Thread: Slugging

Hi guys, Im having trouble finding .31 soft lead ball for my .303 that I need to slug.
anyone know who sells these?

If you have a 308 cast bullet bash it a few times to flatten it a bit grease it up and drive it through the bore with a series of brass rods and a mallet. Start with a short starter rod and then you are away. Oil the bore first to help it slide.
Pure lead is softest ifyou dont have a cast bullet to play with try a fishing tackle supplier round sinkers come in a variety of sizes and it wont matter if its a bit over at all.

Or just use a .38 one or whatever, I have a few soft lead ones that are fairly big that'll drive down a 6.5 without a bother . . . I'm going to town later, PM me your address and I'll send a couple

00 buckshot............

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

00 buckshot............

I thought of that, but is it hardened?
@Micky Duck

depends on who made it...wont matter a hoot for your intended purpose..... we slugged my .45/70 barrel before chambering it....gunsmith told me "its too tight" not sure which hole he had his finger stuck in but it wasnt my barrel.... the cast projectile slid through pretty easily with a wooden dowel tapped LIGHTLY with a small tack hammer. we could clearly see rifling marks and got measurements off slug that told us she was all good.
why dont you just use a projectile?????

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

depends on who made it...wont matter a hoot for your intended purpose..... we slugged my .45/70 barrel before chambering it....gunsmith told me "its too tight" not sure which hole he had his finger stuck in but it wasnt my barrel.... the cast projectile slid through pretty easily with a wooden dowel tapped LIGHTLY with a small tack hammer. we could clearly see rifling marks and got measurements off slug that told us she was all good.
why dont you just use a projectile?????

Tentman is sending me a couple of .38 pills now so Ill use them, will give the buckshot a go next time.
I dont have any lead projectiles yet, got a few .312 moulds and some lead etc but not had the time to cast any.
Cheers

I thought 303 uses. 311 Bullets like a 7.62 x 39

Surely you'd have one or two of those lying around?

Its difficult to hammer a jacketed round out of a barrel I know Ive had to!

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

depends on who made it...wont matter a hoot for your intended purpose..... we slugged my .45/70 barrel before chambering it....gunsmith told me "its too tight" not sure which hole he had his finger stuck in but it wasnt my barrel.... the cast projectile slid through pretty easily with a wooden dowel tapped LIGHTLY with a small tack hammer. we could clearly see rifling marks and got measurements off slug that told us she was all good.
why dont you just use a projectile?????

If it slides through too easily, there’s a chance that the bullet was too small, and although shows rifling, will not show the true groove diameter.

Originally Posted by Russian 22.

I thought 303 uses. 311 Bullets like a 7.62 x 39

Surely you'd have one or two of those lying around?

From what i have read/watched..... they can vary from .308 up to .313+
Anyway, I wanna give it a go.

You will be very lucky to find a .303 barrel that measures less than .313" even if you do any that have shot Military cordite rounds the throat will be worn
when you cast your bullets shoot them unsized they will fit the throat better, the 200 grain bullets shoot the best.

Originally Posted by shooternz

You will be very lucky to find a .303 barrel that measures less than .313" even if you do any that have shot Military cordite rounds the throat will be worn
when you cast your bullets shoot them unsized they will fit the throat better, the 200 grain bullets shoot the best.

Cheers, I just slugged one and came up with .315 max on the slug.
The slug did drop through the throat area with no effort at all which confirms what you just said.
Im making a 50m fun gun so it should still be ok, was just hoping for something better!

Originally Posted by tanqueray

If it slides through too easily, there’s a chance that the bullet was too small, and although shows rifling, will not show the true groove diameter.

the barrel was made by a fine gentleman and its diamentions are sound....the projectiles were made by another fine gentleman and the diamentions of them too are sound...the combination of the two with a little home rolled black powder made by a not so gentle man is simply awesome fun to play around with ..... the proof of the pudding is in the shooting,so far everything Ive seen leads me to believe the combination is a winner.

dont write her off yet....many a SMLE with what appeared to be a shot out bore has surprised the hell out of folks by turning in respectible accuracy...remember they were only made to do 4" or better at hundy in the first place,and thats a very dead deer out to 200yards everyday of the week.