shotgun-only hunting (newbie alert)

[stogieboy]

Hi all.

I am new to hunting and in search of info about hunting with shotguns, how it will affect my chances, and what range I can expect by limiting myself to shotgun-only hunting.

How will I fare hunting deer or wild pig with a 12 gauge shotgun? I know there are loads out there for both, but what will my max range be? Will I ever be within that range of either of these types of game? Am I limiting myself too much?

That said, I am not opposed to rifles, I just like shotguns better. But, there are drawbacks to counter the benefits, eh? Please advise. Thanks in advance for your help.

[kodiakhuntmaster]

Alot of this depends on your individual shotgun. With most smoothbore shotguns you can expect it to shoot well out to 50 yards with the proper (the ones your gun shoots best) rifled slug. If you get lucky you may can get passible accuracy beyond that. With a shotgun with a rifled barrel you can expect accuracy at 100 yards. Most rifled shotguns (slug guns) will shoot accuratly beyond that. The most important thing is to try many different brands and sizes of slugs. Some guns shoot only 2-3/4" slugs best, others like the 3" ones. You will find one slug that will group better than the others. With a rifled slug gun you can shoot sabot slugs, and you have rifle sights or a scope which is a definate plus since some smoothbores will group good but may be a few inches off where the sights are pointed. And sabot slugs preform much better than the rifled slugs. You can shoot rifled slugs out of a rifled barrel if you want to save some money. But a sabot slug won' t shoot well out of a smoothbore unless you have a rifled choke tube.

One advantage of using a smoothbore is that you can use buckshot too. Depending on what choke tube you have, you can use buckshot between 30-50 yards. Normally a full choke works best with buckshot and a improved cyl works best with a rifled slug.

Alot depends on the limitations of your individual gun. As far as hunting goes, there isn' t much on north america that a 12ga slug won' t kill. Stick withen your limits and you will be fine. One advantage shotguns have over rifles is that ammo is cheaper. Another is that a 12ga slug is mighty big.

[kodiakhuntmaster]

Will I ever be within that range of either of these types of game? Am I limiting myself too much?

That all depends on where you hunt. If you hunt in wide open prarie land then getting withen 50-100 yards of game may be harder than in dence brushy woods. Another thing is that you never specified what kind of ammo you will be using, if you use buckshot it will be much harder to get withen range than if you use slugs.

I don' t think you are limiting yourself too much. From my experience, hogs are pretty easy to get close to compaired to deer. And many people (and states) only hunt deer with shotguns. You' ve got alot of time to practice and get your rig tuned up before deer season gets here anyway.

[Quilly]

get a shotgun with a rifled canteliver barrel. using win partitions. sight in at 150yds and you have out to 240yds or so.

or it you want a smooth bore. try to find a win model 12.

[stogieboy]

Hey folks. Thanks for the info. Very helpful.

To be more specific, I plan to use my Mossberg 500 for hunting. I' ve shot all types of shot through it, but never any slugs (yet). First, a bunch of questions (I' m seriously confused...):

I have 2 barrels for my Mossberg so far: 1) fixed choke (improved), and 2) cylinder bore barrel.

Can I fire slugs out of both of them? If so, what kinds? What kinds can I NOT fire through those barrels?

Also, what is the difference between rifled slugs and sabots? Can I fire a sabot through a rifled barrel? Cylinder bore? Improved choke?

How about rifled slugs? What type of barrel can I use to fire them?

If I get a 24" rifled barrel for my Mossberg 500, what types of slugs can I shoot through it? What can' t I shoot through it?

It just all seems really confusing and there isn' t much info out there that lays out the whole picture crisp and clear. Can someone clear this up for me?

Thanks again for all your help. Very much appreciated.

[NewYorkHunter]

I would say you should get 50 yards with a smooth bore and 100 yards with a rifled bore. This all depends on the shells used and how well your particular gun handles them.

The best advice would be to decide what gun/barrel combination you want to go with and then buy 1 box each of many different types of loads (rifled slug for smooth bore / sabots for rifled bore). Shoot these at decided yardages and make comparisons.

You could also buy a second barrel so you would have a smooth bore and a rifled bore. With this option you could have a rifled barrel all set up with a scope for most big game that could be taken off to switch with a smooth bore for turkey, ducks, etc.

A slug gun will work fine for both pigs and deer. You just have to do some shooting to find your limitations and get used to your gun.

[Allen Denton]

I am a shotgun only hunter. We are only aloud to use buckshot in my county. I use the Remington 870 express super mag, 3 1/2 OO buck. I hunt deer in Virginia with that gun, I hunt turkey with a Browning and I hunt dove with another 12 gauge. I am comfortable out to 70 yards if the deer is standing still, 35-50 if the deer is running.

[NE Hunter]

I have 2 barrels for my Mossberg so far: 1) fixed choke (improved), and 2) cylinder bore barrel.

Can I fire slugs out of both of them? If so, what kinds? What kinds can I NOT fire through those barrels?

Yes, both kinds but the rifled slugs will probably work the best. I' m also willing to bet the cylinder bore has rifled sights right if so it' s the one I' d start with.

>> Also, what is the difference between rifled slugs and sabots? Can I fire a sabot through a rifled barrel?
>> Cylinder bore? Improved choke?

rifled slugs the slugs are rifled. Sabots have the lead incased in plastic and are smooth. You can fire the sabot in any barrel but you will get the best performance out of the rifled barrel


>>If I get a 24" rifled barrel for my Mossberg 500, what types of slugs can I shoot >>through it? What can' t I shoot through it?

I' d use the sabots here and the rifled slugs in the smooth bores

[NewYorkHunter]

Make sure you check into your Mossberg barrel. If its the 835, the stock barrel on those are not supposed to have slugs shot through them. If its a 500 you' ll be ok.

- I should' ve double checked your post first. The 500 barrels are fine with slugs.