i need another weapon to hunt deer with like i need a headach....but i have a brand new mossberg 500 slug barrel with the scope mount and all.......and have a mossberg 500 that will readily accept the barrel.........my first question is can i take the barrel and scope off and still have it sighted in?? or will it be off if i take it off?? i can small game hunt with another shotgun i suppose....but i like my 500...i can use and abuse it and it still drops about everything i shot......so will it be sighted in if i take the barrel and scope off once in a while?? i mean...ill check it before deer season....and when deer seasons in it will stay on till im done deer hunting....but i dont want to waste 1000s of slugs sighting it in when i want to shoot a few groups just because i small game hunted iwth it the week before or whatever......also...what slugs do i need to shoot best out of the rifled barrel.....seems to be 1000 diffrent slugs out there......pumpkin balls... rifled slugs ....sabots ect ect......and i dont even know he diffrence between them.....sabots are in a plastic sabot.....rifleds are rifled....and pumpkin balls are just hunks of lead? or are they rifled...what do i need to shot best in my fully rifled barrel?? thanx alot......just getting ready....when i get back from vacation im buying the scope for it and a bunch of slugs and muzzleloader bullets and practicing with the 2 guns ill need to practice with.....any suggestions on slugs?? my shots arent really far.....100yds tops....but most or 20-30yds......i usually sight in dead on at 50yds.....will my method still work? know where i am close and far.....i want the slug gun for hunting around here....alot of houses and things and slugs travel a few miles less then a 3006 will.....and around here i got together with my buddy and his family and they do giant drives that work.....and it seems when the shooters missed the first shot the deer would stop......so i like the idea of a quick followup.....not that i like flinging lead or anything.......im a trigger control freak......i dont shoot unless i know i can take the animal cleanly.....so dont think im doing this to go nuts on running deer.....i stopped the deer i killed with them guys with a grunt.....dropped it in its tracks.....but just incase id miss id have a followup for when the next deer came by....they always come by with more behind.......thanx alot
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>>----Give 'em the shaft!--->
If your barrel is rifled don't shoot ANYTHING in it except sabots ("saBOWz"). If you shoot a slug the lead will clog the rifleing in the barrel and make your gun less accurate (and dirty) over time. The plastic wad of the sabot gets spun by the barrel, giving the lead it's accuracy. A slug, on the other hand, is designed to travel down a smoothbore. It has fins that catch the air, get the slug spinning and give the lead it's accuracy. A sabot is more accurate and gives you a longer reach.
Do the scope screws on the 500 mount to the barrel? This should make it more accurate than if the scope mounts to the reciever (every time you take off the barrel, it is likely to be aligned just a tad differently). I bought a Mossberg 500. It has the slug barrel, bolt action and the scope mounts right on the barrel. The only thing a versitile gun does is deny you a good reason to buy another gun! :-) I love deer hunting enough to have a gun JUST for deer hunting.
I usually sight dead on at 50 yards, too, though most of my shots are UNDER 50 yards.
The 500 is a pump. If your rifled barrel has a cantilever style mount, then taking it off the receiver should have no effect on your sight-in. Try to tighten the barrel fully when you re-mount it. A few shots before hunting should be all it takes to confirm you are still sighted in. All bets are off if the scope is mounted to the receiver, though you should still be reasonably close.
Pumkin balls? I didn't know they were still made, but those were just round balls. Those should be shot from smoothbores, just like rifled slugs. Sabots should be shot from rifled bores.
If you won't shoot further than 100 yds. sight in dead on for 75. You'll be within an inch or so at 50 or 100. There are so many sabots out there, with different velocities that you should try at least a few for accuracy, then stick with the best performer in your gun.
Ugh. I mean I bought a Mossberg 695, not a 500. And the 695 is one of the leasts expensive and ugliest of the slug guns, but accuracy compares to the accuracy of the more expensive models. Somebody said the Israeli army uses them. Unfortunately, as with all guns, you have to fish for an ammo brand it likes and mine likes the expensive Winchester Partition Golds -- pretty pricey compared to the slugs. Still, I maybe shoot two boxes sighting her in and one or two max killing deer.
The 695 Ulti-Mag has it's reciever drilled and tapped for scope mounts. So I'm assuming it's not a cantilever mount. If you use a Weaver or other quick detach ring, you will be close, even to the point you'll be safe sighted in out to say 50 or so yards. But anytime you remove your scope, the zero should be checked because the point of impact WILL be affected. It could not hurt buying a Leupold or similar magnetic mounting Bore-sighter. They require no spud and will give you a good idea how your zero looks. As for slugs, I agree with Rhetoric 100%. sabot slugs are the best, and I think the Remington copper solids or Barnes
Ex-panders are some of the best out there. A huge hollow point, for tremendous hydrostatic shock, well expanding capabilities, and flat tragectories are all good things. Oh yeah, I think Winchesters Supreme Sabot is similar, and I think the 3" is flying around 2200 FPS (?) if i remember right.
thats what i shoot out of my mossberg 500 i got the one that dosent have the scope mount on it and i like to shoot it with iron sights since its a close range gun but i tried several different slugs and lightfields patterened best for me but there kinda expensive for a slug i think they were like $13.50 for a box of 5 here im use to paying $2-3 for some plain old rifled slugs but ive shot quiet a few slugs outa the mossberg and havent been disappointed yet
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"They say I have ADD but I dont think...... Hey look a chicken!"
i have a 500 with a slug barrel with the cantalever scope mount.....do i jsut attach the scope to that and call it a day? the mount doesnt get put on the reciever at all or anything??? and my zero will be fine after removing the barrel?? that would be perfect for my......i hope thats right......and i will shot sabots since thats what my barrel needs...thanx alot guys......i know it justifys me buying another gun......but im 17....and have a truck payment and such and i dont want to buy anything major till its paid off....hopefully in the fall/winter this coming year......im trying by october....but its looking like a few more months......but im sure i can hide 100-200 bucks and put a leupold on it......if i even get around to the project.......i want to...but really dont need too.....and if i dont i have the mauser and the flintlock to shoot deer......if i do get to it...great.......another gun to shoot deer with....and i really do plan to get to it this year.......thanx alot
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>>----Give 'em the shaft!--->
I pay $9 a box for lightfields. They are great slugs, with great groups, and great on game. I took a black bear here in NJ back in December 2003 with the them
I have a gold and 870 and take the barrels on and off all the time. I haven't had to resight in the scope in years. Mossberg might be different, but shouldn't. I only buy good scopes for slugguns or rifles for that matter. My favorite is a 2-7X33 leupold. You should never have to worry about resighting in.
For fully rifled barrel, I use different types for different guns. slugguns can be funny. I use 2.75" remington copper solids for the gold, and federal hydroshocks for the 870. I can use lightfields in either and they get 3-4" groups. The sabots get 2" groups at 100 yards. I suggest hitting 1" above bullseye at 50 yards. Good comprimise up to 100 yards.
slugs...
