LeadLobber Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Hoping to tap into the collective wisdom here on the following: I've been shooting factory slug for years out of my trusty Ithaca M37 Deer Slayer Police Special. I'm now dipping my toe into the murky waters of reloading slug and am struggling! The perceived wisdom is to stick to published loads - all well and good except for two things: 1. Not being in the US 2. The powers that be at Bisley are banning slug loads that discard plastic wads/gas seals. I mention my shotgun because it has a very tight barrel: .701" all the way down and I remember reading somewhere (although I can no longer find it) that they designed this barrel specifically for the Lyman Foster slug. I have all the casting gear I need and a pile of pure lead, I just need to do the casting. It's supposed to come out at around 475gn (just over 1oz). I have the Lyman 5th edition manual and the only load in there for the Fiocchi hulls and primers (616) I have, that takes nitro cards and a fibre wad, calls for IMR SR4756. Fantastic, a complete recipe with no substitutions. Except SR4756 has been discontinued! AAAARRGGHHHH! So here I am looking at similar loads where I might (with a favourable wind) be able to create something that works and, more importantly, is safe. Hodgdon Universal keeps coming up as a good choice but try and find a dealer who's seen any in six months! Alliant Unique looks as though it performs pretty much the same and I like the idea of using one powder for 12g slug, light .44mag and .45acp - which both Universal and Unique should be able to do. I've already got some 12mm Diana fibre wads and heaps of 4mm nitro cards. I've got an 18mm punch on the way along with a roll of 6mm thick cork for getting the stack height right (an old leaflet for a contemporary Foster slug says to leave one inch from the top of the wad column for the slug and the roll crimp). Powder wise, there's some Vectan AS and A1 on the shelf and a local dealer has got some Unique in stock. Basically all the parts are there. I'm thinking that around 20gn of AS might work as a light target load (not shooting that beyond 30m) and that maybe I could push a hotter load with the A1 (there's a competition which pushes the boundaries somewhat; being shot at 100 and 200 yards). So the sixty four thousand dollar question - which way do I go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Herco works well with 12g slugs but performance loads. Most shot loads with unique use to require magnum primers so check that for slug loads but unique would I feel be good for target loads. Just my thoughts, not much help I know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 forget the AS and slugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeadLobber Posted February 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Herco works well with 12g slugs but performance loads. Most shot loads with unique use to require magnum primers so check that for slug loads but unique would I feel be good for target loads. Just my thoughts, not much help I know! Thanks Underdog, I had considered Herco but my nearest dealers have all bee cleaned out of it. Interesting about the possible need for magnum primers, I'll dig deeper. Fiocchi's UK website says the following about their primers: Fiocchi offers three types with increasing power, 614, 615 and 616 SUR, all with a anti-corrosion mercury-free mixture. Ideal for starting all modern smokeless powders. Unfortunately they don't go into any more detail. forget the AS and slugs. cookoff013, thanks, I'll scratch AS from the list. I'm guessing that the Lyman Foster slug over fibre and cards only is such a specific (and ancient) combination that there's precious little information out there. That'll please the missus - me spending yet more hours on the laptop trying to make sense of it all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 you may be able to use A1, i`ve been using it in 36g lead loads, (and 42g subsonic in 3".) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddler Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 (edited) My slugs (Lyman Sabot) for use in a Remington 870 use either Unique (20gr) or when I cannot find that, Herco (22gr) The sabot slug is slightly heavier (525gr) Will keep you updated as a few of us are looking into redesigning the Foster slug: it was initially sold as part of a set, with a special swaging die. Made it more like the Brenneke slug in appearance. The NRA ban is nothing but an underhand attempt to stop folk using solid-slug reloads....as the NRA stocks of such solid slug ammo are sitting unsold (& over priced) in the NRA Arrmory shop. Why else does the "ban" exclude plastic-wad slug ammo of two commercially made brands? (Coincidentally the two brands sold by the NRA) Edited February 23, 2016 by saddler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Lyman do air gun pellet/diabalo shaped slug supposed to be very good but I think they are built around sitting in a plastic wad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddler Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Lyman do air gun pellet/diabalo shaped slug supposed to be very good but I think they are built around sitting in a plastic wad. Aye...that's the sabot slug I mentioned/use. MAY be getting a new mold made for this style. ...but double cavity & in a larger diameter (so no plastic wad needed) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeadLobber Posted February 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Will keep you updated as a few of us are looking into redesigning the Foster slug: it was initially sold as part of a set, with a special swaging die. Made it more like the Brenneke slug in appearance. Ah yes, I've read on other forums about the issue of a poor fit in the barrel of most shotguns and someone was re-sizing and knurling his slug to fit. The thing is the Lyman Foster slug is a match made in heaven (supposedly) for my barrel but I have to find a way around the lead fouling affecting accuracy in as few as five shots. I've already treated my barrel with HBN (Hexagonal Boron Nitride) and plan to dust the slug with the stuff before putting the cartridges together. Lyman do air gun pellet/diabalo shaped slug supposed to be very good but I think they are built around sitting in a plastic wad. Indeed, that's what I've already got, though not particularly suited to my Ithaca. It's this ban on the plastic wads that has motivated me to try the Foster slug with fibre wads and cards. Aye...that's the sabot slug I mentioned/use. MAY be getting a new mold made for this style. ...but double cavity & in a larger diameter (so no plastic wad needed) Interesting - I look forward to hearing how that turns out. The other possibility a friend proposed was to make the slugs in 16g and use the fibre shot cup sold by Clay & game. The dimensions might not be right for each other though. Another quick question: I've seen a few load recipes that are almost suitable but they use a plastic gas seal under the fibre wad. Would it be OK to substitute a couple of nitro cards and expect pressures and velocities to be lower as a result, or am I missing something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddler Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Non-plastic obturator would be less efficient from my reading on the subject.... Have heard of folk coating their slugs in a resin based paint. Again, more to follow on that.... I was/am also looking into paper patching Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeadLobber Posted February 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Non-plastic obturator - sounds like I need those. I haven't spotted any in my internet trawling so far, any chance you could point me in the right direction? On the subject of coating slugs, if the HBN doesn't work, the next course of action is powder coating. Pistol shooters in the US seem to have been doing this for a fair while. I've already got a kilo of powder to experiment with but will only spring for the table top oven if I need to go that way. Regarding your earlier comment about the NRA plastic ban, I feel there are several factors at play there - I won't be expanding further. Maybe as and when our paths cross, as I'm sure they will (if they haven't already), we can put the world to rights over a beer or two. Suffice to say that I just have to take it on the chin and keep doing what I'm doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 How about a cloth patch. Works with round ball. I loaded a .690 in a canvass patch. How about a round ball for target loads? Full power 12g loads in round ball need hardening some but for target loads should be OK in soft lead. Their mass wants to turn them into a cylinder under acceleration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norfolk reloader Posted March 6, 2016 Report Share Posted March 6, 2016 vectan A0 is listed suitable slug powder ! more readily available in the uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry939 Posted April 18, 2019 Report Share Posted April 18, 2019 where can i buy fibre wad slugs in the west midlands, black country, area, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted April 18, 2019 Report Share Posted April 18, 2019 Reload them. This is a dead thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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