Choose slugs wisely

[manic mechanic]

Here's some good advice for the shotgunners this season!! Good Luck!!


Choose slugs wisely


November 2, 2006

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If you hunt deer with a shotgun, this weekend would be a good time to invest $20 or $25 in four or five boxes of slugs from several manufacturers and spend some time at the rifle range to learn which brand fits your gun best.
Some years ago, I took five shotguns to a range and ran 200 slug rounds from different manufacturers through them to see if changing ammunition made much difference. The next day I could hardly move my left arm, but I did learn that while two dedicated slug guns shot all the rounds well, there were dramatic differences in the results from another slug gun and two smoothbores.
And the two that shot all brands well showed a visible preference for some brands at 100 yards.
One smoothbore shot three-inch groups at 100 yards with a standard Foster slug, but couldn't consistently keep newer, high-tech saboted slugs within the six-inch bull's-eye.
One of the dedicated slug guns shot admirable two-inch groups with one saboted slug, but when I switched to an older-style Breneke, it amazed me by producing one-hole groups.
Once you've found a slug your gun shoots well, buy one more box of the same ammunition and shoot at targets at 50, 75, 100 and 150 yards. Aim for the center of the bull's-eye each time and note carefully where the slug strikes.
When you go into the field for the opener Nov. 15, you will have a lot more confidence, not just in your ability to hit a deer at 100 yards, but to adjust and shoot with the same accuracy if a deer appears anywhere within practical shotgun range.
Eric Sharp

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...79/1058/SPORTS

[jonny4523]

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[R/T Performance]

Heads up fellow Michgander I bought five boxes of Wolf 1 oz slug 99 cents ea at mc sports

[XDAndMe]

Originally Posted by manic mechanic

One smoothbore shot three-inch groups at 100 yards with a standard Foster slug, but couldn't consistently keep newer, high-tech saboted slugs within the six-inch bull's-eye.

One of the dedicated slug guns shot admirable two-inch groups with one saboted slug, but when I switched to an older-style Breneke, it amazed me by producing one-hole groups.

These two points concern me a little.

The first part is painfully obvious. Of course a smoothbore isn't going to shoot sabot slugs well There's no spin on the slug coming out of the barrel because neither the barrel nor the slug are rifled. I doubt a rifled choke would help much. Shotgun slug rule #1: smoothbore barrels need rifled slugs and rifled barrels need non-rifled (sabot) slugs. Simple.

The second part isn't a good idea because the Foster slug is going to cause lead fouling in the rifled barrel, effectively making it a smoothbore in very little time.

[invssgt]

One load which has produced real decent accuracy from all the smootbores I've tried it in, has been the basic Federal 12 gauge slug load, in the gray box. This isn't the tactical' slug with reduced recoil; it is a full-snort load at over 1600 fps, and you can tell when it goes off.

My last 870 riot would keep three of these on the palm of your hand at 75 yards, and it has given good accuracy from Mossberg 590A1's as well.

[ichy_trigger]

I spit some Hornady SST's out of my Remington 11-87 this past weekend at a screaming 2000 fps. They grouped within a couple inchest at 50 yards but the wind was gusting horrible bad. Im going to try out some Lightfields this weekend. My step-sons rifled 870 did not like winchester slugs and spit them out in a 12 inch group at 50 yards. Remingtons went into a couple inches. My 20 gauge 870 with smoothbore shot the first 2 Remington slugs out and the holes touched. I smiled and packed it back up.