Has anyone had better success in accuracy modifying their slugs in one of the polygonal barrels? Or even better yet, horrible failures?! I am an industrial painter, so i have access to spray guns and experience with epoxy paint but not sure if thats such a good idea. Might try spraying this hi tek stuff im hearing about
Slug modifying for the lothar walther polygonal barrel
- Thread starter Stewy1412
- Start date
Try knurling them. I knurl some of mine between two medium files but Corbin makes a tool for it .
http://www.corbins.com/hct-2.htm
http://www.corbins.com/hct-2.htm
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Interesting, never heard of knurling before. Wont that diminish the ballustic coefficient with all the extra surface area on the projectile?
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The end result is nearly the same after going through the rifling in the barrel, the knurling is a way of “cheating” on the sizing of the slug. Haven’t noticed any more drop from the bullet.
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Can I ask you the caliber of your rifle? It sounds like your trying to add concentric mass or surface area to the existing diameter of your slugs. Before you invest in HiTek or powder coating equipment, check out Stephens slug offerings at AVS slugs. Most slug manufacturers offer 22 caliber slugs in 2 sizes. Those are .217 or .218. But the LW barrel in .22 has a land/groove diameter of .215/.221. And polygon barrels don't really have lands per say. They're in between a FX smooth twist and a standard barrel with land/grooves cut in with a button. So the standard barrel with it's more pronounced lands will engage the slug better even if it's slightly undersized. You have less leniency with the polygon barrel. My suggestion is this..... Buy some in .2193 and in .2213. The .2213 will concentrically seal the barrel with a .00015 overlap. So there will be zero waster air escaping around the slug. His slugs are superb and he's the ONLY one who offers them in sizes designed to concentrically seal the grooves of the barrel. He has the same offerings in .25 caliber. You can buy them in .2493, .2503, .2513, .254, and .2553. My barrel LOVES the .254 in 38gr. I'm making 80fpe with them using my setup. They are tack drivers!
Hope this helps with your decision.
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Ahhh, yes, i did see the video he made with avs and .25 (my caliber). I have bought slugs from mr. Hoolowpoint in the .254/44 grain but were very expensive compared to the nsa's i was planning on coating. Havent had a chance to shoot them any further than 20 yards yet but definately grouped well at the 20. Appreciate the input! I will have to check the pricing but sounds like quite a better aelection from avs
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I'm not affiliated with AVS. But Stephen is my buddy. He's an innovator and all around great human being. I've done my fair share of powder coating slugs. You can definitely add concentric mass to a slug by doing it. However, it becomes difficult to maintain consistent weight when you start doubling and tripling coats. This is because there are 3 ways to powder coat slugs. You can do the shake method in an old Cool Whip container that many of the guys who powder coat slugs use. But the downside of this is it's rough on the slugs because in order for the electrostatic magic to happen (where the powder adheres tot he slug), they need to be shaken violently. This is fine for large bore slugs (say 150gr or larger), but you will damage the smaller details on the smaller caliber slugs.
The 2nd technique is using a spray gun that is positively charged and spraying the slugs on a negatively charged surface. This way will give you even results, but it's more time consuming that the 3rd way.
The 3rd technique is to stick the slugs into a vibratory tumbler with some powder coat and let them go for 10-15 minutes. The slugs rubbing against the inside of the plastic tumbler will charge them and the powder will adhere. But like I said, if you want to maintain consistent weigh ratios on the slugs, I don't recommend multiple coats. The hollow points will start to clog with powder, and once you bake them in, the powder is in there for good. I didn't find this happening with 1 coat. Only with 3 or 4 coats. So you gain concentric mass, but potentially give up overall accuracy by offsetting the delicate balance of weight with the slug.
Sometimes it's easier to just buy what you need. I'd get a few sample packs from Stephen. I have found that my gun likes the cup base the best.
What platform are you using (i.e. rifle)?
The 2nd technique is using a spray gun that is positively charged and spraying the slugs on a negatively charged surface. This way will give you even results, but it's more time consuming that the 3rd way.
The 3rd technique is to stick the slugs into a vibratory tumbler with some powder coat and let them go for 10-15 minutes. The slugs rubbing against the inside of the plastic tumbler will charge them and the powder will adhere. But like I said, if you want to maintain consistent weigh ratios on the slugs, I don't recommend multiple coats. The hollow points will start to clog with powder, and once you bake them in, the powder is in there for good. I didn't find this happening with 1 coat. Only with 3 or 4 coats. So you gain concentric mass, but potentially give up overall accuracy by offsetting the delicate balance of weight with the slug.
Sometimes it's easier to just buy what you need. I'd get a few sample packs from Stephen. I have found that my gun likes the cup base the best.
What platform are you using (i.e. rifle)?
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I have a potential resizing solution for you that is working out well for me...
Take the hollow point slug that you want a larger diameter and get a center punch that is about the same diameter as the hollow point cavity. Grind the tip of the punch to match the hollow cavity. Then, for the resize, put the slug on a solid surface like a piece of steel, then hit the center punch (inserted in the hollow point) square on with a hammer. Start with small taps on small ammo. Depending on how hard you hit the thing determines the amount of swelling of the shank of the slug that will occur. I push mine through a Lee sizing die after swelling them up to resize them to the perfect bore diameter.
Take the hollow point slug that you want a larger diameter and get a center punch that is about the same diameter as the hollow point cavity. Grind the tip of the punch to match the hollow cavity. Then, for the resize, put the slug on a solid surface like a piece of steel, then hit the center punch (inserted in the hollow point) square on with a hammer. Start with small taps on small ammo. Depending on how hard you hit the thing determines the amount of swelling of the shank of the slug that will occur. I push mine through a Lee sizing die after swelling them up to resize them to the perfect bore diameter.
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Only downside of this is swagged slugs are perfectly balanced and concentric in shape. If you're not holding the center punch at a perfect 90 degree angle on the strike, then you're going to throw off the balance. Also, there's no way to control or replicate exact strike force from 1 hit to the next. This also will impact balance and performance. If you found a way to mechanize that process, then I'd say go for it. But doing it by hand is very inconsistent. And in a hunt or a benchrest scenario, I wouldn't have faith in those. Just my $.02 though.
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