First cast

[Surp]

I've been lurking for a while but finally made the jump and got all the stuff together to start casting/loading. Here are a few from the first run.

[sthwestvictoria]

Welcome, they look great. What is the buckshot mold? Is it designed to be snipped or are you going to leave the two together?
Not so much a problem with shotgun but sometimes very shiny cast suggests the alloy is a bit cool.

[Surp]

I don't think it was to cool as I had my 4-20 pot set to 8 and then changed to 9 at about the halfway point just to see if I could benefit from getting the lead a little hotter. The alloy used was a 50/50 mix of standard soft lead and linotype.

The buck is from a Lee 000 mold and they are made to be cut and are cast in rows of 3 but you could leave two of them together. The biggest problem is buck load data seems scarce.

[toallmy]

Good looking slugs , and buckshot nice start , I suppose you are a shotgun enthusiast .

[Surp]

also these slugs cast with this alloy are coming out around 493 grannis instead of 525 so would the load data from Lyman still be safe?

I see all this talk about how finicky shotshell reloads are and to stay super strict with it but I find that a little funny sounding as they are lower pressure and there are countless videos of people cutting open shells and loading them with everything from a bunch of dims to a foot long piece of rebar with no ill effects whatsoever.

[Surp]

Not a shotgun enthusiast per say but a general firearms enthusiast (more dabble in surplus) but have an old 16GA and a new Vepr I wanted to start casting for. I have others as well like my old 50's Savage bolt 12 but the two previously mentioned are the ones to push me over the edge and into the casting pot.

[sthwestvictoria]

also these slugs cast with this alloy are coming out around 493 grannis instead of 525 so would the load data from Lyman still be safe?

As a reloading rule of thumb, using a projectile lighter than the data lists is going to be safe as pressures will be lower. Your weight difference is only 6% of a 525grain slug and would not be a problem. Reducing the proportion of linotype will increase density and slightly increase size of the projectile.

[Surp]

The top one is the recipe I'm using. I'm glad to hear it shouldn't be a problem. What if I substituted the wad listed for a WAA12R to try and get a little bit better crimp? Or replaced the Win hull for a Rem nitro?

[richhodg66]

As a reloading rule of thumb, using a projectile lighter than the data lists is going to be safe as pressures will be lower. Your weight difference is only 6% of a 525grain slug and would not be a problem. Reducing the proportion of linotype will increase density and slightly increase size of the projectile.

Alloy can make quite a bit of difference in weight. I have very little experience loading slugs, but it seems like for a load inside a shot cup, you're wasting linotype with this alloy. Leading shouldn't be a concern, and softer may allow for better obturation.

Hollow bases and hollow points can be difficult to cast in my experience, so the lino will definitely help in that aspect, but so would just adding some tin (I use thrift shop pewter I make ingots from) or maybe try only 25% lino instead of 50%.

I have that Lyman mold but not a rifled 12 gauge at the moment. I may try them in a smoothbore at some point but I think I'll try some round ball loadings first.

[Surp]

Well you guys might see a fresh Kaboom here in a minute as I'm about to touch off the first 50 rounds. It's a mix of mostly slugs with a few bird and a few improvised buck shot rounds just to keep things interesting..

[Surp]

Well things went even better than I thought they would. All shells worked and cycled perfectly even the ones with not so great crimps. I did notice however a little more smoke than normal and the shells ejected pretty far forward. It was also the first time firing the firearm since installing the poly choke but I don't think that would have much if any effect. Here is a short video of the first four shots that I took just in case things went wrong.
Not the best technique or anything just running through 4 real fast to see what happened.

[Bob in St. Louis]

I've got a VEPR 12 as well. Welcome to the club!

As far as load data is concerned, if the payload is one ounce, the load data *shouldn't* change if you're using slugs, shot, or a tablespoon of rocks (other than the type of wad). Only the column height becomes your concern. I'm a bit of a noob, so somebody may come along and correct me.

Thanks for the VEPR video. I've taken some video too, but haven't posted them. Mainly because I couldn't come up with a good reason to, and didn't want it to look like I was showing off. haha!!
I'm watching with interest, being a V12 owner and all.

[Ambrose]

I dont' take videos, generally speaking, but I cast for my Vepr as well. Of course, Bob knows that, since I cast the first slugs he reloaded.

[Bob in St. Louis]

HHHEEYYY!!!!!!
Fancy meeting you here, Sir!!!
Those did the trick for me, for sure. I'm hooked. Thank you very much!
I need to get into that (as soon as finances allow)

[wmitty]

Surp:

To answer your questions from #8, shortening the leg ht of your wad column will allow a greater volume for powder space or effectively move the wad and slug further back into the hull to allow the crimp to fold to a greater degree. I'd be very cautious about exchanging components from what is listed in the manual. I'm not familiar with the burning rate of Univ. Clays, but I am somewhat familiar with the use of Blue Dot for slug loads using the Lyman 525. I believe it's slower burning rate would be safer if you do choose to change components within a listed load. The problem with changing to the Remington hull without using a listed/tested load is knowing which hull has a larger internal volume for the powder chosen. Going from a larger combustion chamber to a smaller one will obviously increase chamber pressure, and the problem is; without lab equipment, we don't know how much. None of us wants to damage a shotgun or be injured.

[Surp]

it seems like for a load inside a shot cup, you're wasting linotype with this alloy. Leading shouldn't be a concern, and softer may allow for better obturation.

Taking away some of that pliability is actually part of the reason I added the lino. I had heard about the Hollow base of the slug collapsing in on itself and causing poor accuracy so I wanted to make them a bit stiffer to avoid that without having to fill the cavity but like you're saying It's possible I went a little too far with it.

[Surp]

Well wmitty I definitely did test some things and push the envelope on my first trip and while it did all seem to work okay I think I'm going to stick to the book as much as possible from here on out.

[Surp]

Bob go ahead and post a pic or video of that Vep if for no other reason then I'd like to see what other St.Louisan are rocking and it's hard to see it in that little avatar picture.

[Bob in St. Louis]

I'd like to see what other St.Louisan are rocking

"Other St. Louisnas", meaning you're in STL?

Ok then, since you asked....here's a photo and video:

VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/pXL8bR-MeSM

[Surp]

Yes meaning I am from STL. Did you buy that hand guard or did you modify the stock one? I modified mine to accept a foregrip and am thinking of trying to add a small side rail as well.