Roll Your Own Slugs

[RICK420]

 20 ga recipe : cheddite 2.75 16mm primed hull( high brass) Alliant steel Powder. 34.5 grains of steel(max load) 2 cards( cup up) gas seal 325 grains barnes .50 cal MZ  w/.50 cal CC sabot #80 lbs of pressure twice than roll.  velocity will around 1800 fps. 

[barrike]

12 hours ago, RICK420 said:

I apply 80 lbs. of pressure twice with a 15 min interval than roll. I load54.5 grains of IMR 4227 with  2 cards(cup up) gas seal Barnes 250 gr MZ. w/ .45 cal CC sabot. 

Thanks for the info.  I handload rifle shells, but slug reloading is brand new to me.  I am going by mfr spec for now.  I am using Blue Dot for the 300gr loads.  What are you using to get 80 lbs. of pressure?  Are you putting the cards between the powder and seal, or am I reading that wrong.  When you say "cup up", are you referring to the gas seal?  Thanks for the help!

Edited April 27, 2023 by barrike

[barrike]

12 hours ago, MGHunter66 said:

Bit of advice…..I have been loading slugs for years. The most critical point is making sure they are all loaded to same length which translates to consistency. I use a piece of pvc cut to the length of a finished shell roll crimped. It takes a bit to get it right but once its done each shell is roll crimped until the crimp tool hits the pvc. Every shell will be same length, same pressure and no large variations in velocity. 

The PVC is a great idea!  Thanks!

[RICK420]

I use a old MEC jr dedicated for slug reloading to hit 80 lbs for 20ga. 12ga is 120 lbs of pressure. You will need to fit the powder/shot tube with a piece of plastic to push the bullet and ccs down. This will prevent you from marring your bullet. Powder than 2 cards which are slightly beveled they will need to be beveled side up. You will be able to feel the concave in the cards with your fingers .  Than gas seal, cup will be down. If using a CCS gas seal they will have a small hole in the center to release pressure. If your using a different variation of a gas seal that do not allow air to pass through than for best result is load applying pressure than let sit 24 hours pressure again than roll.

29 grains of blue dot with a 300 gr .45 cal bullet.

If you need pictures i can text you them pm me i will get back to you. It would be a few days for me to post.

Your H&R should be a 24 inch barrel with a 1 in 24 twist not sure how many Lands and groves.

CCS model all his custom slug guns in 20ga with this. which made them shoot well. That's why savage's shoot  extremely well.

[barrike]

Rick.  Thanks for the input.  I have a cheap plastic Lee reloader.  Doubt I will be able to get 80lbs out of that.   Sent pm.

 

Edited April 27, 2023 by barrike

[Lunatic]

On 4/26/2023 at 6:12 PM, CJ3a said:

Well done and good work.  I think what you are seeing is honest five shot groups.   A lot of guys claim 1 1/2 groups at a hundred but it is usually 3 shots  or just don’t count the fliers when making the claims.    Don’t take this wrong but the vertical stringing of the 2.75 group is technic or the gun has an issue. Heat, etc. 

I think some people overthink this because they like the process of getting it perfect and there is nothing wrong with that. 
I take two shots, sometime only one, and if I hit vitals I hunt. I never missed or not recovered a deer with a firearm. 

[barrike]

300 grain results...

The 300 grain XTPs grouped a bit better.  I'm pleased with initial testing.   The 3" loads are good enough to hunt with IMO. They were loaded per CCS guidelines.  28 grains Blue Dot for 2.75", and 29 grains for the 3".  

Edited May 5, 2023 by barrike

[barrike]

UPDATE:

I went to the range today and ran the reloads through my 3 20 gauges...H&R Ultra, Savage 220 and Remington 870 w/cantilever barrel.  I shot 3" loads with 250 and 300 grain Hornady XTPs with CCS sabots.  All shots with the Savage and Remington were taken at 50 yards.  With the H&R, I shot the 250gr at 50 yards and the 300gr groups at 100 yards.  Here are the results.

The H&R with the book 250 grain loads shot 1.12" with an average velocity of 1536 fps.  This is way better than my previous test loads with these bullets which were loaded with 1 grain less powder.  I let the barrel cool down.  Then I moved out to 100 yards for the 300 grain loads which shot well at 50 yards previously.  I was surprised to find that the first 2 shots were nowhere to be found.  I moved to a different target and fired off a third shot.  The POI was 6" below the target.  I'm attributing that to the fact that I removed the Magnetospeed for the 100 yard shots.  I expected POI to shift but wasn't expecting that much shift.  After adjusting my scope my first 3 shots grouped at an amazing .95".  The next 2 shots opened the group a bit to make a 2.7" 5 shot group.  I then shot a second 5 shot group.  That one measured 3.5".  Not bad considering the barrel was pretty warm by that point.  

The Remington 870 did ok with the 250 grain loads.  At 50 yards it shot a 3" 5 shot group with an average velocity of 1449 fps.  It shot the 300 grain loads much better with a 1.34" 4 shot group and average velocity of 1360 fps.  I did not count the first shot because I forgot to mount the Magnetospeed on the barrel which changes POI a bit.

 

The Savage 220 really surprised me...in a bad way.  It shot both rounds horribly!  I didn't even bother to measure the groups.  POI was all over the place.  The average velocities were 1577 for the 250gr and 1457 for the 300gr if that matters to you.  I am planning on getting a couple of the different bullet options offered by BPI to see if they do any better in the Savage.  

Disregard the low shot.  That was a flyer from the Savage.

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by barrike

[smittty]

With the 220 barrel I’m thinking you’re gonna want the velocity around 1800 because of the faster twist

[barrike]

28 minutes ago, smittty said:

With the 220 barrel I’m thinking you’re gonna want the velocity around 1800 because of the faster twist

I don't think I'm equipped to get the 80lbs of pressure for the 1800fps loads.  Also, my 870 has a 1-24 twist rate like the Savage, and it shot better.  I'm going to remount the scope.  I'm also going to try a heavier bullet.

Edited May 5, 2023 by barrike

[smittty]

4 hours ago, barrike said:

I don't think I'm equipped to get the 80lbs of pressure for the 1800fps loads.  Also, my 870 has a 1-24 twist rate like the Savage, and it shot better.  I'm going to remount the scope.  I'm also going to try a heavier bullet.

Got you good. Keep us up to date. And if nothing else it sure looks like you’ve got  a good load for the H&R

[Sudsy]

On 5/5/2023 at 12:24 PM, barrike said:

I don't think I'm equipped to get the 80lbs of pressure for the 1800fps loads.

Do you have a drill press? Use that to press it in (not running of course)

[fish_hunter]

Accutips are expensive but I only shoot one a year  

 

interesting results thanks for taking the time to post it up. 

[barrike]

2 hours ago, Sudsy said:

Do you have a drill press? Use that to press it in (not running of course)

Yes.  I use a drill press to roll crimp.  I did buy a new mec press this year.  I loaded a few at 70lbs and compared them to the loads from the Lee press.  Turns out I was applying WAY more than 70lbs with the Lee.  Loads shot good though.  

[MGHunter66]

3 hours ago, barrike said:

Yes.  I use a drill press to roll crimp.  I did buy a new mec press this year.  I loaded a few at 70lbs and compared them to the loads from the Lee press.  Turns out I was applying WAY more than 70lbs with the Lee.  Loads shot good though.  

Remember to apply pressure to the slug then roll crimp. Don’t try to apply pressure by roll crimping because it creates adverse effects. Only light pressure and waiting for the heat build up to roll crimp gives even pressure throughout the hull circumference