How to make them:
How they work:
Both the process of making them, and the way they function seems safe enough. They cycled really nice in that Saiga 12 at the end of the video too!
I might give this one a try.
Anyone have any experience with these, that can attest to their effectiveness?
Comments
30 responses to “Wax Shotgun Slugs”
I think i love this guy lol.
And lol pronouncing Saiga like Sega.
I would love to see what these do on ballistics gel in slow motion.
It’s pronounced “say-gah” and not “sa-ee-gah.”
Actually we in Russia pronounce it “sa-ee-gah” =)
Most Northern Europeans, including Russians, would pronounce it “Sa-eeh-gah”
Yeah, this guy is the best!
I find this an intriguing and amazingly practical idea. I wonder if Y-Man is familiar with these? I wanna see if I can make bullets using substances other than lead which have higher melting points, such as iron oxide. Homemade Lead Free bullets.
Yeah, someone should send a link to this to Y-man (of TheFirearmBlog.com fame.)
I want to see what this does in ballistics gel.
I imagine it would be pretty devastating as the shot would in theory splatter out upon impact.
There are a lot of good conventional factory slugs in the market…so I don’t see the advantages of these wax slugs. If you need penetration , then shoot a DIY shell with .700 steel ball projectile. I will agree with “armed_partisan”, that this method can be used to make projectiles from higher melting point materials. Also I would make a conical cap, which would let to make kinda spitzer point projectiles . Or put a tube in the middle and you’ll have a hollow slug …
you obviously dont understand the point of this.
I’m afraid I don’t see why one would make these except for the obvious novelty making cool homemade wax slugs. Is there a reason one would prefer these wax slugs over regular 1oz lead retail slugs?
these wax slugs are a carry over from the past, like the cut shell. it was one way to make cheap and effective ‘slugs’ when the only ammo you can afford/find is bird shot.
Keep in mind a box of slugs from cabelas is still federal truball rifled slugs are ~$5 per 5 where you can get 25 shots of the kent ultimate fast lead shells(still 12Gauge 2 3/4″ shells) for ~$12. So for a bit more then twice the price you get 5 times the shells. If money was very tight, like from the great depression, or if this is your only option. it is one way to get it done.
Plus the Glaser effect it has on a body. I dont care about it being cheap, i care about the newfound limb-shearing power :D
Hence the term Lost Arts =P
Agree with “dagamore” !
Another real advantage is not all gauges have slugs available locally, like 28 gauge or 16 gauge. You can find ’em online, but I’ve never seen these in the wild.
DON”T DO IT! The wax builds up in the barrel after a few shots and the gun will burst! I know. It happened to me about 40 years ago. It was used as a last resort long ago during hard times and only one or two shots were fired then the gun was cleaned with gasoline as I found out too late from my grandfather. I’m very lucky I wasn’t injured, my gun was totally destroyed.
sure it wasn’t the gasoline in the barrel?
plus you also have to consider that back in the day the shot didnt sit in the fancy plastic shot cup wads like it does now. the wax doesn’t build up in the gun because it isn’t touching the barrel at all, it is contained by the shot cup. plus if there was a small amount of wax left behind it would be vaporized and ejected from the barrel by the heat and pressure of the gun discharging anyway.
hello came across this site while doing some research on wax slugs. I say you are spot on right.wax will be contained in plastic shot cup ,it wont be free till after leaving the barrel. may I ask do you know a lot about wax slugs how to reload etc. I am from Europe at the moment the are even banning buck shot ,and slugs so we are only left with birdshot. so we have no other option to look for other means,am I right to say there is huge misconception false fear misleading info about reloading shot shell either wax or home made slugs .question: when you have a shot shell top cut opened and you pore in the candle/wax mix bird shot into the shell is there a chance that the liquid wax will seep through to the bottom and wet/damp the powder charge?. please bare in mind as from European views I am talking about only opening top of shell not interfering with primer charge etc. we don’t have LEE loaders etc. also keep the weight of the lead shot the same we use 28 grams 7.5 shot . hope to hear from you thanx
Do you think this would work with “white school glue” instead of hot wax.Seems like it would work fine and be easier and less messy.
Now that Obama is hell bent to disarm America, anyone wondering why wax slugs may make a comeback? I can still by birdshot, but slugs and 000 buck… nowhere in quantity. I can go make myself a case of these in an afternoon and go hog hunting… yes, with my shotgun that holds more than 3 rounds and is (gasp) a semi-automatic.
I’ve been making them with hot glue.I dont cut the crimp all the way off,so i can glue it back down.This keeps it the same size,leaves no exposed lead at the end,and also make a kinda hollow point. The balistics are unreal,even better than slugs! The shot fuses with the cup and wads out to the size of a quarter! This is my new shotgun ammo.
I’ve used just about every shell there is, I’ve made over a hundred of these wax slugs and as far as cheap and effective go id put a B-plus for these wax slugs..only for the reason of distance and break up upon firing…. as too “build up” in the barrel, I shot these out of my newest shotgun,and can find no evidence of any kind(other than cheap target shells leaving there residue). (P.s all my shotguns are benelli, and I’ve heard people say that they don’t do so good in older, cheaper models)
I’ve been firing these out of my stevens 320, wax slugs that is. Somewhere near a hundred or so rounds and while they aren’t consistant I have hit targets at the 80 to 90 yard range, with total devistation. .25 cents a round and all the fun of target shooting. So far televisions, laptops, 2x4s, and almost a 4″ tree. Never have tried a hd wax slug, anyone?
can you do this with a 20 gauge
If you made these from reloading components, not having to cut them open, could you crimp fold them?
A couple of thoughts;
1) There are “hot melt glue guns” for wax.
2) I think this could be done as a step in regular reloading and all done in the plastic cup.
This would be away from powder, so any issues of heat, hot wax, naked flames, etc wouldn’t arise.
3) A bit of tape wrapped around the slits should keep any wax drips or leakage ever getting out of the slits and fouling the barrel.
(although I suspect that any wax residue in the barrel would be wiped out by the wad of the next round.)
4) I don’t know the “LAW” on any of this, other than that it almost certainly varies by jurisdiction :D
However, I think you could (make that WOULD) be in very deep trouble if you ever used one of these rounds in a “defense” situation.
Standard disclaimer applies; these are just my inexpert thoughts and “OPINION”, they should not be used to affect anyone’s course of action.
I reload my own shotgun ammo and was thinking the same thing? Have you Hurd anything?