Shotgun slugs

[Brian in Montana]

Rifled or not-rifled slug in a rifled barrel? Does it make any difference?

 

[MS 9x56]

Rifled or not-rifled slug in a rifled barrel? Does it make any difference?

Indeed it does but only as far as distance. Under 75 yards not at all.

 

[Brian in Montana]

After some searching of the interwebs on the subject, I'm probably going to start with saboted Hornady ammo, SSTs or the American Whitetail version of SG slug ammo.

 

[Bullshot]

After some searching of the interwebs on the subject, I'm probably going to start with saboted Hornady ammo, SSTs or the American Whitetail version of SG slug ammo.

If you find slugs that group well where you want them… STOP experimenting and buy however many you can afford in your budget and never ever ever look to start “fresh”. You and your budget and sanity will thank me in the long run.

For reasons related to a hunting lifetime of NOT being given or subsequently listening to my own advice, I previously sold my 12 ga rifled barrels and all my 12 ga slugs and bought a savage 220. That too may be for sale soon even though it shoots well. I will probably just then stick to muzzleloaders, bows, and cf rifles (only out of state).

 

[Redman]

Hornady and Remington Accu-tip always shot great out of my rifles barrels. Lightfield did awesome on paper but came apart on deer.

 

[buckbull]

I bought a Browning A-bolt 12ga slug gun back when they first came out in 1995. Have used the gun every year since for my home state of illinois firearm deer season. Love the gun. I shoot Winchester BRI sabots 3" shells. Browning stopped making the gun in 1999 and then brought them back to market maybe 10 years ago with a 1x28 twist I believe. The original came with a 1x32 twist. Winchester still makes the BRI's but you'll need a litttle luck finding them. Probably best bet for any of the slugs would be to order online. Sabots just don't last on shelves and with many states allowing straight wall cartridges its going to be harder and harder to find. One of the reason I bought a 350 Legend was sabot availability. I bought 20 boxes of the BRI's years ago and was down to around 3 boxes.

I bought a CVA scout II in 350 legend combo with a scope; right around $500. I will probably upgrade to a leupold in the future but the combo was a really good deal, getting the scope for 50% off msrp basically. Shooting Barnes 170 grain TSX hollow points. Really looking forward to how they perform.

Edit:: Illinois only allows single shot rifles, hence the CVA scout II. Would have rather had a henry single shot but they were never in stock. We can use bolt action rifles but you cannot have a magazine in possession.

 

[buckbull]

Hornady and Remington Accu-tip always shot great out of my rifles barrels. Lightfield did awesome on paper but came apart on deer.

Lightfield doesn't make hunting ammo. Such a shame. I know several guys that swore by them.

 

[Brian in Montana]

I've always had pretty good luck with Hornady. I was actually giving this shotgun recently (long story), but I've never used a shotgun for anything but birds, squirrels, and rabbits before. We get a lot of mulie deer out here north of Ramsay, but the HOA agreement prohibits high-powered rifles. Shotguns are OK, so I figured I might give it a try. My wife has a doe tag for this area, so I might let her be the guinea pig.

 

[MS 9x56]

I kept my rifled barrels and still have 6 boxes of Remington copper solids and no none are for sale. Now I can use rifles so I do but who knows someday I may want to go to Illinois or Iowa.

 

[Redman]

Lightfield no makes hunting ammo. Such a shame. I know several guys that swore by them.

They were indeed very accurate but they would come apart if bone was hit. After my experience with them I never paid attention to them again.

 

[MThuntr]

If you find slugs that group well where you want them… STOP experimenting and buy however many you can afford in your budget and never ever ever look to start “fresh”. You and your budget and sanity will thank me in the long run.

^this. Slugs disappear frequently and get real hard to find, sometimes for years

 

[BloodTrail]

I have 8 dedicated slug guns. All but one hates SST’s. Remington Accutips, Winchester Dream Season, and Barnes are solid performers.

I cast slugs these days using a variety of Russian molds. They are devastating on game.

 

[Flintlock hunter]

I used to hunt in a shotgun only state, with a Savage 220, while my hunting partner prefered a 12 Ga Rem 870. My 20 Ga had a strong liking for Rem Accutips, (1 1/2" @ 100 yards off sand bags), but the 870 would shoot Hornady SST's the best.
As was said earlier, you have to try different ammo to see the one your gun likes best. The two I mentioned should be a good starting point.

 

[Papsqueeg]

I use a Mossberg 500 12 gauge use to shoot rem copper solids now use hornady ssts both shoot well. Hornady s we’re more readily available and cheape, have shot deer with both out to 150 yards they work well.

 

[NY_BLUES]

My Remington 870 Express really likes Brenneke KOs. I tried 4 or 5 others and the best patterns were from the Brennekes. My brothers 870 worked best with Hornady SSTs and dads liked Remington Copper Solids.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Shame on me for not stocking up on lightfields - they shot accurately from my Mossberg 20 ga., and now they are out of production, along with Fed. trophy copper, 3” SST’s, and probably a lot of other slugs.

I’m at a crossroads of whether to spend a pretty penny to find another accurate load, or just embrace the future and sell the gun, buy a straightwall rifle.

 

[Flatbrimmer]

So what’s the consensus here? Savage or Remington? They both come ready to slap a scope on? Really don’t care about the interchangeable barrels or anything, it’ll be a dedicated deer gun…
I’m buying me a slug gun this year…

 

[MS 9x56]

Shame on me for not stocking up on lightfields - they shot accurately from my Mossberg 20 ga., and now they are out of production, along with Fed. trophy copper, 3” SST’s, and probably a lot of other slugs.

I’m at a crossroads of whether to spend a pretty penny to find another accurate load, or just embrace the future and sell the gun, buy a straightwall rifle.

Sell the slug gun and get a straight wall rifle. They are several degrees more accurate than slug guns and cheaper to feed. The other pluses are less recoil and easier to shoot accurately.

 

[MS 9x56]

So what’s the consensus here? Savage or Remington? They both come ready to slap a scope on? Really don’t care about the interchangeable barrels or anything, it’ll be a dedicated deer gun…
I’m buying me a slug gun this year…

If it’s to be a dedicated slug gun then I would recommend the savage 220 bolt action.

 

[Addicting]

Shame on me for not stocking up on lightfields - they shot accurately from my Mossberg 20 ga., and now they are out of production, along with Fed. trophy copper, 3” SST’s, and probably a lot of other slugs.

I’m at a crossroads of whether to spend a pretty penny to find another accurate load, or just embrace the future and sell the gun, buy a straightwall rifle.

So what’s the consensus here? Savage or Remington? They both come ready to slap a scope on? Really don’t care about the interchangeable barrels or anything, it’ll be a dedicated deer gun…
I’m buying me a slug gun this year…

As a slug gun hunter for several years, I made the wait to straight walled. I had a 450 built first on a 700 actions and it shot great but was heavy and recoil was stout. Same issue with my slug gun and it wasn’t worth it.

Last year I had @p_ham build me a 350 legend on a 700 action and fit it for a rugged ridge suppressor. It is absolutely the best restricted deer gun I have ever shot. Very mild recoil and lights out accurate. Light, fun to carry, and deadly.

My kids have killed two whitetails with it and zero complaints. I would strongly recommend taking a hard look at that cartridge if you are in the market.