Slug Gun Discussion

KDM

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So I've shot deer with a bow, rifle, muzzle loader, and pistol, but I've not taken one with a shotgun, so I've decided to chase MN deer this year with a slug gun even though I can use a rifle where I hunt to make it a bit more of a challenge. I don't have ANY experience with slugs, the best barrels, chokes, or which slugs match to which guns best. For a guy that spends as much time in the field as I do, you'd think I would, but I know very little. I could probably google a bunch of youtube stuff, but I prefer first hand experiences and opinions on what works for others. Thanks Guys!!
 


LBrandt

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Just buy a slug barrel for your favorite shot gun, you know the one that fits so well and goes bang every time.
 

Bobber

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Ithaca Deerslayer 3. Shoots straight and will not tear your shoulder out. Recoil isn't bad. Check out their web site
 

Justin

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I grew up in Michigan using a 12 gauge 870 with a rifled slug barrel with a scope. Shot Winchester savor slugs through it. Deadly

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Sabot slugs
 

bigcatpike

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If you want a challenge, use your bird gun with foster slugs. A shotgun with a rifled barrel and sabot slugs won't be much different from a rifle inside of 150-200 yds. I have never personally shot a rifled shotgun, but read heavily into the topic when I was considering hunting in a MN shotgun zone on family land. Some shotguns with a bird barrel will actually be fairly good with slugs, while others will frustrate the hell out of you. Try out a lot of your different shotguns and find out which work the best for you.
 
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PrairieGhost

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Cheapest solution is a rifled extended choke. Surprisingly they actually work. I guess they don't shear lead because the rifling is a very slow twist. I have shot them to 100 yards, but have not shot deer with them. I have a compliance choke tactical choke that I shoot plain Jane slugs through. With a red dot sight it's surprising at 100 yards, but goes all to pot at 200 yards.
 

Reprobait

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Are you looking at a new gun or adapting what you have? Scope? How far are you looking at shooting? If you use a smoothbore bird barrel you will want to use an Imp Cyl or Cyl choke tube. Slug barrels come as smoothbore or rifled. A rifled barrel uses sabot slugs and a smoothbore uses rifled slugs. Unless you are going with a scope, I don't think the rifled barrel is worth it.

A 12 ga can be pretty brutal to shoot off a bench. You will realize how poor shotgun triggers are. Reduced recoil slugs are also available. At close ranges it won't matter.
 

bigcatpike

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Are you looking at a new gun or adapting what you have? Scope? How far are you looking at shooting? If you use a smoothbore bird barrel you will want to use an Imp Cyl or Cyl choke tube. Slug barrels come as smoothbore or rifled. A rifled barrel uses sabot slugs and a smoothbore uses rifled slugs. Unless you are going with a scope, I don't think the rifled barrel is worth it.

A 12 ga can be pretty brutal to shoot off a bench. You will realize how poor shotgun triggers are. Reduced recoil slugs are also available. At close ranges it won't matter.

I agree, but I have family members who have some shotguns that actually shoot slugs better with full chokes. It just comes down to testing all your guns and chokes. Foster/Rifled slugs were designed to be fired out of any choked gun. Yep the 12 gauge is definitely brutal off the bench lol
 

Lycanthrope

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So I've shot deer with a bow, rifle, muzzle loader, and pistol, but I've not taken one with a shotgun, so I've decided to chase MN deer this year with a slug gun even though I can use a rifle where I hunt to make it a bit more of a challenge. I don't have ANY experience with slugs, the best barrels, chokes, or which slugs match to which guns best. For a guy that spends as much time in the field as I do, you'd think I would, but I know very little. I could probably google a bunch of youtube stuff, but I prefer first hand experiences and opinions on what works for others. Thanks Guys!!

Can u use a muzzleloader instead of a shotgun? If so a good inline with a scope would probably be just as effective and have similar range... Just an idea.
 

KDM

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Are you looking at a new gun or adapting what you have? Scope? How far are you looking at shooting? If you use a smoothbore bird barrel you will want to use an Imp Cyl or Cyl choke tube. Slug barrels come as smoothbore or rifled. A rifled barrel uses sabot slugs and a smoothbore uses rifled slugs. Unless you are going with a scope, I don't think the rifled barrel is worth it.

A 12 ga can be pretty brutal to shoot off a bench. You will realize how poor shotgun triggers are. Reduced recoil slugs are also available. At close ranges it won't matter.

To answer the questions:

I don't know yet. I have smooth bore shotguns, but if they don't give me the accuracy I want, I'll buy a gun.

Prefer a scope so I've looked at getting a mount and scope for the guns I have now, but will buy a gun with a scope if needed.

Most shots will be 50-75 yards with the absolute longest shot being 101 yards. I ranged everything when I used my pistol.

Recoil isn't top priority. Accuracy is. I will be able to hit where I aim or I won't use a shotgun.

For Lycan. I can use a muzzle loader, but I have taken deer with them before and you are absolutely correct. They are just as effective, but I'd like to use a shotgun and put a check in that square so to speak.

Thanks guys for your insights and information!!!!
 


Reprobait

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At that range I don't think I would want to use a bird-barrel with just a bead on it.

If you can get a barrel with a cantilever scope mount on it for a gun you have now, you won't have to monkey around with mounting a scope to your receiver.

Iowa, Wisc, Mich, and Ohio have backed off laws mandating slug guns in recent years. There might be some good used stuff out there.

I have a Savage 220 bolt action. (20ga). It has the Accutrigger and shoots well. I also have a 12 ga 870 with a scope mounted on a cantilever mount. That one shoots nearly as well as the Savage. I shot my doe last year at about 75yds with it using a Hornday SST reduced recoil slug. The slug kind of disintegrated. I am going to see how it shoots Remington copper slugs next time I get to the range.

I also picked up Winchester SXP 20 ga slug gun in the off season. I shot it enough to get on the paper and am waiting for the weather to break and take it to the range again. The trigger assemblies on the 870 and SXP have both been reworked by Accuracy Speaks. I do hunt in the slug zone in MN every year, but it is kind of a challenge to me trying to get the most I can out of a slug gun.
 

Big Iron

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Wolves ate all the deer in MN. You'll have to head further east to Wisconsin to find deer.
 

KDM

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fj40, I'd close my eyes and consider it a justifiable "Familynapping" should your son and family suddenly NOT be there anymore. (Grin)
 


NodakBuckeye

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I grew up lobbing foster and brenneke slugs. I would go brenneke over foster for a smoothbore. But if you are serious about using slugs, invest in a fully rifled barrel and a decent lower power scope. I cannot count the number of deer I took with my BPS and Hastings barrel, but it is significant. I found Winchester Partition Gold, 3" where best for me. I cleanly took deer out to 200 yards, but most were 50 to 125 yards.

We switched to brenneke slugs because we had so many foster slugs just leave a pencil ring on paper when the target was taped to .25 plywood.
 
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eyexer

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slugs really aren't much more challenging than a rifle inside 100 yards. I hunted in MN for quite a few years. I shot a browning 20 ga. with a slug barrel with no rifling. open sights. Shot Rottweil rifled slugs. The left to right dispersion is minimal. The drop at 100 yards is a good foot or so. But they drop like a brick.
 

huntinforfish

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I would start by looking into slug barrels for the 870 you have. Know a few guys who do this back home and it works just fine for them. Probably your cheapest option too. I think some of the 870 they sell now come with a slug barrel in the box. Likely a ton out there to choose from. I do not know anything about the scope mounting on said set ups as most that I see here are open sights.
 

eyexer

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a lot of guys run red dot scopes on their shotguns down there. They have various mounts for different shotguns.
 

KDM

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I've heard from several folks I respect who have recommended the Brenneke and Rotweil slugs for ammo. Seems to be about an even split between smoothbore/rifled slugs and rifled barrels. I'm currently sniffing around for barrels and scope mounts, but haven't set right down on what I want to do yet. Thanks a bunch guys for the info. I really appreciate the insights. Regardless of what I end up doing, it WILL be fun!!
 


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