When I was a lad growing up, Sellier & Bellot (S&B) were the economical cartridges of choice, while the usual Eleys were considered premium at the farm shop we used to buy them from in Kent. That’s no longer the case. As with their lead-free loads and rifle cartridges, S&B have continued to innovate and produce ammunition of the highest quality.
Founded in 1825, they are one of the world’s oldest companies in the ammunition and defence industry, and consequently one of the largest industrial firms in the Czech Republic. Modern technologies employed at every stage of production ensure products of the highest quality, including the new Nontox match compound and some rather intriguing infrared tracer bullets. I wouldn’t mind a few of those myself!
Of interest today, and my sort of shotgun ammo, is the Practical Slug. Priced at £25 to £30 per box of 25, depending on the retailer, they are offered in 28g or 32g loadings. Designed specifically for elite sport shooting competitions, they are also legal for IPSC events.
The details
Each 25-round blue and gold-lettered box is eye-catching and has all the relevant load details on it. We had the heavier 32g loading, which can be better in some semi-autos, especially inertia-type systems, although a lighter 28g loading is available, and both form part of the Special Slug Sport ammunition range.
The casing is 67.5mm in length and therefore feeds very well through semi-autos. The 12.5mm high brass head offers a prominent rim for good extractor grasp and is stamped “Sellier & Bellot 12”. The casing, like most slug loads, is transparent to help distinguish between a standard shot payload and a slug load, reducing the risk of confusion! Similarly, instead of a star-type crimping as a closure, you have a very neat rolled top that securely seats the slug over the powder for perfect ignition and pressure.
The Practical Slug is your typical wad-attached type, meaning the front section of the projectile is made from lead and, inserted into the base, is the plastic wad. I weighed the lead-only section, and this was 29.2g, and the wad alone was 2.69g, for a total of 31.89g. So, a good, consistent and true weight of the projectile.
The plastic wad not only seals the propellant gases with its expanding lip edge, but its ventilated profile also cushions the initial surge of pressure from the powder, helping to prevent the deformation of the softer lead portion.
The projectile itself has a domed central section, and the sides of the slug show ten heavy ribs and corresponding deep valleys at a slightly angled rake. This is to alleviate pressure and fouling and does not really contribute to any stabilising (rifling effect), once it has left the bore. Slug loads make use of a variety of stabilisation methods, including some with felt fixed to the base, partial sabot designs, and different forms of plastic wads. All of these are intended to lengthen the slug and provide the crucial shuttlecock-style stabilising effect, which proves highly effective with a large, stubby 12-bore projectile.
The powder charge weighs 26.5gr and is a typical green flake shotgun variety. S&B quote a respectable muzzle velocity of nearly 1,350fps. I also found their primers to be very consistent and clean-burning, as the barrels were noticeably cleaner than usual after use.
In the field
I wanted to test these in both a conventional smooth-bore shotgun barrel and a fully rifled barrel to compare the differences.
The smooth-bore option took the form of my Mossberg Duck Commander, featuring a 28” barrel and a Swarovski 6-24×50 target scope mounted on a Recknagel ERA 70 MOA adjustable base, which I use for longer-range slug shooting. The rifled option was my trusty Savage 210 bolt-action, equipped with a Schmidt & Bender 1.5x scope and a 22” barrel. I could also fit the Swarovski to this gun if required.
Firstly, all the rounds, despite their blunt front-end configuration, fed fine. Even the Savage’s bolt-action, which often snags if you dither with a progressive bolt movement, operated throughout the tests with no hang-ups, just a couple of slower bolt moves.
I had a velocity of 1,267fps from the Mossberg and 1,188fps from the Savage, which is pretty good for a 32g slug. S&B quote 1,345fps, but I have always found quoted slug figures a bit optimistic, and the lower fully rifled slug results are expected, as more deformation occurs to the slug.
I set up a target at 50 yards and, after the initial zero, fired a few three-shot groups, appreciating how manageable the recoil was from the big slug. The Mossberg shot really good, consistent groups with an average of 2” dead, often with two close together and one off. That’s good accuracy from a smooth-bored 12-bore with a cylinder choke fitted. Next up was the rifled Savage, which is designed to shoot sabot ammo, really, meaning it sometimes struggles with a normal slug. True to form, it shot larger groups at 3 to 3.25” at 50 yards. The smooth-bored Mossberg it is then.
Conclusion
I think this ammo is very good if I’m honest. It carries S&B’s pedigree and can be relied upon to deliver not only consistent velocities but, as we’ve seen, respectable groups at 50 yards as well. The price also seems reasonable. GM
Contact:
Viking Arms – www.vikingshoot.com
