shoutguning for deer

[redsox3624]

i'm hutning in maine where teh shots and close and i think i might just use my 12 gauge for deer. can anyone tell me what is the effective range of a slug for deer? i don't have a scope for it. any sugestions?

[BOWHUNTERCOP]

smooth bore with rifle sights= 75yds at the most

rifled barrel with rifle sights= maybe 100 yds at the most

bead sight= 50yds

[mule1028]

I think this is a little underestimated. With a rifled barrel and sights, with practice, I would not hesitate to shoot 125-150. 200 yds if he aint moving and looks big. With a scope 150-175 is a snap. But need good slugs and alot of trigger time.

[johnch]

With a scope or red dot a smooth bore with the right slug is good for 100 yds
With A scope or red dot a rifled barrel with the right slug is good for 150 yds
A bead barrel or vent rib barrel 50 yds MAX probely less
Iron sights with either smooth or rifled is 75 yds
I shot 10 -15 different brand or type of slug till I found the 1 that grouped for my barrel (every barrel shoots differently,so what shoots good in my gun may be bad in yours)
A slug will kill efectivly farther but you will not be able to put it in the kill zone

[UncleNorby]

Without knowing your exact setup its difficult to say. You may have a gun that will shoot to 75 yds, but my experience in Maine was that a 75 yd shot was a long one. 25 - 30 yds was more common. Just about any shotgun meant to shoot slugs will work fine for "short range" shooting. But even so, I prefer a rifle if I can use one. You may need to shoot through a tiny hole at 40 yds, and that's easier with a rifle than a shotgun.