Firing a Brenneke/Foster slug from a full choke

[penpusher]

Rottweil Brenneke slugs,it's claimed can be fired from a shotgun with a full choke without any harm.

"Usable in rifled or smooth barrels - ALL-PURPOSE
Usable with any choke" is what is claimed by the company on it's web site http://www.dnrws.com/rottweil.html.

Similarly,Foster type slugs are also considered to be safe to fire from a shotgun with a full choke.


Is this true?

penpusher

[eljefe]

Sure,
Some one is going to dispute this, but I think the fear of using slugs in choked barrels should have gone out with damascened barrels and 'lethal ball'.
Used to get Brenneke, with a white case, of which Shaktiman tries to make a 'smudged' copy-seen some a few years ago-wasnt confident of firing them in a 'proof gun' !!
The no-slugs-in-choked-barrels had a bad rep in the days of yore, but I've let off a whole load of slugs in a double/single and pump.And I'm alive to talk about it...not accidental, none of my guns blew up and the slugs did give me a good group.If i knew that the supply would dry up so badly, so fast, I would have saved a couple of hundred for posterity
Best
Axx

[Mack The Knife]

penpusher, it says the same on a box of Clever Mirage slugs that a friend has. However, I have looked at certain forums and the concensus seemed to favour a barrel that was not choked more than 1/4.

Mack The Knife

[Mack The Knife]

Asif,

What choke did those barrels have?

Mack The Knife

[shahid]

A simple test. Open the cartridge and pass the slug through the top end of the barrel. If it passes it can be fired. If it doesn't do not attempt firing it, it may get dangerous.

A full choke at .710 as with my duck gun where both barrels are choked full at .710 does not allow firing of slugs. 3/4 Choke at .735 also restricts some slugs.

But 1/2 chke, 1/4 choke, improved cylinder and cylinder barells should pose no problems.

Shaktiman slugs work great when loaded in as Astram shell with the shot cup removed.

[penpusher]

Shahid,

.710 would be a very tight barrel.From what I have read,Foster/Brenneke slugs have wings/rifling that is meant to collapse to enable it to go through any choke constriction.

Saboted slugs should only be fired in a rifled barrel.Frankly,I would not mess around with cartridges.Don't want a bomb in my barrels.

penpusher

[mehulkamdar]

penpusher,

You are absolutely right. I checked and learned that some of the newer slug designs can indeed be shot from full choked barrels without any harmful side effects. The problem is that there may be a lot of older amjmunition lying around and that could be a problem for a newcomer to the sport. Hence the old advice of not shooting slugs in anything tighter than Modified.

Grumpy and Mark should have more information for us on this.

Cheers!

[eljefe]

Mack The Knife,
870pump had Field/full, dbbl-cyl and full and the sbbl 'new art light works' had god knows what choke.But those brenneke packed a wallop allright, especially on the single...felt like I was letting off a heavy rifle.

[Satpal_S]

Shot Remington 2 3/4", 1 OZ foster type slugs, several times through Full choked (fixed choke), 30" barrel, 870 Rem Magnum pump 3" chambered gun, early 80's production.

Grouped well, under 6" at 50 yards, shot by aiming down the vented rib. Used the gun to kill several deer in Southern Illinois succesfully.

Used the same gun for waterfowl with steel shot.

Hunted Turkey too with the 870 and 3" mags.

Should have bought a extra IC barrel/w sights, but money was very tight then. So the same gun went everywhere.

Noticed nothing extrordionary, recoil too was moderate, much less than the heavy almost 2 OZ 3" magnum Turkey loads (Fire a few kill the shoulder 3" mags).

That's all I remember.

Satpal

[Mark]

OK I have before me a Brenneke Rottweil slug that I just cut open, some Remington factory choke tubes, and a digital caliper.

The Brenneke slug measures 0.732, however it has fins that bring it up to that diameter. If I measure the diameter of the solid portion, measuring at the bottom of the fins, it measures 0.639. The slug scratches easily with my fingernail, so I suspect it is pure lead and not a harder alloy. It also has a hollow skirt on it, so the solid portion is only ~0.318 long.

The ID of the full choke tube is 0.688, Modified is 0.706, and Imp cyl is 0.716.

Based on all that, I do not see an issue in shooting this slug in a full choked gun that is in good condition, at least with remington choke tubes.

[Mack The Knife]

Thanks, Mark.

Mack The Knife

[penpusher]

Thanks a lot Mark.

penpusher

[eljefe]

Thanks for that info Mark,
Looks like the 0.710 inch definition of a full choke of a conti8nental made double( I'm guessing it is a european double that Shahid mentioned )and the remington full choke at 0.688 do not reconcile.
Was there a different method of choking /definition by the continental gun makers, as opposed to US ?

Best
Axx

[penpusher]

If i knew that the supply would dry up so badly, so fast, I would have saved a couple of hundred for posterity

Considering the Frequent Flier Miles the good doctor seems to be logging in,he can begin the collection immediately.50 cartridges at a time

penpusher

PS-Any photos of the Jeffery after Mack The Knife's magic touch?

[shahid]

The slug will pass through if it is made of lead. However if the stablising fins get deformed while coming out of the barrels, then obviously the trajectory will be distorted. Accurancy compromised. Sabot slugs like the BRI sabot are better for this application, abrasion is saved by the plastic sleeve, the slug seperates at about 12 to 15 yards from the muzzle.

The duck gun in a special made to order piece for use on boats in the Ganges and other rivers.

It has 36 inch barrels, both fully choked at .710 ( marking on gun reads that ). Hammer cocking , made by W & C Scott of Birmingham in 1952, imported through Manton & Co., Calcutta.

For slugs, I have fired punkin solid balls through it, and some slugs shaped like a half capsule made from an old Winchester die. All these slugs use to pass through the top end of the barrel with ease.

The grouping was 6 inches at 40 yards. The Capsule slug was an inch high at 40 yards.

The better patterns were with Buckshot. At 40 yards, all the 9 pellets of SG shot were inside the 20 inch circle.

During the old days, when my Father used this particlar Gun on the Ganges, he used to get excellent results on long distance shots with pellets like SSG, AAA and even LG on some very long distance shots over the water. The favourite quarry in those days were Brahminy duck, Bar Head Goose, and Grey Lag Goose and the occasional Kulang Crane that used to abound these parts in the 1960s 1970s decade. Another favourite sport here was the whistling snipe.

Since 1910 it was tradional to hold a shoot here on Boxing day ( December 26 ) with the Governor of Bihar as the Chief guest. This tradition continued till 1960's. A lot of memories exist in field books of shooters from that er and in old B/W phoographs. Some of these gentlemen used to write for Shooting & SPorting Times and the Illustrated Weekly of India about their outdoor life. Old clippings are preserved even today.