onondaga
posted this
05 December 2011
[email protected]
Travis,
I use the same components as you with the Lee slugs but with 3% less than Lee's recommended charge of AA#5 powder. I have read high praises and severe complaints about the Lee recommendations. What I can tell you is to take a very good look at what the wads look like when you find then down range. Your accuracy will be horrible if the wads look badly torn up with one or more petals missing. Wads will be shredded and cut-up if the fit of the column and slug is restricted enough by bore or choke during firing to chew the wad badly , cut off petals or flatten them backward. This means that the fit is too tight in the bore of your shotgun.
A wad with thinner petals may fix the problem.
Removing the petals may fix the problem.
Sizing the slugs smaller would also work but not very practical unless you are a die maker.
If you use a cushioning wad under the slug to increase column length for the crimp, make sure it is well under diameter and that it is not made of a material that will expand to a larger diameter during firing and increase pressure and / or cut the wad petals.
Using the wrong alloy can cause the problem also. Use only pure soft lead - no alloy, no added tin, no nothing, just pure lead.
My slugs have fine accuracy, less than 2 inch groups at 50 yards, in a smooth bore with IC choke tube in my scoped Winchester 1300. When I change to a tighter choke or a rifled choke tube my accuracy is as poor as yours and I get shredded wads with missing petals and flattened backward petals. The wads look hardly damaged at all with the IC choke tube and accuracy is terrific.
The tight fit will put the breaks on the wad, separate the column and knock the accuracy out of slug shooting. Check your wads!!! They indicate fit of your load to your shotgun.
Gary