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Ok guys, now i have my FAC through with 12g slugs on the ammo i would like to start making my own slug rounds, i already have a Lee loadall 2 shotshell loading station, primer feeder and a Lee 1oz slug mold, i also have 50kg+ of lead (old range fired) that i have melted down to ingots and also cast some slugs ready but i dont really know where to start next, i've read through the appropriate sections of the Lee reloading manual and instruction sheets that came with the loadall and slug mold but it doesnt seem to give me much specific info on case or wad length also i know i need to get primers, cases, powder and wads, so what do you guys use for the following:

Primers
Cases including length (the Loadall does a star crimp)
Powder (type & load)
Wads - plastic, fibre, (what length bearing in mind that the slugs measure 16.25mm)

Thanks in advance

Primer wrote:Ok guys, now i have my FAC through with 12g slugs on the ammo i would like to start making my own slug rounds, i already have a Lee loadall 2 shotshell loading station, primer feeder and a Lee 1oz slug mold, i also have 50kg+ of lead (old range fired) that i have melted down to ingots and also cast some slugs ready but i dont really know where to start next, i've read through the appropriate sections of the Lee reloading manual and instruction sheets that came with the loadall and slug mold but it doesnt seem to give me much specific info on case or wad length also i know i need to get primers, cases, powder and wads, so what do you guys use for the following:

Primers
Cases including length (the Loadall does a star crimp)
Powder (type & load)
Wads - plastic, fibre, (what length bearing in mind that the slugs measure 16.25mm)

Thanks in advance

Primers - most #209 are ok...depends on the powder you end up choosing
Cases - WinAA & similar are what the USA manuals tend to point folk towards. In theory though you can use any as long as you know the inner volume.
Powder - quite a wide range of USA made powders - though there are some folk using the Italian powders such as GM3 now. Powder choice is somewhat dictated by the type of case you use - but as long as you stick to the lower limits & keep away from the top end loads things SHOULD be ok.
Wads - down to choice/range restrictions
BUT
Lee slugs & star-crimp = no way! The Lee is roll crimp only
Thats why Lyman brought out their 525gr sabot slug - it is designed to work in standard star crimps

Get more manuals and/or do more research on some of the specialist reloading forums in the US before making ANY loads up.
Sadly shotshell reloading is a black-art along with car electrics & understanding women - even though it has similar features to centre-fire reloading it also has a much bigger range of variables & pressures can get dangerous very fast if you do something wrong.

The key is UNIFORMITY & getting the shot/powder/wad to the correct height for the crimp to be able to do its job

No Jon, the Lee slug was designed for star crimps and for use in the LoadAll.

However, he is right when he says that the "tower" of powder and wad is the critical point of getting the crimp on the Lee LoadAll to work properly. Too short and the crimp will collapse into the case and toom much, you won't get the crimp tp close and the case to set.

One thing though, you said your 50kg of "lead" is range pickup. Is that a black powder only range for muzzle loaders? If not, you don't have lead, you have 50kg of scrap bullet alloy. Fine for casting bullets, but not Lee slug, which need to be pure lead as in front stuffers.

I know that Lee state pure lead for their slug but why?
Its not like it needs to expand to fill the barrel on its travels.
I have used range lead in that mould with no problems.
And,as said,shotshell loading is all to do with the "column".
I have probably spent more time on shotshells than any metallic cartridges.
Tony

Lead shrinks more than alloys. The mould is designed to drop a particular sized diameter slug, which fits inside a wad. Use bullet alloy and the slug could be oversized when coupled with the wad, oversized for the choke. If oversized, alloy is also a lot harder than lead which is not as easily "sized" in the choke if necessary...

So, drop an alloy slug and all other things working against you of top load, tight choke, hard unkown alloy, pressures way up. And shotgun barrels split at a much, much lower pressure than rifles....

I'm far too lazy to melt/mould my own

I use these from Siarm,

Fiocchi primed cases and 19gr of Nobel GM3, star crimped with a Lee load All 2, comes out around £48/100

So apart from becoming a part-time pikey and stripping roofs of their lead, where do people get theirs from? Not sure the MOD would appreciate me raking around in their backstops!

Scrappy?

Roof flashing from DIY shops is pretty close and easy to get.

Lead water pipe from scrappies and plumber friends is soft enough too

Also a smidgen of tin, no more than 1%, will help with fill out without hardening the alloy appreciably.

Beware lee moulds they are a lottery as to quality and specification. Their own tolerances +.003" is pretty sloppy in mould terms and I have found many of their moulds to be actually undersize with their chosen alloy.

Don't use boolit lube to lube them use a good mould oil, do not smoke the cavities or put any type of mould release in the cavity.

If it won't drop get the magnifying glass out and look for the mechanical issue that is stopping that happening, like burrs, swarf etc and remove carefully.

Be sure any new mould is clean of oil before casting, boiling for a few minutes in water with a dash of washing up liquid is good but it will discolour the aluminium.

If boolits are sticking don't beat the sh!te out of it to get them to drop, find the problem and fix it. Lee mould are not robust and need to be used gently, if you get a good one treasure it as they are scarce.

Tom at Accurate Moulds will cut a good slug mould for you to your specification and size for your alloy, worth considering if you are using a harder alloy.

Here is a link, go to the bottom for his existing designs in 12 bore, but he will cut to any design you want within his parameters as articulated on his website.

http://www.accuratemolds.com/catalog.php?page=all

:goodjob:

Rumplestiltskin (Sorry thats just to make searching for this thread easier!)