shotgun slugs

[buckhunter]

I've been using plain Remmy Fosters for years. As long as the shot is under 75 yds and you hit the animal its going down.

This year I finally got around to buying a rifled cantilier slug barrel. I had only enough time to set it up with forster's which did group about 2" at 50 yds. Good enough for around here. Did hit at small doe and she went down in a hurry.

I have been buying just about every saboted slug I can find. Have about 6 or 7 different ones now. Plan on doing some testing after the season is over. I suspect I will settle on either Rem Solid Copper or Federal Barnes however nothing is settle yet.

[8X56MS]

I have never killed a deer with a slug. Some hogs, yes, but not a deer. Still, when hunting birds or squrrels during deer season, I always drop a few Brenneke 12 GA slugs in my vest. My Remington Wingmaster will keep slugs on a paper plate at 75 yards.

[Handgun'r]

Hey gang,

Thought I'd chime in after reading through all the posts.

Being an avid loader and bullet caster for many years, I decided several years ago to try and apply myself to building a "better mouse trap" when it came to shotgun slugs.
I was disappointed with their accuracy after I moved to New York's southern tier and was forced (by law) to use a shotgun/slug for deer rather than the rifle I was always used to.
Not thinking I was better than the factories as far as technology or nothing, but I thought that the slugs could be improved upon, by the same method as other factory ammunition, handloading.

I initially bought the Lyman foster style mould for a 12ga. and as much as I tried, in several different guns, I couldn't get that slug to shoot worth a damn.
Finally, after measuring the slug, and contacting Lyman, it was found that they made the moulds so that the slug would cast small on purpose just in case someone tried to shoot it through a full choke (.690/product liability). Bases on other slugs like Remington, Federal and WW, all measured at .725-.730, tapering to the nose.

The only remedy to it all was to either machine the mould larger, or swage the cast slugs larger (which I did). They shot as good, or better than the factory loads after that. The so called factory "rifled slugs" with the angled fins were their answer to getting good accuracy through "cylinder bore" barrels, and the fins would crush down to fit through the barrel with a full choke.
The Lyman slug is smooth, so when swaged, it had to fit the barrel almost precisely.
With those problems understood, I decided to "shelve" the whole thing and leave it. Too much of a pain.

I didn't use slugs anymore anyway (handgun hunter), so it was no big deal.

As usual, not being able to leave things alone, I decided to buy Lyman's Sabot slug a couple of years ago to play with. It's 525grs. and ballistically, it looks and flies like a badmitton birdie. The slug is the same basic design as Lightfield uses, but they use a friction fit wad at the base that stays with the slug all the way to it's target, as well as a slight recess at the nose (claimed HP).

The Lyman sabot was designed to be shot through a smoothbore (cylinder bore) barrel. After reloading this sabot slug in several different hulls, and with many different wads, I finally hit paydirt with one of Lyman's book loads.
I had a ton of Federal and WW hull's from my dept. range, so I opted for a load using the Federal Gold Medal hulls.
Using the book load of 32.0grs. of Herco, a WW F114 (yellow wad), and a WW 209 primer, I seated the wads with 20#'s of pressure on my MEC loader, and then pushed the slugs down into the wad. The load required a "folded crimp", which is easier for most shotgun loaders anyway, and after loading up a good batch of them, I headed out back to my range.

Using my father in law's 11-87 with the rifled cantilever barrel, we decided to shoot a variety of foster slugs, as well as Lightfield's 2 3/4" slugs, and the one's I loaded.
The fosters (Federal and Remington) all shot to a given point of aim at 50yds. The Lightfield's were next and shot a nice 1 1/2" to 2" group only 8" higher than the foster slugs.
Slightly skeptical of my loads besting the Lightfield's, we went ahead anyway.
The first three rounds of handloaded slugs hit the exact same point of aim as the Lightfields did, only after the first load, the second went through the same hole, only elongating it slightly. We thought it missed until we got closer. The third, same thing, only elongating the other side of the original hole.
All three together made the normal nickel sized meplat of the slug look like it was the size of a quarter or so.

We stood there with our mouths open.......

My loads are book advertised at 1400fps. or so, and at first chance, I'll be chronographing them. Their slug weight and velocity is the same as the Lightfields (one reason why they probably hit the same point of aim).
I know the Lightfield's, with the permanent wad attached, although claimed to stabilize the slug, makes the slugs loose velocity quite a bit faster by drag.
By the slugs design alone, and that the Lightfield slug is the same basic configuration as the Lyman, the wad really doesn't appear to be needed. The Lyman slugs shoot proportionally the same at 100yds., meaning they follow their line of flight.....1" at 50yds. = 2" at 100yds. and so on.

I was able to pound 3 slugs into an 1 1/2"-2" at 100yds with that same gun. And another thing....with those slugs and their big flat nose, you can really hear them when they hit the backer.....they strike with a real loud WHACK!.

After better than 15yrs., I finally found my Holy Grail

If you load shotgun shells, but don't cast, the Lyman slug can be purchased at Gardner's Cache (link).

Sorry so long winded...thought you'd be interested.

Thanks,
Bob

[Montana Cowboy]

Howdy Folks
The Remington copper solids have performed very good for my brothers and I over the last seven years. Between my brothers and I we have shot 25 deer the last seven years all with the copper solids. All three of us use a Remington 870 slug gun. The only thing I don't like about them is the cost,but hey, they work well, and when ya come right down to it they are a small part of the cost of a good hunt. MC

[skeeter@ccia.com]

I have found the Buckhammer to work wonders in my 835. Best yet all factory.