ORIGINAL: ths78
I have a friend who has decided that he'd like to try hunting this year. He's been thinking about getting a Slug Gun. I've always hunted deer with a rifle or buckshot, and don't know much about Slug Guns.
The places that I plan on taking him will have no shots over 100 yds.
Will a slug gun be OK for him. If so, what guage? Or should I talk him into a rifle?
Do slugs kill as quickly as a rifle?
Thanks, ths78
These new "rifle-bullet-sabot" type slugs essentially turn a shotgun into a big-bore rifle every bit the equivalent of a factory-loaded .45/70. But the old-style Foster hollow-base "rifled" slugs do NOT kill like a rifle. They have little, if any, shock effect and kill morelike a broadhead arrow-by causing massive bleeding. Sometimes they knock a deer down instantly, but I have seen some that were well-hit with several such slugs that went a LOOONG distance before piling up. And despite their large diameter, they don't always leave a good blood trail, either.
If I have a choice between a Foster slug in a shotgun and a centerfirerifle for deer hunting, give me the rifle every time! I even choose a muzzleloader over a shotgun. So naturally I recommend a rifle.