Got a steal on a Winchester 12 gauge but has to be a slug gun. The end of the barrel was damaged where the threads were. No idea how it happened but the gun came up in discussion the other day. So I offered to buy it for 20 bucks. Sold. Took it to my gun smith and he said the rest of the gun is sound. Was a 28" smooth barrel "goose gun" and he trimmed it down to 24" and its nowgoing to be my new slug gun.
I want to put a scope on it, what kind of power am I looking at? 3x9? 1-4.5x? Seen a few options but not sure what I want. I hunt mostly woods and some farmlands (soybean and hay fields) so I want some options but I dont need to see 300+ yards out if Im only shooting at 100 yards max.
And what range should I sight it in for to get the most out of it since I know the drop will be signficant on a 1oz slug by Remmigton or Winchester nothing special. They've dropped plenty of deer for me, so Im satisifed with them.
I appreicate the help on this and am excited to go shopping for my scope and mounts.
Thanks in advance
__________________
I refuse to tip toe through life, only to arrive safely at death
I'm wondering what model winchester you have and would you get a fully rifled barrel if 1 was available? With smoothbore and regular "rifled" slugs,unless you get lucky,you probably have a 100-125 yard gun at max as far as accuracy goes. You're not EVER oing to need more magnafication than 5x-7x which happens to be the upper end of a low powered variable scope. A fixed power 2.5x or 4x will do everything you need,and as well as a variable scope within reason. For the particulars of the shotgun/ammo/scope you'll have,75 yards is going to be a pretty good sighting in distance compermize for you.
__________________
Sometimes you earthlings REALLY amaze me!
I'd be interested in knowing how it shoots after him cutting it off to 24 inches. Have you checked what choke the barrel is right now? It might be too open to pattern well but the only way is to shoot it andfind out. You might be looking at putting a slug barrel on it. Just my opinion. Good Luck
__________________
You've heard of the three ages of man - youth, middle age, and 'you're looking wonderful'. Francis Cardinal Spellman
If it hasn't been trimmed yet, I would go to 18.5" or 20". the shorter length would be handier. For a scope, I would go with a red dot. A smoothbore slug gun is a 100 yard max gun. In a lot of cases deer are shot at 25 yards. A red dot would be a great way to get on target cheaply and easily. Red dot's are by far the fastest to pick up when raising the gun to shoulder.
Its a smoothbore and knew it would be a 100 yard only gun. Im in Michigan so thats not an issue. If I had a rifled barrel available at a good price Id do it, but have yet to find one at a good price. The end of the barrel is not threaded to handle a choke. Its wide open. Thats why its a slug only gun. Just have to adjust my stands accordingly to 100 yard shots max. No big deal. Its plenty thick where I hunt but Ive got a few open places.
Id still like to find a gun good out to 250-300 yards to cover the hay & corn fields that I get to shoot over as well...suggestions? Then Id have all the areas covered that I have access to hunt.
__________________
I refuse to tip toe through life, only to arrive safely at death
1-4.5x!! Zero it dead on at75 yards. It will be about +2" @ 50, and -3" @ 100 (about) Depending on the slug brand you find shoots best in it.
Thats the ticket. I have a Bushnel 1-4.5x scope on my smoothbore and it does the job out to 100. No need to shoot further where I hunt, most shots are less than 50 yards.
Bob
__________________
Massachusetts: turning law abiding gun owners into criminals one stupid law at a time.
Excalibur Exocet, Varizone Scope
Gold Tip Laser II
125g Spitfire (424g total)
Unless this is an ancient model, there is probably a fully rifled barrel with cantilever scope mount that can be bought for it. That is the best way to go. Heck you're getting a slug gun for the price of a barrel, not a bad deal.
If you want to stay with the existing smooth bore barrel, I would think twice about scoping the gun, as the scope would mount to the receiver, correct? That can work well sometimes and not so well others. You can get iron sights that attach to the barrel rib, it is has a rib. I have a smoothbore Mosseberg 500 with rifle sights. I'll shoot to 100 yds from a good rest with foster style Winchester slugs.
Building a slug gun need some opinions
