shotgun slugs

[mrussel]

I dont know if this is the place to ask this,but I dont see a shotgun reloading forum.

 I saw a 8bore slug/bullet the other day. Rather than the typical slugs we see in 12 ga,this slug (from the late 1800s when men were men,butt pads were not discussed in polite company,and you could buy HUGE guns from the Sears catalog) looked like a normal round nose copper jacketed bullet in a brass cartridge (I know they used to use brass for shotguns as well as rifle cartridges). My first question is,was this thing an 8bore shotgun slug or was it a cartridge for some sort of 8bore rifle. My second question is why do we use saboted slugs in our 12ga rifled slug guns? Why don't we use big .729 caliber lead (or some sort of alloy,especially if we might want it lighter) or copper jacketed bullets like that old cartridge did that fully engage the rifling. Most especially you would think that would work better than the typical slugs in 410 and 28 and 20ga rifled barrels.

[pennsyltuckymoose]

I can't help you with the first question about the 8 bore, but it may be for a big game rifle..

On the second question, Rifle barrel and shotgun barrels are two different animals...If you fill a 12 gauge bore with a solid lead slug you will at best get a rainbow trajectory... also remember that you are working with an extremely thin barrel and pressure is very critical... saboted slugs do a couple of thinks,  first fills the bore, second reduces weight drastically giving you a chance to gain velocity to extend range and ballistic performance...  If you want to see some bigbore slug guns and loads look at Ed Hubel's Sluggun from Hell threads running on several different forums... he is building strong guns/barrels using bigger slugs and different powders than traditional shotgunners use... also keep in mind that this is very specialized equipment and most people started using their "bird guns" in shotgun only states because they weren't allowed to use rifles... the ammo they used worked for limited range and was safe and fairly inexpensive.

TheMoose

[moosie]

The designation of "bore" instead of "gauge" is decidedly British/European in origin.  8 bore double rifles were big game guns designed to bring down the largest and most dangerous of game animals.  There were also 4 bore double rifles which were even bigger.  I personally do not want to shoot one.
moosie

[necchi]

Why don't we use big .729 caliber lead 

 They did, back in the civil war and called'm Minnie's then Maxi's. The trajectory is the issue, a projectile that big, even alloys, can't be driven fast enough for decent trajectory because they will "skip" the rifling instead of getting the proper spin when you crank up the velocity.
 Then they came along with the Fostner or rifled slug with a hollow base that would "flare" to fit the rifling and gained a bit more distance.
 The saboted slugs/bullets are all about distance and accuracy. You can still get full lead slugs and molds for them, they're used by ML smoothbore purists and re-enactors, it remains a limited distance an practical use item. They do have a place as a short range "heavy brush" projectile. 

[mrussel]

The designation of "bore" instead of "gauge" is decidedly British/European in origin.  8 bore double rifles were big game guns designed to bring down the largest and most dangerous of game animals.  There were also 4 bore double rifles which were even bigger.  I personally do not want to shoot one.
moosie

I do!! Once or twice.

[Dinny]

A little off subject but if you find some 28ga slugs of any variety, please let me know.

Most especially you would think that would work better than the typical slugs in 410 and 28 and 20ga rifled barrels.

Thanks, Dinny

[RMc]

Dixie Slugs now sells their 730 grain hard cast, heat treated .73 caliber Terminator slug as a component for reloaders. Loading data is available from Dixie also.