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I have been casting 1 ounce slugs and have a large box of AA hulls for 12 gauge. Other than the reloader which I have (Lee LoadAll 2), the hulls, powder, 209 primers, and my slugs, what "shot cup" do I need and I have seen small felt or cork disks in use from time to time. Any help will be appreciated. By the way, I will be shooting this from an 8 inch SBS so I guess a fast powder might be in order. Any suggestions?

 

Thanks to all the fine folks on the forum :super:

 

eseaton

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I have never PERSONALLY reloaded slugs... however, the dozens of reloaded slugs I have on hand are all without a shot cup and have a threaded plastic basewad under the slug itself. It is very likely that you will need a specific base wad for your particular type of cast slug. Sorry I can't be much more help than that.

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Most load data will list the specific wad or shot cup for the load in question. What does your load data recommend? Have you reloaded other 12 gauge loads? Have you checked out the reloading stickies at the top of this section? I ask because Reloading is not anything you want to freelance on...

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Most load data will list the specific wad or shot cup for the load in question. What does your load data recommend? Have you reloaded other 12 gauge loads? Have you checked out the reloading stickies at the top of this section? I ask because Reloading is not anything you want to freelance on...

 

I do not own a reloading book and need one. I really just want to reload slugs and buckshot so I probably need a limitied amount of load info. Any further suggestions would be appreciated.

 

eseaton

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That load will work for buck... you will need to look into specific wads for slugs. Reloading is not hard I just don't want to see ANYONE get hurt because they cut a few corners. If you want to do it... just please take the time to do it right ... that's all.

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There are basically two types of slug molds available for casting 12ga. slugs. Wad-slug molds produce a slug that is usually about 0.68" diameter that is deliberately undersize and is intended to fit inside the shot cup on a regular shot wad. Full bore diameter slug molds will produce slugs that have a diameter of at least 0.705" for the 12ga. They are intended to be loaded on top of a wad column made up of old fashioned hard card, cork, felt, and fiber wads but can also be loaded using modern plastic wads with the petals cut off flush so they are just a pusher wad.

 

Which kind of slug does your mold make? You said it is a 1-oz. slug, is your mold the Lee slug mold with the grooved key base pin?

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I bought a pound of green dot to try initially. I want some paper punching loads but would like to build some hotter loads as well. Sine I have about 500 once fired AA hulls, of course I want to try my loading with whatever it takes to take advantage of those hulls. I can obtain whatever 209 primers you suggest. Does using different primers make any significant difference? I have read about trimming shot cups, etc. so anything you will kindly enlighten me on will be greatly appreciated. Are there slug molds made that do not require shotwads? Again, as a reminder, my S12 is a shorty at 8 inch barrel.

Thanks for your help.

 

Eric

Eseaton

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  • 4 weeks later...

I apologize for the late reply to your answer. Thanks for all the time you took to explain several aspects of reloading for my particular needs. It is folks like you who make this an awesome forum.

 

eseaton

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As mentioned above, the Lee slugs will need to be used with a plastic wad like would normally be used for a shot load. The load data you are using will tell you exactly which wad to use with your slug and the hulls you are using. Do not deviate from the data since the combined height of the powder charge, wad, and slug will have a big effect on whether or not you are able to form a good crimp.

 

I'm currently loading the Lee 1oz slugs in a 2-3/4" Remington STS/Nitro 27 hull (the best hulls for reloading that I've found), in a WAA12SL wad, over XX.X grains of HS-6 and a Win209 primer, per the Hodgdon website which can be found here:

 

http://data.hodgdon.com/

 

I chrono'ed this load at 1305fps out of my 19" S-12 for a 10 shot average. It made 1349 out of my 870 with 20" barrel, 1414 from a longer waterfowl barrel, and 1370 out of my buddy's M590A1 (20" IIRC). Don't exceed it or make substitutions because it's fairly stout and it crimps pretty well in the Load-All 2 press you are using. Sorry I cannot advise as to what is the best powder bushing to use, since I don't use that feature of the press. I have been using my standard RCBS powder measure, because I'd rather adjust the measure than try to find a bushing that happens to throw the charge I want, and it really isn't going to make a lot of time difference in loading slugs.

 

I like to process all of the shells through one stage at a time; I'll get them all charged in a 12 ga loading block that I made, and check them all with a flashlight to make sure they are all charged. Then I insert the slug into the wad, and then both into the hull. You have to be very careful not to crush the wad; you'll develop a feel for when it just contacts the powder charge. Once the wads and slugs are all in the hulls, I compare them all in the block again, looking for any slugs that are higher or lower than the others. This can help to detect a hull that has been inadvertently over or under charged. Then crimp them all at the crimp stations. Be sure to use the right crimp starter for the number of points your hull was originally crimped with, and make sure the hull is correctly aligned with the crimp starter when it makes contact. It will self-align to a degree, but it has to be close to begin with.

 

Here is a video that I found to be helpful:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4zI6iLt4J4

Edited by Netpackrat
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I would call Lee for more info.

 

I wouldn't bother. Best I can tell, their reloading data is mostly watered down (not all of it, of course). There's plenty of other data out there for these slugs, but if you're bound and determined to use the Lee data, it should have come with the instructions for the mold, which can also be downloaded off their site. I bought their reloading manual that so many seem to swear by, and it has lots of loads, but they all seem to be either watered down, or would require me to hunt down some bizarre odd powder in order to use their data.

 

I have found that it is usually better and easier to get my reloading data from the component manufacturers than equipment manufacturers. They have a stronger interest in developing efficient/effective loads because they want to make their products look as good as possible and therefore sell more of them. The equipment manufacturers aren't necessarily as concerned with developing effective loads because they don't have the same profit motive, and a strong incentive to weaken the loads due to liability reasons. The component manufacturers have the same liability concern, but at least they have to balance it with selling their components, so their loads tend to be better.

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