Following on from Rangers post on Valmet Metalic Cases I thought I would for interest sake help populate this area and post a project one of my buddies from Down Under has been working on. Given resources are pretty limited where we are, this has been quite an undertaking on his half to find the actual items from round the world, get them here and then assemble up his pet dream reloading project for the slug enthusiast. Lot of modifying dies, machining bits and coming up with solutions and home brand tooling. What he has arrived at is a locally sourced 3" metalic cartridge load running 1 3/8 oz Fury custom jacketed HP projectiles at .729. This is powered over a cut back Guilandi super G 1 oz straight wall wad and Blue Dot Propellent to give 1400fps. The cases are modified for a Winchester 209 with a home made cutter much the same as Rangers new toy. Carlson Rifled Choke is used to send it spinning on its way. Initial testing has been very positive with superb accuracy over the bench so far using a trusty Pardis Lever Action Shotgun with 22" barrel and reflex sight.The downside is the recoil out of such a light frame gun is a killer. This should be one heck of a package for hunting mud caked pigs.
Ok very well done. I’m happy to see that there is another nut in the world besides me, but I need more information. First pictures of what he is shooting this slug out of. I’m guessing that’s a pretty heavy drop of blue dot? His wad choice is excellent. They make very good wads. And lastly how about some pictures of the reamer he used for the 209 primers. See my post on pocket reamer( new toy) in the valmet thread.
Spoke to the slug nut at work today. He started 35 grains which has been very accurate so far but can step up to 37 to tune up across the chrono. Said he ended up getting the nice thick custom brass from somebody here in Melbourne but like be $ 7.50 us each. Ouch! I will get some further pictures down the track. The Pardis he uses nothing flash. Is essentially mid range Turkish pump gun like a Mossberg turkey gun. They factory modify to lever action so to meet and sell the laws here for farmers and hunters. They are actually made out of a high quality bohler steel with milled steel receiver. Pretty robust for what you pay. Thought he would have shaken the thing to bits over the years with all the dedicated heavy slug work he does but it has actually stood up OK, better than I imagined, but is a little looser with the barrel fit into receiver now days. I am just amazed at the group accuracy he gets out of it and his reloads.
Very interesting. I have dabbled a bit with blue dot, good powder. It just normally takes a good amount of powder to get it done. I figured about 35 grains. that's about 200 rounds per lb of powder, opposed to almost double for any other powder. My current slug of choice is a 546 grain slug. My gold slug gun handles it well, but you for sure know it when you pull the trigger. Is the barrel smooth bore or riffled? Yea brass is expensive, the RMC brass is about 7.50 a case, however, they take 209's and you can load them with modern wads.
Ranger here is the Slug Nut piece (Pardus). Roll crimp plastics are other versions of his work. He also has an excellent go to load which uses roll crimp cast Lyman 1 oz Keyster with same Guilandi and powered by ADI AS 50 which I think they market in USA as Hodson International. In your search for primers we sometimes get hands on Italian martignoni (Nobelsport) 209/ 686 which are .243" and quite a firm press fit in the European straight walls.
Nice, those Winchester rangers look to be the old compression formed. Any idea how old the hulls are? I know you guys get different stuff then we do. Would love to shoot a couple of those. I could even be comfortable carrying that lever gun. Do you know what is the longest distance he is maintaining accuracy? I use to shoot a smooth bore Rem 1100 with slugs, been many moons ago but if I remember correctly, about 75 yards was the limit. My current slug gold has riffled barrel, does well out to 150 yards, maybe 200 if lucky. Now with the riffled choke it has been said that it improves accuracy. primers.... don't get me started, been looking for some rio primers as they are the biggest. I have some rio hulls and none of the other primers work in them. win, fed fed209, cheddite, or rem209. I sure wish someone would make a standard and all primers be made to that. I have read that you can swag the large primer pockets and then use like a win 209. They make the tools here, but haven't tried it yet.
Ballistic Products have the tool. Its a hand punch and swage base think its $25. Your pretty hands on so you be able to do this no problem. What I have seen guys do here is use that BP punch set as basis for a die and incorporate it and its base into a homemade press setup made out of round and flat bar and a couple of bushes. Essentially like a bottle capper for your home brew cross with a mec 600. You get the idea. The BP punch and base are well made and hardened. Other trick as we have your problem all the time is get your hands on a mec super sizer collet resizer. If you get them and fiddle around with the actual collet stops you can get them to crush just enough that it shrinks in the plastic base in around the primer nicely to grip in any brand straight wall. This works on the Rio hulls your playing with and will let you use win 209 and hold it firm I have done quite a few this way. Not many reload here at all any more can tell you that, so anyone who does has to be creative when it comes to equipment and using what you can get. Yes the compression formed are old. Winchester did them here at the Gelong Plant up to about 2008 or 10 before switching to straight wall and importing the HS Stuff
Yes I have a super sizer, I have read that before, just never tried it. May order the BP one and give it a whirl.
Ranger ran into him again today asked him on accuracy. Can break a clay consistent 100 yards measured. Group 3 shots in 4" circle. Certainly good enough for pigs side on profile. Catch them wallowing in dam mud and get the jump on them your talking 30 to 50 yards. At 5o yards reckons can put them in 2" circle all day
