Lee Drive Slug Barrel Fitment

[REMI870]

I have the 870 Tactical 18.5" stock barrel. I made up some 7/8 oz Lee drive slugs and obtained 3 different wad types.

Downrange XL
Federal 12S0
Federal 12S3

I have heard that you should always test a slug/wad combination on your barrel first by pushing them through your barrel with a stick. I tried the slug with all three wads and none of them will go down the barrel, at least without a hammer. WTF? Do I have to get a new barrel to shoot these slugs or is there a special wad out there?

[Synchronizor]

Moved to the reloading section.

Are you using a filler wad under the slug? The Lee drive key slugs are meant to be used with normal target wads, but a lot of these wads have a narrower internal diameter down at the bottom of the shotcup, so if you just jam a slug down in there, it can stretch the petals out. It also tends to hurt accuracy, since the wad doesn't separate cleanly once it and the slug leave the barrel; and if the slug sits too low in the wad, you can end up with a bad crimp. A common approach is to stack up some 20ga cards inside the shotcup under the slug.

If your wads have ribs inside the shotcup, this can also cause a tight fit. I don't know if that's applicable with your wads (I'm pretty sure I've heard that the Federal wads don't have ribs), but it's something else to look for.

[REMI870]

Moved to the reloading section.

Are you using a filler wad under the slug? The Lee drive key slugs are meant to be used with normal target wads, but a lot of these wads have a narrower internal diameter down at the bottom of the shotcup, so if you just jam a slug down in there, it can stretch the petals out. It also tends to hurt accuracy, since the wad doesn't separate cleanly once it and the slug leave the barrel; and if the slug sits too low in the wad, you can end up with a bad crimp. A common approach is to stack up some 20ga cards inside the shotcup under the slug.

If your wads have ribs inside the shotcup, this can also cause a tight fit. I don't know if that's applicable with your wads (I'm pretty sure I've heard that the Federal wads don't have ribs), but it's something else to look for.

No nitro cards, just the wad and the slug. The slugs drop right to the bottom of the wad without any pressure and I chose these wads on recommendations from others who have shot Lee slugs. I trimmed the peddles down half way, so there are no ribs on any of them.

[Synchronizor]

I do know a lot of folks like the stiff Federal wads for these and other slugs. I'll give the standard line of "don't do anything you're not comfortable with when reloading", but personally, I wouldn't be too worried. You're dealing with soft plastic and (presumably) soft lead. I don't have a ton of first-hand experience to relate with Lee drive key slugs (I'm currently trying some out, but don't have a lot of results yet); but based on what others have reported, it seems that when a barrel or choke is too tight for these types of slugs, the plastic shotcup petals get cut off before anything else gives:

[REMI870]

I do know a lot of folks like the stiff Federal wads for these and other slugs. I'll give the standard line of "don't do anything you're not comfortable with when reloading", but personally, I wouldn't be too worried. You're dealing with soft plastic and (presumably) soft lead. I don't have a ton of first-hand experience to relate with Lee drive key slugs (I'm currently trying some out, but don't have a lot of results yet); but based on what others have reported, it seems that when a barrel or choke is too tight for these types of slugs, the plastic shotcup petals get cut off before anything else gives:

Well, I know the slug has no problem going down the barrel on its own. It is only the combination of the petals of the wad that causes the resistance. The lead I am using is quite hard so I wouldn't rely on it deforming in the barrel.

Anyway, this is what I did. I cut the petals down a little more than halfway and I put a 1/8" nitro under it. I've found that these Lee slugs have a bigger girth a little further up from the bottom than at the very bottom, so the 1/8" nitro raises the slug up enough where the wider part of the slug is above the petals; thus allowing me to push it through the barrel. Note this only works for the Downrange XL and the 12S3 out of the wads I have on hand. The 12S0 is still too tight. Haven't fired any of these yet, but I do feel more safe knowing that I can push these through the barrel. As far as accuracy, I haven't a clue.

[Synchronizor]

Well, sounds like you're at the point where you can do some testing. I'll be interested to know if you can get them to work, seems a lot of folks are having trouble with them. I'm starting to think I would be better off with round balls for my own slugs.

[REMI870]

Well, sounds like you're at the point where you can do some testing. I'll be interested to know if you can get them to work, seems a lot of folks are having trouble with them.

I will definitely announce any positive feedback on any slug load that works well with good velocity and accuracy. Might be a while before I get a chance to get down to the range.

I'm starting to think I would be better off with round balls for my own slugs.

Yeah, I've been thinking of getting the mold for a .690 round ball myself if I don't get good enough results with the slugs or maybe I'll just get it anyway .

[Synchronizor]

I loaded up some .690 round balls the other day, which I'll try alongside the Lee slugs. They also seemed pretty tight in the Federal 12S3 wads; a couple .025" petals around a .690" ball totals up to around .740". I don't expect any problems when shooting (they're pure lead, and I loaded them over a low-pressure dose of 800X just to be safe), but I wouldn't be surprised if I find some pretty beat-up wads on the ground afterward. I'm looking into a .680" round ball mold, which I think will be just about ideal for this wad.

One thing I can say at this point is that round balls are a heck of a lot easier to load than the drive key slugs, which kept folding wad petals up underneath them during insertion.

[REMI870]

I loaded up some .690 round balls the other day, which I'll try alongside the Lee slugs. They also seemed pretty tight in the Federal 12S3 wads; a couple .025" petals around a .690" ball totals up to around .740". I don't expect any problems when shooting (they're pure lead, and I loaded them over a low-pressure dose of 800X just to be safe), but I wouldn't be surprised if I find some pretty beat-up wads on the ground afterward. I'm looking into a .680" round ball mold, which I think will be just about ideal for this wad.

Try cutting the petals back just below the midpoint of the ball. They're just going to get torn off in the barrel if you don't and impact accuracy. Using a .680 is definitely better than having to cut the petals back. I don't think Lee makes one though. Might be an expensive mold.

One thing I can say at this point is that round balls are a heck of a lot easier to load than the drive key slugs, which kept folding wad petals up underneath them during insertion.

That won't happen if you put the slug into the wad first. You should benefit from a nitro card under the slug as it is said to help with separation and accuracy.

[Synchronizor]

Cutting the petals shorter is a possibility, but I'm hoping to come up with a slug that will not require each wad to be hand-modified. This is for consistency as well as convenience. It also seems logical to leave the wads intact for the first round of tests.

I was concerned that I might have to have a custom ball mold made; but some forums indicated that Sharp Shooter made 5-cavity round ball molds - including a .680" size - using the same general design of their buckshot molds. I just got a confirmation email from them about it, and I'm looking into ordering one now. I haven't gotten entirely set up with casting equipment yet (much of what I need is on Christmas wish lists, so I'll see how that goes), but I figure I can use a ladle and a torch for small test batches once I have the mold.

That won't happen if you put the slug into the wad first.

The problem I found when doing this with my slugs (which were pure lead), is that the metal rammer tube on my Mec messed up the nose of the slug. I've thought about making a custom slug-seating rammer tube with a cushoned end for seating wads & slugs together. Should be easy to do, but not worth the effort for this small test batch. I wanted to have consistent wad seating pressure, so I rammed the wads on their own and added the cards & slugs in by hand afterward.

I have thousands of 5/8" (about 19 gauge) cardboard disks that I've punched from cereal boxes and similar cardstock. I came up with these for use as crimp-support cards, but they also allow for pretty fine adjustment of the height of a slug or shot column in a cup-style wad. They seem to fit better than 20ga-diameter cards, with very little side-to-side play in the shotcup; and they're pretty darn cheap, considering that one $5 punch can produce several thousand before wearing out.

These are several times thinner than 1/8" nitros; thin enough that I can precisely adjust the slug height to compensate for different powder charges. In my drive key slug load, I found 10 of these cards under the slug produced the best crimp. while 8 below and one above worked well for the round balls.