BIG BORE AIRGUN DEER HUNTING AMMO PRO TIP: How to Make .45 Death Star Slugs!

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UpNorthAirGunner

UpNorthAirGunner

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Oct 19, 2017
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MI, United States
BIG BORE AIRGUN DEER HUNTING AMMO PRO TIP: How to Make .45 Death Star Slugs! 
(Powered by Lehigh Defense Maximum Expansion Technology)! Here is the demo video:

https://youtu.be/ARH9EfauUig



I thought about making these and selling them, but there really isn't any margin and take a bit of time so I am just going to show you all how to do it step by step. Follow these steps and make your own ammo for an awesome 50 yards and closer hunting slug that performs like a broad head with 1.75 inches of expansion!

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Step #1 - Get a box of these 220 grain Maximum Expansion .452 Slugs from Lehigh Defense, LLC​: https://www.lehighdefense.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=139

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Step #2 - Buy the aerosol version of the John Deere Graphite Lubricant / Coating - TY25797: https://www.greenpartstore.com/John-Deere-Graphite-Lubricant-TY25797.html

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Step #3 - Put the slug into a drill or drill press and spin it while sanding just a bit with 220 grit paper. Just enough to give the copper a texture for the graphite coating to adhere better. 

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Step #4 - Soak in a bath of Acetone for a few minutes and remove and let dry.

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Step #5 - Set the slugs up on a surface facing hollow-point down. Spray the slugs evenly with the coating with light coats. About 3-4 coats will bring it up to .459-.460. This step is critical because you want the coating to exceed the .457 size of your barrel.

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Step #6 - (Optional) I have shot these both sized .458 and totally unsized and I actually picked up 30 FPS NOT sizing them! I think they are sealing better unsized.

WHY THIS WORKS? So basically what I have created with this ammunition mod is a micro rifling situation where the rifling in your barrel is just biting into the .452 copper slug just enough to give it proper spin, but not getting all the friction that you would get if the slug was a full .457-.458. The graphite coating is filling in the space from .452 to over .457 creating a full air seal to get maximum velocity. 

The graphite coating is so soft you really don't need to size these because the second you pull the trigger and the slug engages that rifling, it is basically sizing the soft coating on the fly and sealing the barrel.  EDIT: SIZE TO .457 for best performance and accuracy. I have found there is little to no graphite coating remnants left in the barrel. No more than the typical amount of leading I get from traditional lead slugs.

The Lothar Walther steel used in a AirForce Airguns Texan .45 can shoot copper just fine from a hardness stand point and you aren't going to hurt your barrel doing this. The biggest issue with shooting full copper slugs is we just don't have enough chamber pressure to overcome the friction of copper. The technique above gets around this issue by lowered the overall rifling depth while getting the proper seal you need for decent velocity.

With the AirForce Texan .45 Carbon Fiber bottle kit I am getting right at 900 FPS. The accuracy I am getting is 1.5 groups at 50 yards and about 10 inches of penetration through thick pork shoulder roasts.

I WOULD NOT USE THESE BEYOND 50 yards. I don't think the accuracy is there nor the penetration. But archery like distances 50 yards and in on a Whitetail Deer, you are going to get DEVASTATING EXPANSION and if you get this thing into a broadside deer into the Heart and Lung area, it is going to cause extreme amounts of hemorrhaging and trauma for an ethical harvest.
 
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I really like the idea but need to put some caution note 

I hunt for freezer Graphite isn't poison or a known toxin but that's not the only thing in the can here is the link to the SDS sheet for safety I would cut away meat that the bullet travels through

https://3eonline.com/ImageServer/ImageViewer.aspx?id=UBgWSJxNvDvjkaC5BzLrLtCVohutBADrej7inWjNwjOG1%2fNGr9elEunq8RV7p4bMSvBClLs1ST3sX06R1Qd5W3%2brNs1pgm3Eu8chN4Hm9PMtS3By8FLJvuGokTYZcCK3hArOgTleLAv2Q46LwlJhFA%3d%3d

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I have to laugh at this a bit.....

#1 When Deer hunting and meat processing you always cut away the damaged tissue areas where the slug entered and exited the body and #2 Dude - we normally hunt with lead slugs - which is EXTREMELY toxic! Just sayin'.....
 
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Hummm...

I wonder if you could just buy the quart and hold the nose while dipping the base in the liquid? Then set to dry and it would probably be thicker and do it in one coat. Noticed that a comment there said had to mix for an hour to get it all suspended but my time is 'free'. Maybe next time.....

I went ahead and ordered a couple of spray cans. I can think of other things I can use it on now I know about it and did not want to pay $11 for shipping something that cost $7, haha So $14 (2x $7) for product and then shipping is OK 😁.

I definitely will be trying a thin coat on regular lead slugs as a lube too. Although I'm having good luck with an EXTREMELY diluted and hence thin coating of HiTek as a 'dry' lube.
 
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Hummm...

I wonder if you could just buy the quart and hold the nose while dipping the base in the liquid? Then set to dry and it would probably be thicker and do it in one coat. Noticed that a comment there said had to mix for an hour to get it all suspended but my time is 'free'. Maybe next time.....

I went ahead and ordered a couple of spray cans. I can think of other things I can use it on now I know about it and did not want to pay $11 for shipping something that cost $7, haha So $14 (2x $7) for product and then shipping is OK 😁.

I definitely will be trying a thin coat on regular lead slugs as a lube too. Although I'm having good luck with an EXTREMELY diluted and hence thin coating of HiTek as a 'dry' lube.
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You want to apply thin layers and build it up slowly. The rattle can will be better. Have fun!
 
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I wasn't ditching you upnorth, I was only adding a caution that wasn't stated, 

Further while lead is soft it is much harder than the coating that is being applied you tested the idea in gel, how much discoloration was in the wound channel from shedding of the film? 

Insuring the safety and never assuming the knowledge of a reader is a sign of a good teacher 

Sorry if I offended you 
 
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I wasn't ditching you upnorth, I was only adding a caution that wasn't stated, 

Further while lead is soft it is much harder than the coating that is being applied you tested the idea in gel, how much discoloration was in the wound channel from shedding of the film? 

Insuring the safety and never assuming the knowledge of a reader is a sign of a good teacher 

Sorry if I offended you
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No offense at all.... Just kind of funny.
 
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Hey just a heads up I spoke with a 30 year bullet manufacturer who informed me that Graphite is labeled as an armor pentrator.

Some law that was written back in 84 labeled as such, this is the reason why you will not find a Graphite bullet lube 

By the letter of the law any bullet coated or tipped with it can be considered as an armor piercing bullet.

To make things clear, I'm not saying this is what will happen and I've done searches looking for the law but I cannot find it. What I will say is the person who warned me about it has been involved in commercial manufacturer of bullets for over 30 years they know their stuff 

Just be careful
 
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Hey just a heads up I spoke with a 30 year bullet manufacturer who informed me that Graphite is labeled as an armor pentrator.

Some law that was written back in 84 labeled as such, this is the reason why you will not find a Graphite bullet lube 

By the letter of the law any bullet coated or tipped with it can be considered as an armor piercing bullet.

To make things clear, I'm not saying this is what will happen and I've done searches looking for the law but I cannot find it. What I will say is the person who warned me about it has been involved in commercial manufacturer of bullets for over 30 years they know their stuff 

Just be careful
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Ya - the mysterious "teflon" bullet law. Basically a law in North Carolina, South Carolina, Oregon and Oklahoma that stops someone from adding an additive to increase velocity of projectiles to become an armor piercing option. If someone wants to argue this mod even comes close to that - I will try to have that conversation through tears of laughter. I live in Michigan, but thanks for the heads up. I should caveat my post with - know your local laws.
 
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Yeah, she doesn't like it either she said graphite makes an excellent bullet lube and antifouling agent but they cannot use it because it would make it so the bullets they sell wasn't legal in some states 

I did see some old publications and journals discussing the use of graphite to increase a bullets ability to penetrate body armor but I don't know if this was through speed or graphites physical properties at impact. 

I freely admit there is not only a difference from a manufacturer doing something and an individual, and further an Airgun round and a firearm round, 

Her concerns was that since this is actually a firearm round a person could find themselves in a world of hurt if they are in a wrong State. 
 
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Yeah, she doesn't like it either she said graphite makes an excellent bullet lube and antifouling agent but they cannot use it because it would make it so the bullets they sell wasn't legal in some states 

I did see some old publications and journals discussing the use of graphite to increase a bullets ability to penetrate body armor but I don't know if this was through speed or graphites physical properties at impact. 

I freely admit there is not only a difference from a manufacturer doing something and an individual, and further an Airgun round and a firearm round, 

Her concerns was that since this is actually a firearm round a person could find themselves in a world of hurt if they are in a wrong State.
Click to expand...

Ya - to sell these as a manufactured product could run into issues. Since these aren't loaded into a round and using them as a personal use airgun projectile, I wouldn't think it would be an issue, but that isn't me giving advice - just thinking out loud.
 
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They have a 308 round also that I would love to try in the Texan problem is it's not undersized so as a copper round I am afraid of trying it in my Texan. I wish I could find a way to consistently size it down some because I would be more than willing to pay the price for a round that will open up a wound channel like this in deer and hog 

Most of my hunts are 75 yard kills and a 1 1/2 inch group is well within a good boiler plate shot with a round like this 

They also make the .50 round for Umarex 
 
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Just a quick update on my R&D.... SUPER Important! Don't apply too much coating to bring it much over .457. I applied 1 or 2 too many coats on my last batch and tried to shoot them unsized and the accuracy was horrible! It also mucked up the barrel a bit and had to pull out my nylon .45 cleaning brush. I think the key to this technique is to apply just enough of that coating to get it just a touch over .457 and then size it down for best accuracy. 
 
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Nice! Did you use these in a Texan with a modified leade, or do they chamber OK in a stock Texan? ( Wondering if the increased hardness of copper compared to lead makes them difficult to push in.)
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I have tested these in both my stock Texan and the one with the modified tapered lead in the chamber. The rifling is just grabbing at .452 at the base of the slug so I had to push this quite a ways into the barrel to get it to engage. The stock Texan definitely likes these sized to .457. My other .45 Texas with the tapered lead shot these unsized just fine but after more testing I found I was getting velocity swings shot to shot. So I am reccomending if you try this you size them to .457 and apply just enough coating to get it up to or just a tad over .457. Don't go too thick with this stuff.
 
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@UpNorthAirGunner check out the copper annealing process. It may have two benefits for you as far as those slugs go. It will soften them and it will expand the metal as well so they should fit the rifling better. I don't know by how much, but it may prove to be a worthwhile experiment.



www.google.com/search?q=annealing+copper&oq=annealing+copper
 
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I would like to thank you for sharing this tip. I am new to air gunning, but have dove in headfirst and now have a pretty good collection of various rifles. So far my favorites are the Airforce Texans, ( .25 condor, .357 Texan, .457 Texan CF, and the .50 Texan CF.) I also have a .22 Aspen, the new .25 Avenger, and as of last night the .50 Dragon Claw.

However, I first saw you do a video on these Lehigh bullets and went nuts! Exactly what I've been looking for, Maximum damage! I bought 2 boxes of the .452 Maximum Expansion and the Extreme Defence 220 gr. for my .50 cal, but then I found this, on how to make them work in my .457. (I'm making a batch right now).

All of my AF guns are modded by AAO, or Lethal air, so they're powerhouses! And thanks to your video on the Dragon Claw I saw today I will be sending that to CAP! I'm just waiting on my sabots to come in to try these out on my .50's!

Thanks again, and be safe out there!
 
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