Geco 12-Gauge Slugs

Twelve-gauge slugs used to be the domain of the sportsperson abroad, where you kept a couple in your pocket on a driven shoot just in case a wild boar popped out. But due to their size and lethality their popularity has risen especially these days when Practical shotgun shooting has become popular again.

However, a lot of the older style 12g slugs were not really suited for semi-automatic shotgun use as used in practical shotgun shoots. So today Geco have started to load 12-gauge slugs designed or optimised for semiautomatic shotgun use. They have some really nice features. Firstly, they are quite light at 28-grams so a standard shotgun pellet loading. This helps with the recoil issues of heavier slugs. The powder loading is designed to operate in most semi-automatic shotguns that can be finnicky to cycle correctly at times.

Another really nice feature which is becoming the new thing in ammunition is coating the lead slug to be environmentally friendly. This Geco 12g Red 28 slug has a red PTFE (Teflon) coating that does encapsulate harmful lead vapour when fired, handled or when shot down range. It is also slippery thus is designed to leave little if no lead in the bore.

Geco have done their homework, it’s a great looking and really well-made slug. I intended to shoot them in a semi auto and the pump action slug gun to see reliability, functionality and, of course, accuracy.

Spec

These Coated Competition Slug come in boxes of 25 like any normal shotgun ammunition and retail for £19.78 (Norman Clark Gunsmith price). That works out at 79 pence each, which is pretty decent. The casing is a clear plastic, so you can see all the internals right down to the high 12mm brass rim. This helps to see any irregularities in the load, in this case absolutely none at all and the high brass rim helps in feeding, pressure and enables good extraction from the chamber too.

Common to all or most slug loads is the rolled crimp to the top. This does away with the standard star crimp and means the 12-gauge side walls are rolled downed that hold the slug secure against the powder. The rim has the Geco name, gauge and Germany imprinted into its base. You also have a good reliable ignition from the Sinoxid primer that burns even and hot to ignite the powder for a consistent burn.

This is a 67.5mm cartridge size so gives a higher capacity in extended magazines for Competition use and the side walls have the load details and RED 28 name.

Separating the slug from the case you have a powder capacity of 24.5-grains of light green flake powder. This is stated to propel this 28-gram slug at 420-metres a second, that’s 1476fps to you and me. The actual slug is impressive as the slug and wad is made to high standards and fine tolerances.

This slug design is one that uses a plastic wad that is inserted into the base of the slug itself. They fly as one and the wad acts as a stabilising fin i.e. like a shuttle cock. This wad is also coloured red and weighs 3.6-grams or 56.2-grains and has the typical ventilated and thus collapsible or cushioning section mid-way. The rim is a large cup to ensure a good gas seal between it and the barrel, it has a diameter of 0.732-inch, a 12-gauge is normally 0.729-bore.

The slug itself weighs 24.3-grams or 375.2-grains and is the externally finned or pseudo rifled style with a semi raised head and dimple to the meplat and the base is hollowed out for most of the 0.757-inch length. The whole slug is coated with the thick red PTFE coating except where the wad slides into the base. The slug diameter is 0.734-inch at the base and the top i.e. with the rifled veins is 0.7290. Total weight 27.9-grams for average of 10 slugs.

Results

I used my Fabarm semiautomatic with slug fitted rib and sight and this is a gas operated semi-automatic and I have to say I was impressed. Recoil was light, a nice firm movement but no snap to it at all, so easy to realign the sights and get back on target. This Fabarm is bored true cylinder and the Geco Red 28 loads functioned without any hang ups at all. I set up a target at 30-yards and with the Holo sight I had seriously good groups of practically all shots touching.

With this in mind, i.e. great accuracy, I set up the Mossberg Duck Commander pump action which I fitted with the Recknagel 70 MOA adjustable scope mount and a Swarovski 6-24x target scope. I know OTT but I have a fascination with slugs and I use this rig for long range, subsonic slug and sabot testing. At 50-yards and off sticks that I use for deer stalking, the Geco Red 28 achieved unbelievable groupings of 1.5-inch centre to centre. I fitted the Improved Cylinder choke to this Mossberg as it traditional shoots well with slugs thus choked, and indeed it did!

I also set up some targets at 100-yards and had three shot groups of 3.0-inches – very impressive from a smooth bored gun.

The velocity is advertised at 450m/s so 1476fps, from the Fabarm with its 25-inch barrel was 1302fps and the Mossberg with the 28-inch barrel achieved 1397fps, which is pretty impressive really.

Conclusion

Designed for semi-automatic use this new Geco RED 28- gram Competition slug load is pretty impressive. Very well manufactured with consistent slug weights and powder loading the Red 28 shot reliably in both semi-automatics and pump actions. (I will test in recoil operated semi`s next time). They are also priced very well which is handy as I can see there being a high demand for this premium 12g slug loading.

RUAG Ltd are the distributors of this Geco load: ruag.co.uk