Benelli SBE II slug barrel????

[Gundigest]

I just got a job and moved down to sothern Michigan (shotgun zone). I am from upnorth and have 3 deer riflesthat I will not be able to use as much. I just talked myself into buying an SBE II comfort tec for waterfowl (longer season down south) and I am thinking about getting the rifled slug barrel for it. It cost about $400 so I was wondering if it is worth it? I have a Nova I could put a cheaper slug barrel on but I like the idea of the reduced recoil of the comfort tec. How much more accurate would the rifled slug barrel be compaired to the smooth bore with maybe a rifled choke?

Thanks for the help.

Tom

[TerryM]

There is a new breed of high tech slugs now on the market that literally turn properly equipped shotguns into 200 yd killers. Hornady have just come out with a saboted SST slug that is so well designed ballistically that it trumps everything. The kicker here is that these new slugs need fully rifled barrels with the proper twist to perform as designed. A rifled tube won't do. The Benelli SBE is possibly the best semi on the market and I think to match it up with a proper slug barrel would be the way to go for you. You can always sell one of your 3 deer rifles which will likely collect dust now that you hunt in a shotgun zone. Spend the money, get the proper barrel, put on a high quality scope like a low powered variable Leupold and you will be surprised at how effective that combo is. I have killed several deer with slugs and they sure do the job if you do yours.

[jcchartboy]

I would not recommend buying a new barrel for the SBE if it is going to cost you 400$. For that amount of money you could buy a brand new dedicated slug gun and have some money left over.

When it comes to shooting slugs as a general rule bolt actions and single shots are usually regarded as a better choice than a shotgun with an interchangeable barrel system.

If this is something that is a possible choice for you, and you would like to hear more, let us know and everyone can fill you in on the best options....JC


I also see TerryM commenting on the Hornady SST's.

Let me say, there is alot of hype around these slugs that is unfounded. They in no way ballistically "trump" the other top of the line sabots, (Remington Core Lokts, Winchester Partions etc).
In fact due to the design of the projectile, it is expected that they will not perform well in many slug guns. Most slug guns designed with a 1-35 twist barrel will likely not impart enough spin to the sabot to stabilize the bullet at ranges past 100+yds.

Here is a review of the actually facts concerning their ballistics. I wrote this review for another memberwho had asked about them...

Uncle Matt,

I too have been interested in trying the SST sabots. Here are the facts to consider...

The reason no else has answered is that they have just became available at some retailers in the past few weeks and are still difficult to locate...

Here is one current source I found...
http://www.talonarms.com/talonarms/index.php?main_page=product_info&currency=USD& amp;products_id=137

The SST'sare an off shoot of the development of the H2K. The H2K contained a 250gr xtp. These new Sabots contain 300gr SST's instead. (My experience with the H2K was disappointing, although they were in the top of class in terms of trajectory they were very erradic as far as accuracy, often throwing random flyers).

TRAJECTORY...
They do not shoot any flatter than the current topperformingSabots on the market. The advertising for the trajectory ismisleading. They quote the trajectory from (-.09in) at the barrel. Even with the extra inch they are dead on at 150 and -6.7in at 200 To you and me in the real world that means -7.6inlow at 200.

TRAJECTORY COMPARISON...
The flatest consistent competitor to the Hornady SST would be the Remmington Core Lokt Ultra's.They are once again misleading in their advertisement of trajectory. They qoute their trajectory from -1.5in at thebarrel. These sabots areare dead on at 150 and -6.2in at 200. To you andme that would be -7.7in low at 200.
That means that the current Core Lokt'salreadyoffer nearly identicaltrajectory to the new SST's.

VELOCITY AND ENERGY COMPARISON....
Although these two competitors have nearly identical trajectories one must keep in mind they are shoot very different projectiles. The SST's are 300 gr, While the
Core Lokt's are launching 385 gr.
That means only one thing is possible. The SST's are slower, and do not carry the energy, that the Core Lokt's do.
The actual #'sfor theSST's at 200ydsare velocity 1341 fps, and energy 1198 ft-lbs.
The Core Lokt's at 200 are velocity 1426 fps, and energy 1741ft-lbs.
Although both still have plenty of knock down power at 200yds for deer sized game, the Core Lokt's with an additional 500ft-lbs of power at 200yds would be welcome comfortif one were tomakea poorly placed shot.

COST
They will be between 11-15$....in line with most current high performance Sabots.

CONCLUSION....
Is the SST an new ballistic breakthrough in Sabot technology? NO.... Does any of this tell us anything about the accuracy of the SST's or the Core Lokt's out of any particular gun?..Absolutely not.

Will I be testingthe SST'sfor accuracy vs. the Core Lokt'sas soon as I can.......YES!

[TerryM]

VELOCITY AND ENERGY COMPARISON....
Although these two competitors have nearly identical trajectories one must keep in mind they are shoot very different projectiles. The SST's are 300 gr, While the
Core Lokt's are launching 385 gr.
That means only one thing is possible. The SST's are slower, and do not carry the energy, that the Core Lokt's do.
The actual #'s for the SST's at 200yds are velocity 1341 fps, and energy 1198 ft-lbs.
The Core Lokt's at 200 are velocity 1426 fps, and energy 1741ft-lbs.
Although both still have plenty of knock down power at 200yds for deer sized game, the Core Lokt's with an additional 500ft-lbs of power at 200yds would be welcome comfort if one were to make a poorly placed shot.

If those numbers are true then I would use the Core locs also, I'll go for the energy also. I do stick to the rifled barrel over the cheaper pump slug gun special though. Years ago when we used to deer hunt in a shotgun zone I went with one of those specials myself exactly for the reasons you quote. Today if I had to get back into shotgun hunting I would rather have the superior SBE and its dead reliable second and third shots than an extra pump gun in my cabinet. Very informative stuff about the hype though ( I don't pay much attention to slugs anymore ). Rifle and ammunition manufacturers are masters at spinning bull to sell new product, case in point the advertising that came with the short mags when they hit the market.

[jcchartboy]

Terrybelow are the links to the factory published numbers. They are the source of the numbers stated above. In the case of the Remingtons some additional information was located from the actual box the slugs are packaged in.

And yes....that is why I use the Remington Core Lokts....

http://www.hornady.com/story.php?s=148

http://www.remington.com/ammo/shotshell/am_prsabotslug.htm

[TerryM]

And yes....that is why I use the Remington Core Lokts....

I can see why. The important thing here though is that this technology now exists to cleanly take deer out to 200 yds which I find amazing compared to the old days. In fact I would say that a nice light 20 gauge semi with fully rifled barrel would be a tempting deer gun nowadays given the effectiveness of these new slugs. I actually applied for a late December controlled hunt up here and if drawn would have to decide between my 870 or my .50 cal inline. Its starting to look like the 870 might be the better choice.

[jcchartboy]

I agree that the technology has come a long way. However the most important factor in longe range slug shooting,(one that always seems to be overlooked), is wind drift.
When discusing 150yd shots with a slug gun most hunters know they are dealing with a minimum of a few inches of elevation drop. Few are aware that a crosswind as light as 10mph will actually have more effect on the slugs path then gravity.

This is the reason why 12ga slug guns are a much better choice for hunters who may anticipate taking shots over 125 yds. The 12ga slugs are more accurate when it comes to shooting in a crosswind.

Here is representative comparison of wind drift (based on a 10 mph crosswind), between 12ga and 20ga shells.(As a point of reference, where I hunt in Nj the average wind speed on anygiven day in November is 10.2 mph)
I will use the data for Federal Barnes Expanders. Keep in mind these projectiles are relatively wind resistant when compared to most other manufacturers sabots. Most other sabots would show en even larger difference between the wind drift of the 12ga and 20 ga projectiles.

This data is only published by Federal out to 125yds. However it is clearly obvious how quickly the 20ga starts negatively diverging off its flight path past 100 yds. The difference between the 12ga and 20 ga would be far more pronounced past 150yds.

50 75 100 125
12ga 328gr .9 1.8 3.1 4.8
20ga328gr 1.1 2.33.9 6.1

[jcchartboy]

It should be pointed about that in the above comparison the projectile in both cases is of the same weight. Many manufacturers produce a lighterweight 20 ga sabot that would in fact buck the winda bit better. This would tighten the gap but of course not close it. The problem then of course would be reduced velocity and energy on a shot that could result in marginal placement as a result of the distance.Not a good choice in either case.

[TerryM]

Good info.

[Gundigest]

Selling one of my deer rifles is not an option, they all shoot two well andone of themwas achristmas present (Ruger #1), one was a birthday present (Ruger 77 MK II) and the other is a custom Mauser 98 my uncle made for me. I don't want to spend $400 on a barrel but if it is accurate and the SBE II reduces recoil like they say it should be more plesent to shoot. Doesn't Benelli use deeper rifleing or something like that?