Recovered slug

TPM · Post by **TPM** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 7:15 pm

I skinned my deer today and recovered most of the slug. It was a 12ga. Remington Slugger Foster type slug. The slug entered just behind the left shoulder, hit some bone and deflected slighly left and up. The two pieces stopped just below the skin on the right side near the base of the neck. Note pieces of bone embedded in the slug. The wound channel was devastating.

Front side

Back side

Doe Master · Post by **Doe Master** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 7:36 pm

That looks better than the challenger slug that we removed from one of the deer .The challenger didn`t mushroom or expand at all and it traveled the length of the body after entering the front .To say the least we are a little disappointed with the lack of expansion ,we lost a nice 8 pointer because of that .I blew the opposite shoulder out and it still ran away.

Grizzly Adam · Post by **Grizzly Adam** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 8:57 pm

Yep. That's what those old Foster style slugs do best ... they expand like the ultra-soft wad of lead that they are. And they work ... within their obvious limits.

Nice pics! Good forensic work.

TPM · Post by **TPM** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 10:34 pm

That looks better than the challenger slug that we removed from one of the deer .The challenger didn`t mushroom or expand at all and it traveled the length of the body after entering the front .To say the least we are a little disappointed with the lack of expansion

Once upon a time I used to think Challengers were the greatest smoothbore slugs out there. They really do tend to be quite accurate in most smoothbore guns and seemed quite impressive on paper. I convinced a number of fellow hunters to switch over but they all switch back once we started seeing the results, or lack thereof, on deer. Penetration was good but expansion was horrible and they really tended to deflect bad inside the animal if they hit any kind of bone.

Boo · Post by **Boo** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 10:37 pm

That's very cool!

Doe Master · Post by **Doe Master** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 6:31 am

You hit the nail on the head Tim ,they are very accurate but punch a clean hole with NO expansion .If I can I`ll get a picture of the piece of lead it looks like it was just pulled from the shell.

cubb · Post by **cubb** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 9:37 am

What is a foster style slug? I used winchester super x slugs out of my smooth bore 1100 and had a double lung shot, the deer didn't go 20 yards and was dead. Didn't know if the slugs i was using were foster type?

DoDFire · Post by **DoDFire** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 11:21 am

Ohhhh Them Remington Sluggers,,,,,,,, That was the only slug that I could shoot out of my 870 and drive nails at 100yds. The deer hate'm

Grizzly Adam · Post by **Grizzly Adam** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 12:54 pm

Cubb, a Foster-style slug is simply a big hunk of pure soft lead with a big thin skirt, a hollowed base, swaged-in grooves along the sides, and a slightly hollowed point (in some versions). They were invented by a guy named Karl Foster, have been around since the early thirties, and are simply the second step up the shotgun slug evolutionary ladder ... the first being a pure lead round ball ... the 'ol "Punkin' Ball." As the pure lead ball proved to be a miserable performer in smoothbore shotgun barrels, Karl Foster set out to come up with a less miserable performer ... and that he did, with his new "rifled slug."

It was purposefully undersized, to be safely shot through a variety of shotgun bores of varying dimensions. It had a hollow base and a thin skirt that would, hopefully, expand to bore dimension, much like the Minie Ball of Civil War Rifle-Musket fame. It had a very weight-forward design, so that it would resist tumbling in the air ... much like a badminton birdie. And, most famously of all, it had those "rifled grooves" in the sides. Their function was not to impart a spin to the slug, but rather to add another safety dimension for those who might shoot the slugs out of choked shotguns ... the thin, soft lands of the slug easily swage down to bore dimension when fired. "Rifled" slugs do not spin when shot, but simply fly toward the intended target with that heavy center-of-mass keeping them from keyholing.

It is true that slugs can perform satisfactorily within their given limitations, which are many. In spite of their low velocity, poor sectional density, poor balistic coefficient, too-soft construction and marginal accuracy, many hunters drop deer with them every year. I'll hunt with a slug where I'm forced to by draconian political laws that inflict disadvantages on hunters because the powers-that-be don't know anything about firearms ... otherwise, give me a rifle any day.

As for those of you who are forced to use them:

KEEP ON SLUGGIN' 'EM!

By the way, Cubb ... the standard Winchester Super-X "rifled slug" is indeed a Foster style offering, intended for smoothbore barrels.

cubb · Post by **cubb** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 3:35 pm

Thanks for the great info.

Big John · Post by **Big John** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 4:19 pm

I shoot the Winchester 400 gr. Sabots 1900 fps. And they expand very nicely as well. Huge holes in and out. I recovered a couple last season and will post tonight for you.

Boo · Post by **Boo** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 6:59 pm

Hey Griz, that was very good! Many do not understand the whole story behind the shuttle cock shotgun slug. To understand it is to understand the limitations! I think you taught a person or two with your explanation. Doesn't happen every day!
One thing I might add if I may. Slugs vary in diameter from manufacturer to manufacturer. One has to pick the one that fits their bore the best, mostly by trial an error. My 2.1 cents CDN!

Big John · Post by **Big John** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 8:01 pm

Here are the pic's of the Winchester 400 gr. Platinum Sabots I pulled from a buck I shot:

Made a large hole going in and stopped in the opposite shoulder. He dropped like a rock at about 95 yds.

Boo · Post by **Boo** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 8:04 pm

Since we are playing show and tell (I think recovered slugs are pretty neat) here's one from a 44mag handgun. It hit a deer at 60 yards, the deer went 100 yards and ran out of steam. The slug was found on the off-side of the mulie's chest just under the skin.

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Big John · Post by **Big John** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 8:15 pm

I love the way they peel back when expanding like they are supposed to do.