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Slug speed , fast or slow .. What I have learnt

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Laity

Laity

Member
Dec 14, 2018
331
13
Essex, United Kingdom
So here is the thing , I have been shooting slugs for a good while now and I have learnt that not all I have read and seen is right . I was under the impression that all slugs needed to be a million miles an hour or they would not work AT ALL .I was told that all need lube and that only FX barrels would shoot slugs . All this it seems is rubbish , So lets take this one at a time . A million miles an hour , I was obsessed with speed and running slugs flat out , I had to make sure that my Daystate was running balls out to make sure slugs grouped , if not , there would be no chance of them working . I had 28 grain slugs at 974 which is all it could do . I was worried that this was not fast enough , WRONG . It turns out that this is indeed too fast for some . Lube , Well I kind of get that but if a slug through the Daystate didn't work well even after using lube it was more down to speed than lubing it has turned out . FX liners , well I very soon worked out that a Poly barrel on a Daystate shoots slugs really really well assuming you have the right speed . yes you can change the speed with an FX gun and its harder to do incrementally on a Daystate , but you can change the speed . I was shooting may FX the other day using Wildman slugs , I could not get great so slowed it down from near the 1000 FPS to under 900 fps and the groups came in like no tomorrow . I was running 34 grain slug at 883 to 887 and the groups went mad , So so tight , I was really shocked how good they can actually be , I then turned it up again to the 1000 mark just to see . All over the place . So I now I am massive advocate of starting slow and then taking it up slowly and finding the right speed as opposed to fast then slower , I know its not that much different but it seems that these slugs can be as effective going slower and maybe not getting a pass through some times ? I dont like the idea of the slug expanding after its passed through the quarry. I woulds much rather it stayed in it as you can imagine ? So my question is , what is the optimum speed for a slug to expend and dump its energy and not pass through ? I know its an open ended question of course but interested to know what you think ? I dont want bits of slugs flying out the back end of a rabbit / pigeon at 100 yards going goodness knows where ?



Thoughts ?





Rog
 
I went through this yesterday. A 54.5gr nsa slug was a shotgun at only 50 yards at 1055 fps. Dropped to 900 its a laser. 65.5gr at 1030fps 2” groups at 100, 955 1/2” groups at 100. Ive seen these 65.5gr slugs at 800fps group so well its scary. Anyhow, if you want a slug that wont pass through at slower speeds try the griffin ldc. They seem to do pretty well for that.
 
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I've yet to discover one that demands 1000 fps to fly really well. Granted my current setup on my Taipan Long ( .22 with 700mm CZ barrel) likes the NSA 27.5's @975 - thats the fastest though. My RTI .25 cal chucks NSA 36.2's at 910'ish ridiculously accurately. That one, the RTI, is currently in a state of "I ain't touching it" (lol) - I just feed it air and ammo. The Taipan is (was) a work in progress - it got cold and then daylight savings time kicked in. {sigh} Hopefully I'll get it into a "I ain't touching it" state when better weather comes back in a few months . . . :)
 
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I have a very small amount of slug experience but can add a little. FX380 barrel 740 fps is a happy point for a couple. Now I will reference PBer experience called the ladder method for hand loading. There may be several speeds a bullet will shoot well. One shoots slow to hot loads at a target. And one findes points where speed groups or shows promise. One can do the same ascending power speed and see. Just a thought.
 
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I will share my experience with Hatsan neutron star here. I only had one choice - jsb knockout 25gn in .216 heads. Didn't work for me all the way from 820 fps to 920. They were still wobbling and terribly spiraling at 920. The 830 mark was a bit good though.

I tuned it again for jsb 18s at 900 fps and shoots well. Probably this barrel loves the .217 heads. I gotta get knockout or fx hybrid in this and will play again.

Bottom line - size matters :)
 
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So here is the thing , I have been shooting slugs for a good while now and I have learnt that not all I have read and seen is right . I was under the impression that all slugs needed to be a million miles an hour or they would not work AT ALL .I was told that all need lube and that only FX barrels would shoot slugs . All this it seems is rubbish , So lets take this one at a time . A million miles an hour , I was obsessed with speed and running slugs flat out , I had to make sure that my Daystate was running balls out to make sure slugs grouped , if not , there would be no chance of them working . I had 28 grain slugs at 974 which is all it could do . I was worried that this was not fast enough , WRONG . It turns out that this is indeed too fast for some . Lube , Well I kind of get that but if a slug through the Daystate didn't work well even after using lube it was more down to speed than lubing it has turned out . FX liners , well I very soon worked out that a Poly barrel on a Daystate shoots slugs really really well assuming you have the right speed . yes you can change the speed with an FX gun and its harder to do incrementally on a Daystate , but you can change the speed . I was shooting may FX the other day using Wildman slugs , I could not get great so slowed it down from near the 1000 FPS to under 900 fps and the groups came in like no tomorrow . I was running 34 grain slug at 883 to 887 and the groups went mad , So so tight , I was really shocked how good they can actually be , I then turned it up again to the 1000 mark just to see . All over the place . So I now I am massive advocate of starting slow and then taking it up slowly and finding the right speed as opposed to fast then slower , I know its not that much different but it seems that these slugs can be as effective going slower and maybe not getting a pass through some times ? I dont like the idea of the slug expanding after its passed through the quarry. I woulds much rather it stayed in it as you can imagine ? So my question is , what is the optimum speed for a slug to expend and dump its energy and not pass through ? I know its an open ended question of course but interested to know what you think ? I dont want bits of slugs flying out the back end of a rabbit / pigeon at 100 yards going goodness knows where ?



Thoughts ?





Rog
Click to expand...


 
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I have been shooting the Griffin Slugs .30 Caliber LDC SUPER LITE 31 - 39 Grain Cup Base . They have been great at 30 + yards, the full distance of my backyard range. 1 inch groups. And you talk about expanding. Must be because of the bead insert.
DSC_0888_2_1080x.1606617869.jpg
I'm using them in my Hatsan 130QE. The average fps is aound 570 with the ram pressure at 168bar. I was skeptical but I'm a believer now. Will be ordering more of these. Can't wait to hunt with them. 
 
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I have been shooting the Griffin Slugs .30 Caliber LDC SUPER LITE 31 - 39 Grain Cup Base . They have been great at 30 + yards, the full distance of my backyard range. 1 inch groups. And you talk about expanding. Must be because of the bead insert.
DSC_0888_2_1080x.1606617869.jpg
I'm using them in my Hatsan 130QE. The average fps is aound 570 with the ram pressure at 168bar. I was skeptical but I'm a believer now. Will be ordering more of these. Can't wait to hunt with them.
Click to expand...

Ive got a post somewhere on here about the 29gr .30 griffin ldc’s. I run them at 1300fps, major splat on birds. Testing them on full soda cans and oranges they dont even exit. Very very fun slug. Its the vmax of airguns!
 
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