Reloading Lyman Slugs

[HuntenNut]

Just ordered the mold for the lyman slugs from another member here, and this will be my first reloading experiment. Will be using with my 12ga Ultra Slug.

I am told that the loads listed in the Lyman manual (thats on the way too) are for star crimped loads.

I am on a budget, and didn't want to purchase a machine and was planning on loading with a roll crimper and a drill press. Powder would be weighed on a scale. I am not going to be loading more than a 100 or so per year, so I will be using new shells (as I understand it, one of the purposes for the reloading mahine is to re-form the shells).


Has anyone loaded them this way, and what kind of results should I expect?

Do I need to change any of the load data if it was meant for star crimp method, or are they interchangeable?

[Leftoverdj]

Yes, the crimp makes a difference. Unfortunately there is little roll crimp data available. My method is to select star crimped data that shows less than 9000 lup or to reduce star crimped data by 5%. I dunno that this is safe, only that I have not blown up any shotguns doing it.

Shells that have been roll crimped may be easily reloaded by roll crimping. They can be had by the garbage bag full after police qualification since almost no one reloads them.

[Sourdough]

I just do star crimps on all my slug loads.  I load the Lyman Slug, and the Dangerous Game Slugs from Ballistic Products.  The roll crimper is too expensive for the few loads I go through a year.  I use the loads for star crimps, and have good results.

[HuntenNut]

Sourdough,

I do not have a shotshell reloader, so it would be less expensive for me to go with the roll crimp. You can get the tool for less than $10 and use it with a drill press. I will be using a scale to measure the powder and don't have a need to load large quantities.

I think I am going to try the under powered loads out and see how it works with the roll crimp.

[Sourdough]

HunteNut:  I have both a MEC press and a Lee Loadall.  The LEE actually does a better job than the MEC on slugs.  You sometimes have to put pressure on the slug and wad to press them below the crimp line before crimping.  The lee does a better job of this.  The LEE is not that expensive, and if you look around you can probably find a used one for a lot less.  Most people usually get one and use it a few times then move up to a larger press.  They then give it away, throw it away, or sell it cheap.  Anyway all the roll crimping tools I have seen are just as, or more expensive as the LEE Loadall.