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Thread: Basics of choosing the right slug for your shotgun for hunting

  1. #1
    Guns Network Lifetime Membership 01/2011 old Grump's Avatar

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    Basics of choosing the right slug for your shotgun for hunting

    Do not buy the costly high tech sabot for your smooth bore gun, ain't necessary and will cause more problems then it solves. The sleeves are more likely to get ripped off at the choke giving you poor flight characteristics, poor range, poor accuracy and all for double the price of a Foster or Brenneke.

    Just a suggestion but stick to the tried and true rifled slugs. Remington, Winchester and Federal; PMC, Fiocchi, or Wolf. Just because r
    ifled slugs have spiral flutes on them they do not impart spin to the slug. That was the original intent but stop motion photography proved that it didn't work. However they do serve a vital function. The flutes are raised areas that give the slug a buffer against becoming deformed when squeezed through a choke. The choke centers the slug in the center of the bore insuring shot to shot consistency and accuracy. After going through a choke most or all of the flutes, (rifling) are rubbed off . The nose-heavy design just like a badminton bird is the magic that stabilizes our slug.
    .

    All slugs are not created equal and all shotguns are not identical to one another so do not expect a recommendation from your buddy shooting a Benelli M2 to shoot the same in your Mossberg 500 Mariner. Each slug seems to have fondness for a particular barrel and choke constriction and its up to you to find out what your gun likes. If you start out with a fairly open choke like IC or M you will probably do well. My Winchester 1200 and Fiocchi slug prefers IM but your gun will have its own preference so you cannot rely on what my gun likes. Modern slugs will shoot through any choke all the way up to Full without damage to the gun or much degradation of the slugs flight characteristics but only test shooting will determine the best combination for you.

    DO NOT shoot slugs through a Extra Full choke, (often called Turkey choke or Super Full choke), the deformation of the slug can cause it to fail in the accuracy department best case scenario or ruin your barrel or choke, worst case scenario.

    Out to 75 yards which is beyond the comfort range of most shot-gunners the rifled slug has been proven to be virtually as accurate as the sabot slug from a rifled barrel. Beyond 75 yards some of the older slugs will drop below supersonic speed and may destabilize. Your gun and ammo might not exhibit that characteristic so may or may not be consistently accurate out to 100 yards. My Win 1200 that I am using for a reference gives me 4" groups, about the same as I get from my Win 94 32 Win spcl rifle. My Mossberg 9200 on the other hand with a Full choke gives me 6"-8" at the same 100 yards, my other shotguns not quite that good no matter what slug I shoot.

    What is a sabot slug you ask and I will tell you. It is an undersized slug cased in a specially designed plastic sleeve that encases the slug. The sleeve presses firmly against the rifling of the slug gun barrel and like a rifle bullet will impart a stabilizing spin to the slug. Due to the lighter weight of the sabot slug it achieves a higher velocity and due to the spin achieves a stability that ensures accuracy out to 150 yards or further. As soon the sabot leaves the slug barrel the petals on the sleeve open up and come to a swift stop letting the slug continue unencumbered by the sleeve. The maintained energy level of the sabot at extended range is the primary advantage for using them.

    All is not lost if you wish to use a sabot in a smooth-bore shotgun, you only need add a rifled choke, beware they come with various grades of quality and effectiveness. A good rule of thumb is you get what you pay for and the longer rifled chokes are generally better then the shorter rifled chokes. Just off the top of my head I recommend the Hastings and Browning rifled chokes as known good chokes. One caveat when using the rifled chokes is to use lower velocity slugs, often called managed recoil. They will retain killing energy and accuracy out to 100 yards and can be found under Federal. Winchester and Remington brands.

    If you feel you absolutely have to have the extended range and power get a rifled slug gun, don't waste your time shooting expensive high velocity sabot slugs through the rifled chokes.

    With the right combination you can count on 1 hole groups at 50 yards and out to 100 yards under 3" is possible. The 1 ounce Federal Barnes Expander, the Remington Copper solid and the Hevi-Shot sabot are known good performers out of slug guns with killing power out to 175 yards.

    You can spend a lot of money for high velocity sabot slugs with velocities from 1,700 fps up to 2,000 fps. They are not accurate in all guns or by all shooters so try a box before you invest in a case of them. Some think the twist rate of the rifling is the culprit for inaccurate guns but more likely its the fit of the sabot against the rifling and the ability of the shooter to handle the extra recoil. Sometimes faster is not better.

    The aim is a clean kill and that means hitting where it counts is more important than a King Kong slug with enough power to knock over a tree or stop a semi truck.

    Roman Catholic, Life Member of American Legion, VFW, Wisconsin Libertarian party, Wi-FORCE, WGO, NRA, JPFO, GOA, SAF and CCRKBA


    "THE STATE THAT SEPARATES ITS SCHOLARS FROM IT WARRIORS WILL HAVE ITS THINKING DONE BY COWARDS AND ITS FIGHTING DONE BY FOOLS"

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  2. #2
    Forum Administrator Schuetzenman's Avatar

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    Nice post OG.

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    Senior Member binky59's Avatar

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    Are you talking about a 3" shell with slugs? My mossy likes the 2-3/4" sabots. I'm
    using a 24" a1 heavy rifled barrel that's compensated. Pretty tight groups at 75yds.
    The 3"ers have more reach but buck like a mule even with a compensated barrel.
    Federal seems to do the job.
    Just me and my monkey....

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    Guns Network Lifetime Membership 01/2011 old Grump's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by binky59 View Post
    Are you talking about a 3" shell with slugs? My mossy likes the 2-3/4" sabots. I'm
    using a 24" a1 heavy rifled barrel that's compensated. Pretty tight groups at 75yds.
    The 3"ers have more reach but buck like a mule even with a compensated barrel.
    Federal seems to do the job.
    3" out of a slug barrel, reduced velocity 2 3/4" shells out of a rifled choke. I have nothing to hunt in Wisconsin that I need a 3 or 3 1/2" shell for although I have them. If I was ever to get to brown bear country I would change to the larger shell just for comfort factor but 2 3/4" full power shells have been killing large animals for a long time. No use beating yourself to death and developing a flinch, that could get you killed when you really need to make a hit.

    My slug gun seemed like a good idea at the time but it sits in my rack gathering dust while my Win 1200 and Mossberg 500C get all the shooting using rifled slugs. As long as I can keep slugs in the heart lung area at 100 yards and my average shooting distance is 60 yards or under I just don't need the extra range or cost of the sabot slugs I have. The copper sabot slugs I have in 12, 16, and 20 gauge will probably never get used.

    Roman Catholic, Life Member of American Legion, VFW, Wisconsin Libertarian party, Wi-FORCE, WGO, NRA, JPFO, GOA, SAF and CCRKBA


    "THE STATE THAT SEPARATES ITS SCHOLARS FROM IT WARRIORS WILL HAVE ITS THINKING DONE BY COWARDS AND ITS FIGHTING DONE BY FOOLS"

    THUCYDIDES.



  5. #5
    Senior Member binky59's Avatar

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    Thanks for the reply, I'll stick with 2-3/4" plain ol' slugs' hell of a lot cheaper too.
    Just me and my monkey....

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