[loghog]

I have just had a descussion with an employee of a gun shop we were talking about slugs and he stated to me that Foster slugs do not spin down the barrel of a smoothbore shot gun. He also stated that the slug realy dose not even touch the barrel much???? This came as a shock to me because for 16 years now, I thought that the rifleing on the foster slug helped to put some what of a spin on the slug due to the expansion of the slug when the powder explosion pushes it out the barrel and that the resistance of the lands of the slug created enough drag on it to get it to spin... now I have read in the woods and waters news, that the rifleing in the slug is only there to aid in the expansion of the slug when it hits the target....Help I hate it when you suddenly find out that everything you know is suddenly wrong! I need to find out for sure! your help in this matter is appreciated.
LOGHOG

 

[Byron]

Loghog,

I believe the guy is right about the slug coming out of the barrel with almost no spin at all. Most foster style slugs have a base of some kind that provides the gas seal, so he is also right that the slug doesn't contact the barrel much at all. Depending on the choke of the barrel, it may touch near the muzzle, but very little other than that.

I believe the rifling will impart some spin on the slug as it travels through the air, and may help slightly with expansion, although I have never seen a great deal of expansion in slugs recovered from deer.

I have a degree in mechanical engineering, and that's what makes sense to me. Don't know if it's 100% right, but I think it's probably close.

Hope this helps,
Byron

 

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Loghog:
Your friend is right--no spin whatsoever, and the rifling does not "catch the air" to cause it to spin, either. It is purely a remnant of bygone technology. If you look at the molds that are put out by LEE, Lyman, ect, for casting slugs, you will notice no rifling on them....that is because it serves no function except cosmetic.
As for the part of it not touching the barrel, thats partially true. Used to be that the ammo makers would undersize thier slugs to prevent them from "damaging" chokes--how a soft lead slug could damage a steel choke is beyond me, but that was the thinking of the time. The slug would bounce back and forth until it exited the barrel in one direction or the other.
Winchester was one of the first to take its foster slug and make it true 12 gauge diameter (I think its .720?) as opposed to .690, which was common at the time. What they found was that out of cylinder bored guns, such as the Ithica deerslayer, it was EXTREMELY accurate, and the other ammo makers followed suit.
Now, want me to tell you just how effective the "hollow point" is on a foster slug to get it to mushroom....?

 

[loghog]

yes I would but my guess is that the hollow point is only there for looks. soft lead hitting target= expansion right ???
Loghog

 

[bonasabuster]

well here's my 2 cents . never saw a hollow point slug expand on a deer. slugs that i have retrieved are brenneke's and winchesters bri sabot but this year my nephew was using federal's 3" magnum high shock. now i have witnessed quite a few deer being hit with a slug and they all have reacted like they were hit by a truck but the one nephew shot looked as if it were hit by a mack truck. and it never moved afterwards when we dug out the slug it was larger in diameter then a silver dollor and flat.just the sight of this nastey heavy flat piece of lead with sharp slightly curled edges gave me chills thinking of the impact energy it must have trasfered.but that is the only one i have seen truely expand.

 

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Loghog;
You got it! Those cute little dimples there are simpmly there to sell more product--they serve no function whatsoever. Stop and think about it for a minute....no jacket to control "expansion", ect. and a slug is nothing more than a big chunk of soft lead. Sure would like to know how they get them to flatten out for the pictures in the ads, though--wonder if they shoot them into a brick wall or something? Oh, well...they still do what they are suppose to do very well (harvest deer), even if they don't expand.