Thread: 12ga shotgun slugs

Mostly 'cos we want to :-) ! Gives a lot of flexibility when out bunny/magpie/possum shooting when there are bigger beasts around. Plus, when you've already got a shotgun, $2,000+ for a 45/70 is a lot of coin!

Originally Posted by Smallfoot

Mostly 'cos we want to :-) ! Gives a lot of flexibility when out bunny/magpie/possum shooting when there are bigger beasts around. Plus, when you've already got a shotgun, $2,000+ for a 45/70 is a lot of coin!

Greetings Smallfoot,
I thought that might be the case. Please be cautious however as squib loads can be very dangerous in shotguns or rifles for that matter. All the best.
Regards Grandpamac.

trailboss loads in 45/70 generate MORE pressure than lighter loads with other powders....by quite a large amount....
plenty of load data around for slug loads...so its not really untested.
taking an once of shot out and replacing with once of slug.....yeah pretty similar pressure me thinks LOL.

I believe slug pressures would theoretically be lower than shot charges of the same weight using the same charge.
Although the weight is the same the bearing area of the shot charge is larger than that of the slug due to its less dense packing of the pellets which in theory will produce more friction and resistance and therefore increase pressure. I could be wrong though.

Ideally you want to use a snail, over a slug. Better shell.

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

................Although the weight is the same the bearing area of the shot charge is larger than that of the slug due to its less dense packing of the pellets which in theory will produce more friction and resistance and therefore increase pressure. I could be wrong though.

Ummmmm. In the case of the Lee 1 ounce and the Lyman 525 gr, they both fit snugly into waa12 wad....so is the "bearing area " of which you speak, the base of the slug or?

Asking for a friend :>)

have you pushed one through bore ,with ramrod,inside a wad yet???

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

have you pushed one through bore ,with ramrod,inside a wad yet???

Nope.
It seemd good odds that if the ingredients and instructions etc as named by the manufacturers were used and followed, then all should be tickety boo...So, brand new gun.... ended up firing them along with commercial loads with true cylinder. No problems.

I know the air rifle pellet shaped ones fall through a cylinder bore they also fit snugly inside a 16 gauge brass case. As to my friction idea, in theory they only bear on the barrel at the skirt and nose.

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

I know the air rifle pellet shaped ones fall through a cylinder bore they also fit snugly inside a 16 gauge brass case. As to my friction idea, in theory they only bear on the barrel at the skirt and nose.

Ummmm. Indeed they do but it is my understanding that they are to be used as a Sabot slug so no "falling" involved then. Used with the WAA 12 which is a perfect fit, they don't "fall" down the bore, thye will move smoothly BUT require to be forced through any choke.....which is not surprising as I also understand that choking is not recommended.

As i have to fit a choke to protect the inside barrel choke thread, I then find that neither of what I believe are my two true cylnder chokes appear to be "true" as they both impede a sabot Lyman. Bit of a puzzle that and not sure how to overcome it.

I don't have any wads with a thiner external petal diameter than the WAA12 petals so if anyone knows of such a wad with the same column height, or less, I would appreciate hearing about it.

dont worry about it at all...you CAN fire slugs through full choke...NOT RECOMENDED but you can do it...if you couldnt,you wouldnt be able to buy them or someone who did would sue...

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

dont worry about it at all...you CAN fire slugs through full choke...NOT RECOMENDED but you can do it...if you couldnt,you wouldnt be able to buy them or someone who did would sue...

Originally Posted by Smallfoot

Ideally you want to use a snail, over a slug. Better shell.

Beggars can't always be choosers. It just depends on what you have in your garden at the time.

Lee has also brought out an alternative to their 1oz key drive slugs, the 7/8oz key drive slug.

It's front heavy and really invokes musket slugs used during the American Civil War in its geometry, musket slugs appreciably increased the range of muskets but appear to be inherently stable in flight due to their skirt and front-heaviness. The Lee 1oz slug lacks the front heavy balance. The basic geometry of the 7/8oz slug is length = diameter, like the CSA Nessler Ball below. Taofledermaus did a test which also showed one method of using preloaded shotshells by replacing shot with slug.

Link to Taofledermaus video if it does not load below.


Note the drawing on the left is the original Nessler Ball with a hollow skirt.

The CSA .69 Nessler Ball was adapted with a Wilkinson Base, not hollow skirt and were used to get rifle level accuracy out of muskets up to 400 yards. They conical base would basically compress and as a result the rear edge would obturate the bore. Important to note, there should be no lubricant in the "groove" as the lubricant would prevent the cone from collapsing and obturating the bore.

(Makes you wonder - with lubricated cast bullets - will they obturate a bit better if you remove the lube from the rearmost groove???)

(link to modern manufacturer's page)


You will note that the 1:1 length:bore relationship does not feature in this 1.23oz projectie when it's loaded, but once fired and obturated the ratio has become right as seen in this original recovered Nessler-Wilkinson bullet:


The massive remaining cannelure is thought to contribute to the skirt stabilising effect but the wilkinson base seems to have been better than the minie at obturating, the type of base certainly allowed the bullet to be denser for its length.

The Lee 1oz 7/8oz key slugs significantly are only .640" diameter, the modern Nessler equivalent is .69" and the 12 gauge is .729" upwards, probably a fair bit of inaccuracy is from windage bounce due to makers assuming every SG slug shooter is a drooling idiot who may have a tight choke installed and who also needs to be told not to drink the fluid in his car battery.

Once I loaded some 1 ounce fishing sinkers in 12g, fitted inside a standard winchester wad with the support of a patch. shot surprisingly accurate and took a big chunk out of a fence post.