Joined
·
2,429 Posts
Friends All....I am posting this here and leave it up to you to put it where you want it!
I am now testing various "slugs" in a Hasting 12 ga. barrel for some people in Europe. For over a hundred years the European shooters has killed game in the Hirsch class (about like our elk) with shotguns using rifled slugs. Now, there is a growing interest over there in "rifled" barrels. They, unlike the American hunter, have no use for pistol bullets in sabots!
At present the two most promising slugs are the Lyman 12 ga. 1 1/16 oz. "Hourglass" and the Lee 1 oz. "Key" slug. Both are designed to be loaded in a plastic shot cup.
Now to the nitty gritty...all of the published slug data is aimed at their use in "smoothbore" barrels (unless stated otherwise) and many of these loads will be borderline high pressure in rifled barrels and slugs running 21+/- bhn. This, of course, is due to the resistance in a rifled barrel. I would suggest reducing the load by 5% when using the hard cast slugs in rifled barrels.
These new heavy hard cast slugs are very much like rifle loads even if they are shot on shotguns. Regular soft lead rifled slugs will lead a rifled barrel quite bad. After the first tests, I have become convienced these hard cast slugs in rifled barrels open a new door in big game hunting!
Best Regards, James C. Gates
I am now testing various "slugs" in a Hasting 12 ga. barrel for some people in Europe. For over a hundred years the European shooters has killed game in the Hirsch class (about like our elk) with shotguns using rifled slugs. Now, there is a growing interest over there in "rifled" barrels. They, unlike the American hunter, have no use for pistol bullets in sabots!
At present the two most promising slugs are the Lyman 12 ga. 1 1/16 oz. "Hourglass" and the Lee 1 oz. "Key" slug. Both are designed to be loaded in a plastic shot cup.
Now to the nitty gritty...all of the published slug data is aimed at their use in "smoothbore" barrels (unless stated otherwise) and many of these loads will be borderline high pressure in rifled barrels and slugs running 21+/- bhn. This, of course, is due to the resistance in a rifled barrel. I would suggest reducing the load by 5% when using the hard cast slugs in rifled barrels.
These new heavy hard cast slugs are very much like rifle loads even if they are shot on shotguns. Regular soft lead rifled slugs will lead a rifled barrel quite bad. After the first tests, I have become convienced these hard cast slugs in rifled barrels open a new door in big game hunting!
Best Regards, James C. Gates