Continuing 45LCshooter's project......

Since Indiana doesn't allow deer hunting with rifles, this is going to be the project for this pre-season year.

There aren't any restrictions other than it needs to be a 20 gauge or larger shotgun, shooting a slug or sabot. In my own mind, I think I should at least have 20 gauge headstamped brass though.

I've got some Cerrosafe on the way to cast the chamber and throat. Going to order brass from Rocky Mountain as soon as I've got an idea of what the chamber looks like.

Just ordered the 600NE 1040g cast bullets from Beartooth to slug the bore with. Figure I can always lighten them up by hollowpointing in the lathe. I think at .622 they should be damn close anyway...although I don't remember seeing what his bore slugged at.

Need to find an idea of a light starting load, at a given slug weight with either BP or smokeless.

Probably should find a good cast bullet manual too if anybody has any recommendation.

Sent a PM to 45LCshooter for data...anybody else tried this since he started the thread way back when?

Getting a starting load with bullet that
heavy in a shotgun barrel will be tricky.
Check Dixie slugs as I heard they are making
hardened 20 ga slugs, as hard as the
12ga ones I run up in 12GA FH. And a little
lighter to work up a load.Ed.

Dang! I never realized my Ruger Red Label O/U was a 600 NE double. Some rifled chokes and it will give the Searcy .338 WinMag barrels some competition on Bambi and Dumbo.

Have you seen these 2000fps 3" slugs from Winchester?

I bought a box of the Winchester's you mentioned today. Rather pricey...but have the same problem that all the other sabots(and regular factory loaded slugs I've picked up) that I've begged, borrowed or bought have...They'll drop right down the barrel. WAAY undersized.

Casted the chamber/bore tonight, groove diameter is .6275. Looks like those 600NE bullets sized at .622 are going to be a bit on the small size unless I patch them.

The chamber has .750 freebore. Measured just ahead of the rim at .703, @3.00" it is .690.

For reference, the Magtech brass is .695 ahead of the rim and .676 at 2.5".

fireball.....i thought the sabotted slugs were supposed to drop down the barrel. if they were made to engrave in the riflings, there would be no room for the sabot.....which is what i thought was supposed to actually engrave on the riflings.

You can take the slug/sabot combination and drop the whole damn thing right down the barrel - no contact.

Winchester, Remington, Federals, and Lightforce(?)

Good idea!! The deer here in Indiana are VERY tough and require some serious power to stop a charge... Maybe the 12ga From Hell would be more appropriate???

Thanks for the insightful post....

The Beartooth 900 grainers arrived today. They're sized to .623.

Here's a picture next to some 230 grain 45's for reference.



I've gleaned some preliminary data from some other members on here - will probably chuck up a couple of these bullets and lighten them up on the lathe tonight to around 500 + 700 grains.

Still waiting on brass, but might try a couple with this Magtech brass(but its pretty light stuff).