugs.
 
I've been using 22 grains of Unique inside a Winchester AA hull, pink Claybuster wad and 7/8oz Lee keydrive cast from wheelweights.
Nice plinking load, best accuracy with the Rem Skeet II choke.
 
just returned from the range. here's some data

1 oz Lee slug over 36grains of HS6 from a 18.5" cylinder choke barrel.

The Wads

wads01.jpg


wad: CB 3118-12AR (the red one)
the cup is too long and needs to be trimmed. It seem to seal better both in the Win AA HS hulls and Federal ones.

I also have some WAA12SL (the pink one) with a shorter cup but the slug does not go all the way down. For that reason I didn't try them. The gas seals on these seem to expand better.

The Hulls

hulls01.jpg


by shortening the wads I had to trim down the hulls as well for a good crimp. The longer hull is a untrimmed one.

results:
Federal hulls 1170fps
Win AA HS hulls 1270fps

for comparison, the factory Winchester Super X 1oz slugs yielded 1490fps.

All speeds are averages.

There seems to be gas escaping the seals and pushing directly on the shotcup causing plastic to flow into the slug.

wads03.jpg


things to try next
- get some 17mm nitro cards (guess that's 15 gauge or so) to raise the slug so that I don't have to trim the wads and hulls. That's not as easy as it seems since I can't find any.
- try the WAA wads
- increase the powder charge
- switch to Unique
 
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I am using the pink ones you have pictured above with herco powder with good results 25 yards all shots are touching, my velocitites are much higher then yours.
 
Lee lists:
36gr of Herco /Win 209 primer/WAA12 wad 1587fps
36gr of HS6 /Win 209/WAA12F wad 1500fps.

Something must be wrong with my setup.
I'll give the pink wad a closer look.

Are your slugs touching the bottom of the shotcup?
 
legi0n said:
Lee lists:
36gr of Herco /Win 209 primer/WAA12 wad 1587fps
36gr of HS6 /Win 209/WAA12F wad 1500fps.

Something must be wrong with my setup.
I'll give the pink wad a closer look.

Are your slugs touching the bottom of the shotcup?
Click to expand...


I dont know to be honest I never looked at them this carefully... I press the wads in the shell... press the slug in the wad... crimp.

I have fired just over 400 of these used them deer hunting this year but all the deer I shot at with them where out of the range of the slugs more then 150+ yards I was hopeing to bag one this year with my own slugs.

My recovered wads look like yours you can see the impression of the lee key drive in the wad.

I am using the 7/8 oz mold with alloyed lead they are weighing right in at 444 grains which is pretty much bang on 1 oz so i am using 1 oz load data
 
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