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Yep, you CAN load your own 1-oz slugs in just a few hours!!!

PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 12:33 am
by nitesite
Guys, if you have been on the fence about getting into shotgun reloading BUT buying slug ammo for your 12-ga is really eating into your budget I'm here to say that for an initial outlay of about $195 you can get equipped with the hardware to be making your own. And it will shoot just as well, or better, than the general use slug ammo we purchase for practice/range use!

For the cost of forty 5-rd boxes of store bought slugs (presuming that you can scrounge up some scrap lead) it's very possible that you can sever your need to go to a store to get the ammo you need.

All you need to get started is a $12 hot plate and an old stainless steel (or cast iron) deep sauce pan.

And a $35 Lee slug mould.

Add a Lee Load-All press for under $100 (used) plus a $15 Lee or Lyman or RCBS pouring ladle.

Should run you under $200.

Okay, I didn't include the consummables such as buying a big 500-ct bag of wads for about ten bucks. Or Smokeless Powder that might run $25, and of course primers that will go $50 for a thousand.

But heck, it's like golf. Like the "hardware" to reload ammo, it takes a bit of money to initially get clubs and shoes. The balls and greens fees are totally up to you depending on your interest and drive to play! Or fishing equipment: having rods and reels is good but to keep fishing you need hooks and line and bait, right?

A very good friend of mine has been loading his own 1-0z slugs for a while and I was able to borrow his slug mould recently. I found it very easy to make good slugs with just a pouring ladle and a pot of molten lead. These took me less than an hour to make while enjoying the morning on my front porch.... Fifty-five 1-oz slugs. Eleven boxes of slug ammo. An hour to pour the slugs, and an hour to load the shells.

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Of course, if you've already acquired the hardware and powder and wads and primers, then instead of pouring your 1-oz slugs you can just buy a bag of chilled shot and make shot loads instead of slug rounds! Granted, the 100-rd Value packs at the store are going to be just as cheap as your reloaded pellet rounds would be, but you would have some independence from the shortages on the store shelves that befall us every now and then!

And if you move away from the cheap Value Pack #8 or #7.5 dove loads and instead buy a 25# bag of #6 or #5 shot to stuff in your picked up hulls for rabbit or pheasant then you won't have to buy those $12/25 high-brass boxes at Wal-mart or BassPro or Cabelas or your LGS. And you're saving money all over again!

Re: Yep, you CAN load your own 1-oz slugs in just a few hour

PostPosted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 9:10 pm
by DoubleTap
Thanks for he info. I have recently started reloading .223 which is a huge learning curve but hopefully i can get that down pat and move on to Shotguns.

Re: Yep, you CAN load your own 1-oz slugs in just a few hour

PostPosted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 10:44 pm
by nitesite
Rifle is especially difficult to first learn because there are steps in the process that complicate things a bit, such as case lubing, case trimming, etc. Of all the reloading I do, bottleneck rifle is what I enjoy the least!

Compared to that, shotgun is a breeze!

To prove my point, when my boys were aroung 15 and 11 years old we started shooting casual trap at our place. They were shooting a 20-ga and they loved picking up all the yellow hulls off the ground and running into the garage to load them all back up again and return to shooting in just a few minutes. I didn't even watch over them after the first few times. I'd throw clays for one son and by the time he finished 25 his brother would have his 25 new reloads done and they were ready to swap!

If an 11-year old can do it.......... :)

Re: Yep, you CAN load your own 1-oz slugs in just a few hour

PostPosted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 11:37 am
by DHonovich
Thanks for sharing! I look forward to jumping into shotgun reloading soon.

Re: Yep, you CAN load your own 1-oz slugs in just a few hour

PostPosted: Sun Sep 28, 2014 10:56 am
by DaveV
hey there. im new to reloading shot gun,have reloaded rifle and pistol in the past,traded all for a family,now kids are older,its time to get back into it.

i have a few questions

1-can you hunt with the slugs from a lee or lyman mold?

2-would a rifled choke tube help enough to be worth the cost? 3-can you shot reloaded slug through a rifle barrel with any kind of accuracy?

Re: Yep, you CAN load your own 1-oz slugs in just a few hour

PostPosted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 11:08 pm
by nitesite
1- Of course you can if your shotgun shoots them accurately at the ranges you expect.

2- Probably not.

3- I don't know as I have never tried. I believe the rifled barrels would obviously shoot sabot rounds best since they were designed to work together.

Re: Yep, you CAN load your own 1-oz slugs in just a few hour

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 7:37 pm
by DaveV
thanks for the reply

Re: Yep, you CAN load your own 1-oz slugs in just a few hour

PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2018 2:02 pm
by maro
Hello, newbie here. I have remington 870 shotgun with rifled barrel, and I want to cast my own bullets for reloading. I need to know what is the best recommended projectile diameter for 12 ga rifled barrel.
Thanks in advance for your inputs

Re: Yep, you CAN load your own 1-oz slugs in just a few hour

PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2018 4:17 pm
by nitesite
When you say you "want to cast bullets" you are you looking to make sabot rounds, correct?

What sabots have you looked at so far?

Re: Yep, you CAN load your own 1-oz slugs in just a few hour

PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2018 4:41 pm
by John A.
Welcome to the forum maro.

I'll be entirely honest though, I am unsure what all is available in your area.

If you could find something similar to this, would probably work OK.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/10102 ... -525-grain

video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcnnXF17-tI

Re: Yep, you CAN load your own 1-oz slugs in just a few hour

PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2018 9:48 pm
by nitesite
maro~

Unsure what is available in Slovakia but since a 12-ga is approx .72 caliber your sabot bullets would need to be around .50-caliber depending on your sabot sleeve. There are a TON of really effective .50-cal cast bullets for hunting, and molds to make them yourself.

Re: Yep, you CAN load your own 1-oz slugs in just a few hour

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 5:22 am
by maro
Thanks for inputs. Almost everything for reloading is available here (as in one of the last EU countries).
I want to avoid sabot with basket, prefer to use full diameter lead bullet like on attached picture - paradox type (according to seller). I can buy the cavity on e-bay. I do not know, if .724 inch diameter (bigger in belts, not grooves) will be enough diameter for my rifled 870 to proper cut into barrel grooves.

Also for shells, I thought to open trap/skeet shells and change the pellets for this paradox bullet. Good idea or not?

Re: Yep, you CAN load your own 1-oz slugs in just a few hour

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 4:03 pm
by nitesite
That cast lead .724" bullet will ROCK YOUR WORLD. I see it's 617-grains. Or maybe 1-1/4 ounce.

I assume that you have thought of the recoil, and limited velocity.

VERY BAD IDEA to pour out the shot and stick in that heavy chunk of hard lead. I'm not even sure if that is possible unless you remove the shotgun wad petals but keep the wad base.

Pressures would be astronomical if the powder was measured for a 1-ounce load.

It's also intended to be shot thru choke tubes according to the ebay website. Can it be shot thru fully rifled barrels? I don't know. But you might want to investigate that.

Re: Yep, you CAN load your own 1-oz slugs in just a few hour

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 4:16 pm
by maro
This is the seller ´ s description:

A modern shotgun slug is a heavy projectile made of lead.The slug/bullet has three main belts.
The slug/bullet is 18,4mm (.724”) belts diameter and weighs 40 grams (.617gr") or 36 grams (.555gr")
The belts decrease contact surface with the bore, reducing friction and increasing velocity.
The belts also deform through the choke more readily than a solid slug would,
thus reducing pressure and wear on the choke to safe levels.Designed for hunting big game.
The special stabilizer may be fitted into a cavity in the bottom of the slug.
With stabilizer Paradox bullet/slug are showing very good accuracy.
Can be loaded in standard shotgun trap

Do you mean this is a bad idea to shot these pieces ?
They mention also the choked barrel can handle this...

Re: Yep, you CAN load your own 1-oz slugs in just a few hour

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 4:27 pm
by nitesite
Hello.

You may be on the correct track. Except for swapping pellets for slug in already loaded ammo.

It's a REALLY heavy chunk of metal and you don't know the powder charge in your loaded trap ammo.

I edited my last post so please read it again. Thanks!

Re: Yep, you CAN load your own 1-oz slugs in just a few hour

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 4:36 pm
by maro
OK, so you mean the bullet diameter should be OK, but you recommend to use less amount of powder, and maybe the lower burning speed powder? Thanks, I really don ´t want to ruin my rifle...
I thought those trap loads are usually less in power - therefore should be safe for that bullet. 40 grams is more on the heavy side?

Re: Yep, you CAN load your own 1-oz slugs in just a few hour

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 8:49 pm
by John A.
I think nitesites reservations are because the slug is heavier.

From my experience loading shells, the powder is weighed for the amount of shot, the type of wad or gas seal that you are using.

And while I have used already loaded birdshot to shoot slugs, the catch about me doing that is the birdshot was loaded for 1-1/8 oz payload, while I was shooting a 1 oz slug, which actually decreases the pressure that the shell was loaded for. And as added bonus, gave me a slight increase in velocity.

But adding a heavier slug, will increase pressure.

I am not sure what type of ratings that you have there in Slovakia, but here, we go by pounds per square inch.

And the absolute maximum pressure that I have seen a shell loaded for is less than 12,000 psi.

I think nitesite just is concerned because there are too many variables.

Take away too much powder out of the shell and you're going to get the slug stuck down in the barrel.

Don't take enough powder out of the shell and you could still blow the gun up.

If you have any way to acquire powder and data books, takes all the guesswork out of it.

Re: Yep, you CAN load your own 1-oz slugs in just a few hour

PostPosted: Sun Jan 06, 2019 5:56 pm
by impala59
Hi
I am using the Lee cast 7/8 oz. slug over CCi 209 primer, 19.7gn Red Dot, fibre gas check, fibre wad (we have restrictions at our range with plastic wads) and roll or star crimped (dependant on case) for an overall (pre-shot) length of 2 5/16th inch. These cycle well in my Valtro PM5, my Ithaca 37 and my Remington 1187

This is a nice, flat shooting, low recoil, low pressure round and cheap too!

A friend of mine takes a simpler approach, he cuts the star crimp off a 1oz birdshot round and pushes the same 7/8oz slug in after tipping out the shot, a touch of candle wax holds it in place! Not really a practice I approve of as, has been stated in the previous posts, the powder/primer is an unknown quantity, although the 7/8oz slug is considerably lighter that that detailed above.

Re: Yep, you CAN load your own 1-oz slugs in just a few hour

PostPosted: Sun Jan 06, 2019 6:43 pm
by John A.
I've done essentially the same with 1 oz slugs, though I did buy a roll crimp tool that goes on a drill.

It's essentially a sabot slug too, though not through a rifled barrel.

Re: Yep, you CAN load your own 1-oz slugs in just a few hour

PostPosted: Thu Jan 10, 2019 5:32 pm
by Scorpion8
John A. wrote:If you have any way to acquire powder and data books, takes all the guesswork out of it.


Ballistics Products has a slug loading guide for pennies, available as a download. https://www.ballisticproducts.com/Downl ... fo/XMSLUG/. I do not have it, but I have their buckshot manual and it's pretty good. Although BPI does tend to tout their own horn a lot. Oh, and there are truckloads of videos on YouTube about slugs, Lee LoadAlls, and everything in between.