Making Lee, 12 ga., 7/8 oz. shotgun slugs

Pouring lead slugs is much the same as casting lead bullets. However, this is my first time using an aluminium mold and it took some time to develop a rhythm and get the lead temperature just right. So, for this being the first time I was happy with the outcome.
NOTE: They shot really well and I had lots of fun.
Caution: always read, understand and follow all safety practices that come with and or are associated with reloading equipment !

[@josearellano5778]

Hey boss man I found it a little easier to warm up the mold With a blowtorch. Just a few seconds like 10 or 15 to get it warm

[@notsosilentmajority1]

I have not yet attempted reloading shotgun shells BUT your video definitely gives me incentive. Thanks and best wishes.

[@carlosmiguelpimientatovar8458]

Congratulations Master, for such an interesting video and the beautiful tools that you have in your workshop.

[@blueduck9409]

I like to quench my slugs by dropping them directly into a can of cold water. It will harden the slug a little bit with out reducing the weight.

[@timd729]

Great info telling us the temperature and then giving us a closeup. Im about to do this with 45 bullets

[@jungleno.]

The Lee 7/8oz slugs are very accurate. They fit nicely in once fired Federal or Estate hulls. Tapered wall hulls are a bit too snug of a fit. Fed 12S0 wads or Winchester gray or pink wads work fine with a crimp. Claybuster versions WILL NOT work.

[@Ruteger100]

that was fun!

[@cb3391]

Love this mold, works 👍

[@cb3391]

Still my fave for ease, & reliability.

[@archangel20031]

That fold of flat metal on the one leg, once adjusted properly, is for resting the mold on while pouring the lead.

[@waptek2]

thank you , i was gonna post that lol

[@escott3829]

My 10lb potatoes Not Have.. I Figure Use Some 2x4 Drop Offs And a Bolt I Can Adjust As A Limit For Alignment.

[@robertbarbour2421]

Great idea with the heat gun.

[@southronjr1570]

A couple of tips from a ,uh hum, seasoned caster if I may. I use 2 different pans, one for obvious rejects and sprues as the mold comes up to temp, I also keep an old firefighters glove around so I can swing the sprue plate back over without having to hit it with the mallet. I use sawdust and candlewax to flux with and it has been found to clean up the lead the best for me.

[@LiveFree-ij3hn]

I always place my mold on the melting pot while its heating up to preheat it.

[@tymz-r-achangin]

RULE NO. 1 DO NOT hit the center mold bracket with the mallet or anything else ... you only hit the nut/bolt that holds the two halves and center part of the mold together. Otherwise you will eventually bend the bracket that supports the center part of the mold and it often times will not be a fun task bending it back to the perfect position it needs to be in order to line back up with both the left and right parts of the mold

[@robertfrapples2472]

Rubbish. These things cost $38. Beat the living hell out of them. I make thousands of Lee slugs. I have to pour 500 today. The best way to make a reluctant one drop the slug is to smack the thin metal plate you mentioned that supports the core pin. It may bend a bit, but it easily bends right back. I have four of the 7/8oz models that I've used for years. They still perform flawlessly, and have paid for themselves countless times.

[@tymz-r-achangin]

RULE NO. 2 DO NOT hit the sprew plate. Once you bend it, it will not lay flat against the top of the mold thus will not shear off the slug at the proper height, and these are not often easy to get flat again whereby it is not just a simple matter of tightening it down in your vice or smacking it flat on a hard surface. It takes a bit of work to get it back it back into the proper working condition whereby sometimes having to account for the flexibility of steel and bending things past their flat position in order for the steel to then spring back just right to return itself to the flat position

[@robertfrapples2472]

First, replacement sprue plates are like $4. Second, I don't see how it's possible to bend said thick steel plate with normal or even heavy rapping. I do it all the time to make it release the sprue. Never had one bend. You're more likely to damage the threads on the screw that holds the plate on than the plate itself, if you beat on it with it open.

[@huckstirred7112]

@@robertfrapples2472 there is no reason to hit your sprue plate . Put on a welding glove and push it over .Every bullet mold is a precision machine why beat on it like a computer

[@danielmacdonald8358]

Nice video 👍 thank you

[@doug595959]

i use this mold if you have an acetylene torch use the soot to coat the mold

[@danlarsen7572]

Looks easy enough

[@MegaBait1616]

I have the same mold. lol, now got to know how to load them. I do rifle and pistol handloading. First. ........

[@CarlPapa88]

I've seen warming the mold recommended before, but watched a BRO video earlier where he didn't heat it at all. Just turned thay same pot to the setting between 8 & 9. Lil hotter lead and it poured, filleed the mold, & very little sprue to trim.

[@yolo-qr2fq]

I would advise you to hit the bolt that everything connects to the handles as on other videos.

[@mauricelone2266]

Dropping the moulded slug on to the plate on top of a table, maybe not a good idea. I drop mine on to a damp towel, first making sure it`s an old one. I also always put the first ten straight back in the melter.

[@Sharps-im4lb]

That is an excellent suggestion. Thanks

[@billprice6248]

i like the pie plate. bill

[@leighrate]

Personally I would dump the first dozen directly back into the pot. After that the mould should be nicely up to temperature.

[@donesixfour]

I just heat my mold by the fire and quench all my slug babies

[@TheEndleader]

I WANNA TRY!!

[@escott3829]

Yeah.. I Got The 10ld Lee Bottom Spout.. Ya Cant See Spout.. Im Thinking A 2x4 Block To Limit Under Travel/Aid Alignment.

[@dabobby7473]

You can speed things up by dumping into water other wise you have to slooow down to keep the slug from deforming,

[@artstudio9673]

Drop it on wet soft towel.

[@PimptatoPCs]

Jeez, so many "experts" in the comments ...

[@waptek2]

0:12 caliber # 18?

[@timothyguzman6051]

Any recomendations on were to buy the equipment needed including the burner that you own.

[@johnblood3731]

Fs reloading has led products for a good price.

[@Sharps-im4lb]

Amazon

[@jungleno.]

He is using a 20 pound Lee bottom pour pot.

[@blueduck9409]

Lee precision. Find them on google, facebook, ect. They are the cheapest way to go. RCBS is better quality, but more expensive. Lyman is good, Seco, Redding, Hornady all make good stuff. Cabelas sells reloading stuff, Natchez, Midway USA, Brownells, Gander mountain. Those are good places to start. Google is a good way to find stuff too. Im sure you can buy the stuff on Amazon too.

[@drunkenhillbilly456]

Did you do anything before heating the mold, lubrication or smoking?

[@Sharps-im4lb]

James Tepfenhart the instructions said to smoke it if I recall correctly.

[@ceez33167]

i'm just starting to learn about casting, is pure lead the best for slugs? are harder leads not a good idea? also would reclaimed eagle shot be good to melt down and use for slugs?

[@MyLonewolf25]

Ceez33 soft will be just fine But I’d cast hard lead if I’m going after bear

[@waynegroves6922]

@@MyLonewolf25 It was back in 1960, and I was seven years old. I was outside playing with my new spinner top, when a friendly, neighborhood bachelor arrived home from work, saw me out in the street throwing my top around, and invited me over to his house - across the street and down about two, to show me his toys. Over the summer, he taught me how to make some interesting string toys, like the walkie-talkies we "tested" out in the front yard. My mom thought he was a pervert, or something, because she never saw him with a female, but I discovered that he was just a lonely guy, a loner, and just wanted someone to talk to. The point of it all is that he was also a gunner, a reloader to be exact. I remember him showing me how he obtained lead to make his bullets, the powders, and everything that went into making bullets. That's where I became a gun enthusiast. Towards the end of the summer, I remember my dad talking to my mother about all the cars in the neighborhood suddenly losing all their wheel weights - like, overnight. I also remember my older friend showing me how to reload a bunch of bullets that he had just poured (I even got to help cut the sprues off), and him telling me that these were made from some extra hard lead that he just picked up. Well, I never confronted him with the news about all those missing wheel weights, but even as a young child I knew where all that shiny lead came from. I learned many years later just how hard wheel weight lead was, and how it was a favorite material of reloaders to use in creating varying degrees of bullet hardness.

[@jungleno.]

Pure lead is best. The softer the better. DO NOT shoot slugs through barrels with choked tubes. Shot is ok but expensive.

[@blueduck9409]

Pure lead will weigh more and it is very soft. It will mushroom and deform when fired, during impact. Hard lead weighs less, and keeps its form better during firing and after impact. Hard lead usually penetraits better because of less mushrooming. Any lead you can melt down should work, but it really depends on what you want to use it for. Hard lead is usually brittle, and can break, soft lead bends and mushrooms and usually dont break.

[@shindukess]

I don't get it I followed everyone's instructions on prepping the mold but the slug just won't let go of the core pin and gets stuck. I'm melting birdshot into 7/8 slugs. I even tried to debur the core pin but nothing.

[@tomothybahamothy]

Any luck?

[@shindukess]

@@tomothybahamothy Haven't tested since that comment. One person had some luck lubing the core pin with candle wax but it shouldn't be like that where you have to lube it every cast.

[@ramo0901]

The pin has to finish warming up and expanding. Pull the slugs off with pliers and reintroduce them to furnace you ding them up. Otherwise keep casting until they start coming off easier. I’ve it take 10 or more before.

[@shindukess]

@@ramo0901 I had the mold sitting in the pot too much that it wouldn't let the lead set. After a little it should have been down to the correct temperature but it still wouldn't let go.

[@shindukess]

@@tomothybahamothy the monarch bird shot I was using was too hard with antimony. You have to dilute it with soft lead like fishing sinkers or air gun pellets. After that they drop like nothing.

[@basilexoticleaf7948]

How do you get the lead off of the bottom plate

[@Sharps-im4lb]

If you follow the directions on getting the mold ready there shouldn’t be an issue. I’ve never had a sticking problem. As the lead cools it pulls away from the mold but you still have to smack it.😁

[@hoffmiermp]

How much tin/antimony are you adding to the amalgam btw? Do you polycoat them?

[@Sharps-im4lb]

I buy all my lead already alloyed; (#2, 20:1, 100 %, etc.) from an on line site and use what ever is recommended in my book. 🙂. I do not polycoat.

[@artstudio9673]

I will be using Pure soft lead and will add about 1-2% tin to help with the mold fill out. I will not be using alloyed lead b/c I don't want to have a hard lead slug, I only have smooth bore. I may want a harder lead if I had a rifled barrel?

[@kylecolton103]

What kettle are you using? Thanks.

[@Sharps-im4lb]

I go into more detail and show my lead pot in this video. Enjoy kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJicc3uYqpightE

[@chestnutlouie4709]

Gloves?

[@glennbell7909]

7/8 ounce. I've watched a few of these why notput a piece of tungsten in the center to add weight ( 1 oz ) slug. Is there a reason no one does this

[@waynegroves6922]

I've been wondering why no one makes a 2- or 3-ounce slug. Why not bigger than the industry standard?

[@glennbell7909]

@@waynegroves6922 may be to much weight an not enough velocity out of a low brass bird shot shell idk

[@ronaldhorne5106]

This particular slug geometry seems to shoot more accurately at 7/8 ounce. There are other slug configurations that shoot well at higher weights. Why are there no 3 ounce slugs? Physics! For each action there is an equal reaction. A 3 ounce slug would require about three times as much gunpowder and would generate about three times as much recoil.

[@jungleno.]

Good luck trying to perfectly center that piece of tungsten otherwise your slug won’t fly straight. Better off buying the Lee 1oz slug mold if you want a heavier slug but 1oz slugs are not as accurate as the 7/8

[@leviathanoctavio9491]

What is the name make and model of the burner that you are using? is it electric?

[@Sharps-im4lb]

Lee Pro 4-20

[@leviathanoctavio9491]

@@Sharps-im4lb thank you

[@jungleno.]

It’s a Lee 20 pound bottom pour pot

[@theamputeehunter2074]

What size wad to do you use with that size

[@jungleno.]

They fit nicely in once fired Federal or Estate hulls. Tapered wall hulls are a bit too snug of a fit. Fed 12S0 wads or Winchester gray or pink wads work fine with a crimp. Claybuster versions WILL NOT work.

[@citylotgardening6171]

Great video have you shot any of those slugs yet ? If so are they accurate ? Thanks for sharing

[@jungleno.]

The Lee 7/8oz slugs are very accurate. They fit nicely in once fired Federal or Estate hulls. Tapered wall hulls are a bit too snug of a fit. Fed 12S0 wads or Winchester gray or pink wads work fine with a crimp. Claybuster versions WILL NOT work.

[@happycamper2976]

can you use used bullets to make the slugs

[@Sharps-im4lb]

The answer is yes and maybe. Lead comes in different hardnesses. As long as you are generally using the same lead type you’re okay to mix in some bullets. However, I keep my lead types in separate containers so I know exactly what I’m shooting.

[@happycamper2976]

what kind of lead do you use

[@Sharps-im4lb]

I use the lead Lee recommends which is pure lead.

[@mrshowtime7465]

Where can I buy one? Ive been looking with no light in sight

[@Sharps-im4lb]

I think I got mine from midwayusa

[@mrshowtime7465]

@@Sharps-im4lb thank you, but it says out of stock and no backorder available. I think they are discontinued everywhere

[@frankroy9423]

Can you use a brass component instead of lead.

[@Sharps-im4lb]

Can’t say. Never tried or seen data to support that. Sorry

[@CarlPapa88]

I believe with a brass hull it's black powder that's used.

[@BUZZKILLJRJR]

Can anyone help? I got a 2.2 cc dipper with my 7/8 lee slug mold and I was wondering why? Is it for hand reloading the 7/8 slug or the proper amount of shot to melt down? I'm just getting into reloading my grandfather passed away 12 years ago and he was the only one that enjoyed shooting as much as me and he was a wealth of reloading knowledge he did it all. so if someone could help answer the mystery I would very much appreciate it ! Thank you 8)

[@jungleno.]

The dipper is a powder measure.

[@BUZZKILLJRJR]

@@jungleno. yeah.... but is it a recommended amount for a 7/8 slug ? It's has no instructions on what the dipper is for. Is it black powder, flash powder, baby powder? Doesn't say and a lil Birdy told me you gota be very careful and exact on the amount you use.hahaha but that was a good answer.

[@jungleno.]

@@BUZZKILLJRJR the slug mold from Lee comes with instructions and a couple of load recipes. The powder Dipper is for those recipes. There are very few recipes for the Lee slugs but some reloaders(wink wink) use starting load recipes intended for 7/8 oz shot with wads appropriate for slugs. Some reloaders(wink wink) use between 16-17g Hodgdon Clay's under Fed 12S0 or Winchester gray or pink wads for low recoil 7/8 oz slug loads.

[@BUZZKILLJRJR]

@@jungleno. Roger that. There were some that requires alot more but starting small and easier and working up would be the best way to take it slow.

[@BUZZKILLJRJR]

@@jungleno. also thanks brother I appreciate the time for the answers, mine didn't come with instructions tho so I'll have to see if I can call them or find it online. any good shot gun loading books a guy could recommend?

[@laredoland]

Are commercial slugs made of pure lead?

[@Sharps-im4lb]

Sorry I don’t know. I’ll have to do some research

[@beverlygolden9893]

Killing me watching you rap the drive key, if you read the directions it'll show you to hit on the pivot bolt of the handles

[@BUZZKILLJRJR]

Oh ok I see what you mean the big steel bolt at the base I was doing it wrong as well just started making them, and it works great mine didn't come with any instructions tho.

[@willvandermeer4733]

Any reason why i always see people use 7/8 over 1 oz?

[@Arouth249]

I wondered the same when I went to buy my molds. I heard that 1oz are not as accurate because of their weight distribution.

[@willvandermeer4733]

@andrewrouth249 I saw the same as well .. I ordered 1 oz anyways.

[@fatfreddyscat5173]

Looks like ya had a grande time piddlin'. What more could an olde fart ask for? Hehehe. d;^)

[@hstetser5376]

That little black thing on the left leg of your furnace is a mold rest/guide. Those sprues all over the top of your mold are completely unnecessary

[@carlschnier4089]

For safety concern gloves, mask and a less crowded working area would be advised. Dropping hot lead on the table is a good way to burn your leg and other parts.

[@jungleno.]

Wear leather gloves, cotton garments, leather footwear and a face shield.

[@tymz-r-achangin]

Sorry but we're not 8 years old and need talked to like Mr Rogers from the neighborhood on how to make our manly 12ga slugs for our reloads

[@jeremyjames1659]

Sitting in a chair where you can watch the pour spout helps with all the over pours you're getting. Do that and you won't need the mallet to open the sprue, just use a glove on your right hand.