dhom

What kind of accuracy can you get from a smoothbore shooting lead slugs and what can you do to improve it?

lafflin rand

With the older style forster slugs and a smoothbore I never did better than 6 inches at 50 yards. There are newer slugs such as the Brenneke and others that will cut this in half. [I] f you get a rifled barrel for your shot gun if it is a pump or a semi auto you can get 3 inch groups at75 yards are possible with the right slugs.

terry_p

A decent compromise if your shotgun has choke tubes is to get a rifled tube and use saboted slugs. You may have to experiment a little to find a saboted slug that works but I have read they are almost as accurate as a rifled BBL. I have a Win 1300 with a rifled BBL that with the right sabots it will give me 2"-2 1/2" at a hundred yards on a good day. My shotgun is very ammo sensitive and the only sabot I have found that will give me any kind of accuracy is a 3" Federal Premium Saboted Slug. Many of the others will keyhole and are all over the place.

dhom

I guess if I could get 3-4" at 100yds I would be happy. So far no luck! I probably should just get a rifled barrel.

TomP5

Besides not grouping well, I found the drop was too great after about 50 yards. The funny thing is one year a buck walked out of the Wisconsin woods into my father-in-law's field while I sat up in a white oak. I knew he was further out than I was prepared to shoot, but decided to try anyway. I held high. Then I held higher. I squeezed the trigger and that buck jumped like I'd hit him with a hammer. Put it right through his heart. I walked it off at 75 yards. That was years ago, but I still enjoy reflecting on that cannon-ball-lob shot for a nice buck.

Regarding a shotgun with a rifled choke tube, I can tell you that my father-in-law has been mighty disappointed with his Browning Gold Hunter. He was hoping for a turkey/deer gun. It is not nearly as accurate as he was hoping for. I just don't think you're going to get much spin on even a saboted slug with only the last few inches doing the spinning. At least this has been our observation.

If you're in a shotgun only area, it makes sense to buy a rifled shotgun or at least a shotgun with an exchangeable rifled barrel.

If, like me, you only hunt in a slug only area once in a long while, try to set up your stands so you'll be less than 50-60 yards from the furthest deer. I've done all right in those conditions with those big Foster slugs.

Tater

dhom,

I have both a rifled and smooth bore 12 gauge. With the rifled barrel, I can shoot a 385 grain sabot into 2 1/2" at 100 yards.

On the smooth bore, I haven't tried it but I'd think I could get 4" at 75 yards or better.

Brenneke has some good information on their site including info on their accuracy. They say "5 shots groups under 2” at 50 meters" but don't really say for which combinations rifled or smooth. In any case, look at the recommended range for some of these.

I think just like a rifle you have to find one your shotgun likes.

NVcaster

Depends on choke, I think mine with an improved cylinder barrel (non removable) i could keep them at 6 inches at 50. If I knew i was going to hunt with shotgun alot I would buy a fully rifled barrel.

Tater

dhom,

Let me ask. What slugs have you tried in your smooth bore barrel, and what were your results?

Another choice would be Dixie Triball. Three 0.6 caliber 315 grain hard cast balls can't be a bad thing. They claim a 5.5" pattern at 40 yards with the right choke.

dhom

I shot mostly Remington and Winchester 1 oz. rifled slugs with pretty much the same results. Mostly shooting 50 yds.,groups seem to be averaging 4-5" but, all of a sudden one will go 12" AWAY from the rest. Checking to see if I was doing something different when this occurred I repeated the shooting sequence but, I was being very consistent with the trigger and sandbag position. After shooting enough to get frustrated I wanted to relate this to the forum to see if I was the only one. I am thinking the best thing to do is go with a rifled-fixed barrel, a decent scope, and the expensive jacketed slugs.

Phriday

Being a novice, I have a question:

If you have a shotgun with a rifled barrel, don't you have, well, a rifle?

Or is the distinction purely to satisfy a hunting ordinance or something?

Phriday

TomP5

Yep! In my book you have a rifle, but it is not a long-range rifle, which is what they are worried about in most locales where they have this sort of ordinance. In some places you can use a muzzleloader, a slug gun or a handgun, but not true rifles.

TomP5

Strange. I can tell you that my accuracy with those 1 oz Foster slugs is not great, but I didn't have an occasional 12" flier. Wow. It is true that you take a beating behind a slug gun off of sandbags. It is just a wild guess, but it could have been a subtle flinch.

After shooting a half dozen or so to make sure I have my sight picture correct and know where the slug is hitting, I stop. No reason to introduce a flinch because of taking a beating.

But then again, it might be something else... Who knows?!

dhom, where you are in PA, are you required to use a slug gun? If so, and if you can afford it, getting a rifled "shotgun" with a scope mount is the best way to go. Some in my wife's family, who have this kind of a setup, have shot deer out past 100 yards.

luvmysr9

A rifled barrel & sabots will make a world of difference. Last year I bought a rifled barrel for my 12ga Mossy 500 & I can consistantly shoot 3" groups at 100-125 yards with open sites using Hornady SST & Remington Solid Copper Barnes slugs, but the copper slugs are pricey. The solid coppers are nearly $4 per shot, but as accurate as they are & hard as they hit, you only need one shot.

Tater

I think you should be able to do a bit better than 4-5" at 50 yards.

It SEEMS to me that you should be able to get a 2-3" group at 50.

Also, that 12" flier might be due to a heated barrel; hard to tell.

What choke are you using? If you haven't tried it yet, try an IC. Also, perhaps try some of Brenneke's offerings.

Also, do a reality check. What do you think the maximum range of a slug gun is? Is it 50, 75, or 100 yards? Except for your flier, your setup should be good to go out to 50 yards. At 75 yards, your groups will open up to around 6-7.5". This is within the kill zone of a deer at that range even though I'd be a bit concerned with it.

To me, a slug out of a smooth bore is at least a 80-90 yard weapon.

It's really hard to find somewhere to shoot a shotgun. Most ranges don't allow it for whatever reason. But you've compelled me to try. I'm going to buy a box of each type of rifled slug I can reasonably find and afford. Sluggers, Rackmasters, Brennekes, etc. See how they shoot in my smooth bore.

FIST 75

I might be wrong but Massachusetts is Bow and/or Shotgun only, for deer season.