Thread: slugging a bore

I had a bullet stick in my barrel of my rifle, it was copper jacketed and was just due to insufficient powder charge (sub loads with trailboss)

now that Iv gently removed it is it suitable to measure for selecting the correct sized lead projectiles for my rifle?

do i measure the rifling grooves or the area between rifling marks?

Originally Posted by Bill999

I had a bullet stick in my barrel of my rifle, it was copper jacketed and was just due to insufficient powder charge (sub loads with trailboss)

now that Iv gently removed it is it suitable to measure for selecting the correct sized lead projectiles for my rifle?

do i measure the rifling grooves or the area between rifling marks?

I've never heard of it done with a copper projectile. It's simple do with a lead projectile, I'd be inclined to re-do it with an oversized lead projectile. You want to measure the groove diameter of the barrel, which is the wider part of the slug.

What do you use in a 22rf for a slug

If its Five groove rifling make sure you measure several times and average. Lead projectiles arent really fussy generally anywhere from 3-7 thou over bore diameter is fine under sized is not so flash and will cause more leading than being oversize.

sweet as
Ill re do it with a .459 cast projectile now I have the nifty rod handy.
Is there a way to go about it that minimises the chance of damage?

Oil the bore and grease the slug the rod that taps the slug through should be near bore diameter and brass or similar. A series of progressivly longer rods is best to prevent flexing.

Painters tape around the rod, make it look like a barber's pole.

More important, tape around tip of rod - prevents striking against the rifling. Unless of course it's a brass rod, most rods are really much softer than the rifling.

If lead ball is too large, you can force it through a die, ending up with a semi flat bottom, round nose, and a bit of a driving band.

I use wooden dowel and a rubber mallet so no chance of damaging the bore. The wooden dowel is cut into 200m sections so that it doesn’t warp too much, just add the next section when you’re getting close to the crown. I also stuff a rag in the action to collect the bullet as it falls out, lead is soft and you’re trying to measure to the nearest thou so want it as accurate as possible.
When selecting the dowel, try and get it as close to the bore size as possible.

Northdude, not sure why you’d want to slug a 22 rim fire seeing as almost no one reloads for it, but use a lead ball sinker slightly larger than .22, or an unsized lead .22 bullet. You can smack it end on with a hammer to get it to obturate a bit before sticking it through the bore, this should ensure it’s wide enough to reach the grooves.

Ok cool ive got a project 22 and if it proves to be inaccurate i thought of slugging it as it could show up problems at the muzzle