Definition:

The term "slug" has a number of definitions in the firearms world.

1) [noun]: A projectile (bullet) designed for use in a shotgun. May be loaded into a shotgun shell (most often) or separately loaded into a muzzleloading shotgun.

2) [noun, slang]: Informally, "slug" can be used as a synonym for "bullet." It does not refer to a single piece of shot; only to singly-fired projectiles.

3) [verb]: To determine the smallest interior diameter of a gun barrel by means of driving a soft lead "slug" through it; the slug is swaged in the process, and is measured when it emerges.

4) [noun]: The cylindrical lead slug used in measuring a gun's bore (see definition 3 above).

- Russ Chastain

Glossary Index