help me understand shotty slugs

[proforguns]

Whats the deal with shotgun slugs?Do you have to have a rifled barrel?If not will shooting slugs damage the barrel or just have crappy accuracy? I have a 870 express thanks in advance

 

[Mexican_Hippie]

Shotgun Slugs


J/K, here you go Chuck Hawks: Shotgun Slugs

 

[Dawico]

Foster style slugs are rifled themselves, designed to be shot from a smoothbore. Avoid tight choke tubes and these will not hurt your gun, and will produce (generally) 3" or so groups. That is good enough for deer sized game to about 150 yards if you can do your part. Some shoot better, some worse. These are like any other ammo, you will have to test different brands and see what your gun likes.

Sabot style slugs usually require rifled barrels, but are generally more accurate. They usually consist of a large pistol bullet inside a plastic sabot that seperate after leaving the barrel. The sabot slugs I have seen are marked on the box "for rifled barrels", but honestly I can't say if they all are.

Serious shotgun deer hunters (usually where the law requires it) use rifled barrels and sabot slugs, but Foster style slugs will work as long as you use them within their limits. The cheap Remington/ Winchester/ whatever is available have shot good enough for me in my shotguns.

 

[proforguns]

Thanks Hippie that was funny.I guess I feel kinda like Homer Simpson but in true TGT Im being lazy

Thanks Dawico

 

[Mikewood]

A shotgun suffers from poor sights more than poor slug accuracy. A smooth bore with rifle sights or a scope is very accurate. Deer to 150yds? No problem.
When shooting rifled slugs do so in mod or more open chokes.

 

[Dawico]

When shooting rifled slugs do so in mod or more open chokes.

Yeah, I didn't know where the "too tight of a choke tube" was for slugs, or I would have mentioned it.

 

[M. Sage]

Yeah, I didn't know where the "too tight of a choke tube" was for slugs, or I would have mentioned it.

The tighter the choke, the worse the accuracy with slugs (generally). I don't think an extra full would work, but a full choke won't explode on you... The "rifling" on those slugs is more about putting voids on the surface of the slug so that when it passes through the choke constriction it doesn't try to jam up in the choke. It gives some space to crush the slug. It's debatable (and IMO doubtful) that the "rifling" on those slugs imparts any spin. They certainly can't inside the barrel and I very highly doubt they will in flight.

Slugs designed for smooth bores rely on aerodynamic stabilization (they're always nose-heavy) for a reason.

Also note that some barrels are not safe to use with slugs. The Mossberg 835 needs a special slug barrel, the shot barrels are overbored and can fail if you try sending slugs through them.

 

[Mikewood]

It's more of a slow football spin than high speed gyroscopic spin like a top.
It's better than nothing and at 150yds seems good enough.

 

[RetArmySgt]

Using a standard CHL silloete at 100yrds i can put 5 slugs within the 8 ring in, useing a mossberg 500 with no problem. I was about to do the same at 200 after i put the heatshield with ghostring sights on it.

 

[RetArmySgt]

that was with the remington sluggers, just basic 1oz slugs.

 

[M. Sage]

I like the two bead setup on Mossbergs. Works very well for sending slugs downrange with good accuracy. In my experience (many moons ago) a paper plate at 50 yards is as good as dead with a Mossy 500 and slugs.

 

[Texas1911]

The tighter the choke, the worse the accuracy with slugs (generally). I don't think an extra full would work, but a full choke won't explode on you... The "rifling" on those slugs is more about putting voids on the surface of the slug so that when it passes through the choke constriction it doesn't try to jam up in the choke. It gives some space to crush the slug. It's debatable (and IMO doubtful) that the "rifling" on those slugs imparts any spin. They certainly can't inside the barrel and I very highly doubt they will in flight.

It's best to avoid anything tighter than Modified with slugs.

 

[M. Sage]

It's best to avoid anything tighter than Modified with slugs.

I hear ya. But I have put slugs through a full choke. Got a white tail mount downstairs that was taken with a 20 gauge slug from a full-choked shotgun.

 

[Texas1911]

I hear ya. But I have put slugs through a full choke. Got a white tail mount downstairs that was taken with a 20 gauge slug from a full-choked shotgun.

It'll go down the tube, but it's hard on the barrel. Usually they'll start to develop stress cracks up by the threading, and the slug is hard on the choke tubes themselves and can cause secondary issues.

 

[JADB]

Shotgun Slugs

Now that was funny as hell! Do tell how you did that. I could you use that at least twice a day! Sorry for the :sign0101:

 

[Mexican_Hippie]

Now that was funny as hell! Do tell how you did that. I could you use that at least twice a day! Sorry for the :sign0101:

Just go here Let me google that for you , type in what you want to search for and click the search button. They generate the link for you at the bottom.

---End Hijack

 

[Mexican_Hippie]

We had some water holes in the middle of real thick brush, and the hogs would wallow there in the middle of the day. We'd sneak up on them shottys (OC) with slugs (cheap lead ones), and I can attest to their accuracy at 20 yards or less They're perfect for knockdown and keeping you from getting torn up when hogs come flying out down the trail you're on.

I wouldn't use them for much else unless I was forced to or just curious. There's simply better options.

 

[Texas1911]

There's something just fun about shooting things with 1 oz. lead objects. There's PLENTY of knockdown in a 12-ga. slug at 20 yards, LOL ... there's no "did I just get shot?" with a shotgun slug.

 

[Dawico]

there's no "did I just get shot?" with a shotgun slug.

Oh, I must disagree. My brother is a Sheriff's Deputy in MN where they only allow shotguns for deer. They had a hunter get clipped in the ear (grazing shot) when he got out of his car to start hunting. It came from over a hill from a missed shot. Talk about lucky.

Usually though, yeah, they work very well for their intended purpose.

 

[M. Sage]

There's something just fun about shooting things with 1 oz. lead objects. There's PLENTY of knockdown in a 12-ga. slug at 20 yards, LOL ... there's no "did I just get shot?" with a shotgun slug.

Put a Michigan white tail down hard with a 3/4 ounce 20 gauge slug. Get a solid hit and there's no arguing with the facts!