58 cal. minnie for 12 ga. slug

[dale clawson]

I came by a 58 cal. hollow base mold when I bought a group of reloading items from the widow of a friend, but had no use for it until I cast afew of them and decided they might make 12 ga. slugs. I tried them in AA wads but the fit was sloppy, then I remembered some old Herters wads I had bought with some others at an auction. They were really thick, and the slugs fit snug enough. These worked well over my usual powder charge for 1 1\8 oz. loads. After reading about Federal's new true ball slugs, using a plastic ball in the hollow base to keep the skirt expanded to improve accuracy, I looked about for something to use in the base of the minnie ball, I came upon some .340 dia. balls I had cast for buckshot. After calculating the combined weights and concluding it was safe, I loaded some up. Accuracy is definitely improved, with the little ball usually landing 4-6 in. away. Teenagers(and us old folks )enjoy shooting large holes in things, reportedly taking down 4 in. dia. Siberian elms ( a plague on us here) in two shots.

[kg42]

Interesting... How far did the elms run between the two shots

Have you tried LEE's 12 slugs, or their .69 round ball? I have these recurrent dreams about replacing dumb little shots by a single big one...

kg

[doc25]

I am really curious how the lee slug will work out of a shotgun without rifling.

[dale clawson]

Kg42: Haven't lost a wounded elm yet, they don't leave much of a blood trail though.

[dale clawson]

doc25: The drive key in the Lee should keep the wad from sticking in the base, but won't expand the base to fill the bore like the Federal Trubore does. I'd like to try some of them to see how the shoot, the mold is under $20 at Midway, so it wouldn't cost much to find out.