Rules go out the window if it's accurate enough for you and makes you happy. Nothing else matters, the ultimate goal is entertainment.
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What I just learned about slugs. (from a slug shooter)
- Thread starter kaylaindy
- Start date
I'LL wait to see what KNIFEMAKER has to say about slugs before I agree with you. Unless ne is your source! Pellets seem like a thing of the past, considering you dont find them in stock anymore!
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@corny, I'm talking Original Smooth Twist barrels. Not the same as Smooth Twist or Smooth Twist X barrels. Different animal & OST barrels CANNOT shoot slugs with any appreciable accuracy. Physically impossible from my understanding.
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And using hybrids as the one slug a barrel can shoot and saying oh yeah it shoots slugs isn't really right. Hybrids are made just for that, to be shot in a barrel that doesn't necessarily like slugs. It's more of a slug shaped pellet IMO.
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I have never shot slugs other than H&N Grizzlies and rabbits.
With air rifles I have taken three white tailed bucks, 6 Jabalina, 4 coyotes, foxes, racoons, wild turkeys.
I have harvest ducks above 160 yards with my Air Ranger .25 Cal.
I have taken a dozen of birds at 160 yards.
None of the above mentioned animal were taken with slugs. None. All were taken with pellets. Mainly JSB's of diverse calibers (.357 the deers, and the rest .30 and .25 Cals.).
My life is probably ending faster than my stock of pellets could be replaced by the amount of slugs I would have to buy to "find the appropriate slug for each of my Air rifles.
I will die as an "old fashioned airgun hunter shooting pellets".
With air rifles I have taken three white tailed bucks, 6 Jabalina, 4 coyotes, foxes, racoons, wild turkeys.
I have harvest ducks above 160 yards with my Air Ranger .25 Cal.
I have taken a dozen of birds at 160 yards.
None of the above mentioned animal were taken with slugs. None. All were taken with pellets. Mainly JSB's of diverse calibers (.357 the deers, and the rest .30 and .25 Cals.).
My life is probably ending faster than my stock of pellets could be replaced by the amount of slugs I would have to buy to "find the appropriate slug for each of my Air rifles.
I will die as an "old fashioned airgun hunter shooting pellets".
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Here is what I have found after 5 years of research which includes talking to many smart people, like knife maker, and actual testing.Shooting a slug accurately requires three key items. A slug needs to be at or just .0005" larger than the groove diameter. Second is to find the proper length(not weight) to match your barrels twist rate. The last item is to find the correct velocity/power to help stabilize you project which goes hand in hand with the length to twist rate.
Of course harmonic tuning (finding the correct moment on the sine wave that your pellet/slug leaves the barrel) can be very important as well.
Please let me know if you think I'm missing something as I'm always open to learning from the many smart people here on AGN
Stephen
Of course harmonic tuning (finding the correct moment on the sine wave that your pellet/slug leaves the barrel) can be very important as well.
Please let me know if you think I'm missing something as I'm always open to learning from the many smart people here on AGN
Stephen
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We all have different needs. I am mainly a plinker, and target shooter. When I shoot, I like to shoot allot. So for me the optimal slug is one which is accurate, and relative unexpensive. My .22 impact with superior standard liner shoot the JSB knockouts fine, and I often shoot a whole tin, once I am out shooting. So for me there is no need to shoot heavier, or more expensive ones. Also living in Norway, there is limited options to choose from. After trying the .177 knockouts in both weights, with not great succes, I really hope FX can develope a specific .177 slugliner for them. That would be a "dream" slug for plinking, as they cost about the same as pellets, and has 400, or 500 pcs in a box
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G
Guest
Guest
Agree for .22 .25 .30 .357 Pellets are just fine I killed a boatload of big Wild boars with pellets.
Slugs are cool and sure work well when they work, but pellets are by no means on the way out......not for me at least, hopefully nobody buys them anymore the price goes down so I will buy more
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I’ve always been told to pour salt on a slug and it will kill them. 
Pellets on the way out? Right..
id love to have a .177 slug gun for long range ( +75) for me anyway.
Pellets suffice for 90% of my killing.
Pellets on the way out? Right..
id love to have a .177 slug gun for long range ( +75) for me anyway.
Pellets suffice for 90% of my killing.
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They do open up good. I did some slow mo in my upcoming video. They destroy fruit. I'll tell you that.
On the pellets of the past thing....I agree...I won't be giving up my JSB pellets...EVER! ...but I am going to try and aquire a selection of slugs and begin to try all the weights in the guns that come through. Surely slug shooting would be very expensive and take forever. He did say that pretty much, that it was a ton of work and expense...but in his case he was happy he did it. Now he makes amazing shots all the time. The guy that gave me that info has, or has had, almost every gun you can name.
Unfortunatly, I think NSA is the only one offering sample packs. It would be nice if everyone had them.
I always thought the end of my airgun journey would be the FX Impact...but there is one step up from there. Thomas makes an HP rifle that is $5000. ...but it comes with it's own slug swager die thing (probably worth $1k by itself). That guy shoots in the official national championship 100 meter bench rest....with his slugs. Getting one of those is on my bucket list for sure.
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I’ve got atleast a dozen different slugs. .217-.219 around 15gr-30gr. I can’t get any of them to shoot through my Kral PB. Tried velocities from 400fps-965fps. I chocked it up to the barrel being choked. I haven’t tried FX hybrids. To pricey and out of stock a lot.
Has anyone tried fire lapping to remove a little of the choke and see if that makes a difference with slugs?
Beau Moody
Has anyone tried fire lapping to remove a little of the choke and see if that makes a difference with slugs?
Beau Moody
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I did a couple weeks ago on a Kratos 25. I did a power tune by porting and shortening the vrs, to 51 FPE. I then polished the barrel using a solid steel rod with a ball bearing handled with guide, with a jag patch with #7 rubbing compound, then finished with Flintz. 30 strokes with #7 and 75-100 with Flintz.
The barrel is choked, and the choke was a very abrupt step. I worked the patch on that step repeatedly.
I have in the past only had luck with unchoked barrels and have always slugged my barrel and sized .001 to .0005 over groove diameter, that is the only way to do it i your a airgun caster.
However I had read that by sizing for the choke, you can get a choked barrel to shoot slugs. The Kratos barrel, main section, was .254 groove diameter/.251 groove for the choke.
I was casting the MPMolds 48 grain with lousy luck. I then sized to both .251 and .252, for the choke still lousy groups.
On a whim I shot 5 shots with the boat tail bullets loaded base first. Now bear in mind I shoot at 11 yards, but backwards these slugs are almost as accurate as Kings. If I load then nose first accuracy goes to hell, but they are a barn stormer base first.
Now I have a slug load for the Kratos, a semi wadcutter with a biat5ail that looks like it belongs on a 1930’s Auburn auto.
I have written about the importance of slugging your barrel to find groove diameter and size .001 to .0005 over groove diameter for years, but most would be slug shooters buy a box of slugs, have lousy luck and give up. Firearms get away with undersized bullets, airguns just do not have the power to bump a bullet up in duaneter.
Accuracy was pretty good at 710 FPS.
Regards,
Roachcreek
The barrel is choked, and the choke was a very abrupt step. I worked the patch on that step repeatedly.
I have in the past only had luck with unchoked barrels and have always slugged my barrel and sized .001 to .0005 over groove diameter, that is the only way to do it i your a airgun caster.
However I had read that by sizing for the choke, you can get a choked barrel to shoot slugs. The Kratos barrel, main section, was .254 groove diameter/.251 groove for the choke.
I was casting the MPMolds 48 grain with lousy luck. I then sized to both .251 and .252, for the choke still lousy groups.
On a whim I shot 5 shots with the boat tail bullets loaded base first. Now bear in mind I shoot at 11 yards, but backwards these slugs are almost as accurate as Kings. If I load then nose first accuracy goes to hell, but they are a barn stormer base first.
Now I have a slug load for the Kratos, a semi wadcutter with a biat5ail that looks like it belongs on a 1930’s Auburn auto.
I have written about the importance of slugging your barrel to find groove diameter and size .001 to .0005 over groove diameter for years, but most would be slug shooters buy a box of slugs, have lousy luck and give up. Firearms get away with undersized bullets, airguns just do not have the power to bump a bullet up in duaneter.
Accuracy was pretty good at 710 FPS.
Regards,
Roachcreek
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Don’t wreck a good pellet gun chasing slugs. Buy another gun or just shoot stuff with a .22lr. Just because a slug airgun doesn’t go bang like a .22lr doesn’t mean it’s safer to shoot. If these YouTube guys don’t stop getting every Tom, Dick and Harry all hyped up on airgun slugs, it’s gonna bite us in the ass soon. Some bonehead is going to take out a innocent bystander while shooting in his little backyard.
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Was that directed at me? As in I’m a bonehead or I’m going to screw this up, or I’m going to ruin a good airgun?
Im asking on a thread about shooting slugs through an airgun, a question about shooting slugs through an airgun? I know I haven’t posted in this forum before, but I don’t think that qualifies me as an imbecile.
Beau Moody
Im asking on a thread about shooting slugs through an airgun, a question about shooting slugs through an airgun? I know I haven’t posted in this forum before, but I don’t think that qualifies me as an imbecile.
Beau Moody
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Roachcreek
thanks for the info, I’m slugging my barrel this weekend. I’m ashamed I haven’t yet, all of my revolvers have been slugged because we cast for them.
Auburn reference was a good one by the way!
Beau Moody
thanks for the info, I’m slugging my barrel this weekend. I’m ashamed I haven’t yet, all of my revolvers have been slugged because we cast for them.
Auburn reference was a good one by the way!
Beau Moody
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Sorry about that. The don’t ruin a good airgun was directed at you. Those Punchers can really shoot a pellet well. The comment about the slug hype and someone screwing things up was directed at anyone this applies to. Just concerned that some guys are going to underestimate what happens beyond the target or animal when shooting bullets out of airguns.
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@Vetmx This is one of my concerns too. One youtube video I saw, a couple of guys shooting iguanas. They are shooting at these iguanas in the grass, and you see houses behind them, not even 50 yards away. The proper way would have been to shoot with their backs to the houses, not the houses in front of them. There are just too many videos like this and it's shocking every time. Forget slugs, we even need people to be pellet conscious.
I would never shoot a pellet where there was a remote chance of it ricocheting off a surface (it is far easier than anyone thinks) and hitting a house, pet or a person. Worse, a flyer veering off 10 degrees and going into a house at full power. With the larger calibers like 25/30, it'd mean someone being killed.
The UK guys were far more balanced and learned proper air gun behavior, even with their 12ft/lb limits. Over in the US, it's been a rampant climb to the 'most magnum power' available, and sooner or later someone's going to get hurt.
What I do see is people thinking that they can shoot slugs within urban areas and since it's 'only an air rifle', no one's going to get hurt.
The SA guys and other hunters are very responsible, they shoot slugs in places where the chances of hitting a person is less. I can't say the same for an urban backyard unless you have a metal back-stop. It's just the people who're influenced by the videos and going Rambo which is concerning.
Here are a couple of examples of what a person should NEVER do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5w_aFkZVgM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVHQTYGhWZQ
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I understand partner it’s not me though. I live on 250 acres and have one house within a mile. I’m just trying to get one of my airguns as adaptable as I can.
My PB is a very accurate pellet shooter also. If I happen to shoot the barrel out prematurely trying to take a very small amount of choke out, I’ll just order a new barrel. Which will hopefully be easier to acquire with the crosman deal.
Thanks guys!
Beau Moody
My PB is a very accurate pellet shooter also. If I happen to shoot the barrel out prematurely trying to take a very small amount of choke out, I’ll just order a new barrel. Which will hopefully be easier to acquire with the crosman deal.
Thanks guys!
Beau Moody
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