In addition to regular shot cartridges we decided to photograph couple shotgun slugs as well to see how they behave. Sellier & Bellot Practical Slug weighting 32g is representing full lead slug in this review. At this point you may want to check the shape of unshot slug above. It has nice fin like grooves on outer edges to create riffling like stabilizing effect on the slug while it flies through air. It also has attached plastic wad, which flies with the slug. Although slug has hollow structure the attached wad makes the rear aerodynamically flat.

First we can see that the slug/wad combination fits barrel very good making a good seal for burning gasses accelerating flug through the barrel. Slug pushes air column out of the barrel. Slug is also flying ahead of the muzzle blast all the time. But the most interesting thing is not the blast itself but the slug itself and especially the shape of it. Now check the shape of the flying slug and compare it to unshot one. You can see a clear change in shape of the slug. Finns are no longer reaching the base of the slug and it looks like squeezed through cylinder - like it actually has done.

Look next at the stereoscopic 3D images and especially the last macro shot of the slug. in the Image you'll see big amout of lead particles shaved off the slug flying around it. This is actually expected due to deformation of slug but still it is surprising how much loose lead particles accompany the it. In the regular shotgun shot images we cannot say anything about the deformation of shots but for the slug it's clear that deformation happens during the barrel time. For this reason it may not be the most vice decision to shoot slugs on indoor shooting ranges - If shooting shotguns indoors is actually ever vice at all.

Do you remember the flat base of the slug? A clear turbulence effect can be seen behind the slug and this most likely has clear effect on its ballistics characteristics. Flat end creates effective low pressure area behind the slug and decreases the slug velocity by ncreasing drag.