houtsdg

So what is the knockdown range and carry of a 12ga slug?

bigbulls

Depends on which slug you are shooting. There is a very wide range of slugs available today and none of them perform the same.

uncle matt

I have no doubt that some of these slugs will take a deer down cleanly at 200 yards (or maybe even a little more) IF YOU HAPPEN TO hit it in the vitals. Trying shots at that range isn't really ethical in my book though.

TomFromTheShade

I wouldn't want to get hit with one at 500 yards lol, but making a realistic hit on game, I would say that 200 yards would be the maximum that I would want to shoot with the best gun and the best ammo and a good scope.

UThunter

Some good dedicated slug guns with good ammo can really "reach out there" and make clean kills at 200 yards. plenty of power left, and some can shoot well at those ranges "if" you know your gun and ammo and drop.

Paul L Mohr

Depends on what ammo and how accurate the gun is. It doesn't really matter how much energy it has at 200 yards if the groups are foot wide. Most manufacturers list energy levels at different distances. If you have a specific one I can run it and see where the energy starts to really drop.

I know for a fact the newer ones will go at least 500 yards and still have enough energy to do damage if you miss. So you need to be weary of what is behind your target when you are hunting.

Paul

IL Hunter

The remington core-lokt and the top end winchester slugs are good out to 200 yards, but that is only if you can hit vitals and know the trajectory, also they do not mushroom out very much at all, so I wouldn't go around telling people to try and shoot deer from 200 yards with them.

I would never try to take a 200 yeard shot with a smooth bore slug.

gorse

Ditto what everyone else has said. As well, I'll add that the standard, Foster-type slug (as used in smoothbore barrels) runs out of steam not much past 100 yards. They usually lose enough velocity to be unstable at that distance....and often begin to tumble just past 100 yards. Accuracy, as you would expect in that situation, is not good at that distance. The Foster-type slugs really have a good, effective range of 75 yards or so.

As for sabot slugs (fired through a rifled barrel)....about 200 yards....as others have said. At 200 yds, they are getting rather marginal in terms of energy. So, in most cases, that should be considered the max. effective range.

Of course, as others have said, all of this is moot if the particular slug in question is not accurate, from a particular shotgun....at a particular distance. That is why careful testing should ALWAYS precede hunting trips with ANY ammunition....in ANY type of gun, for that matter.

700bdl870exp

I shoot the 3" remington core lokt and shoot confident up to 175yrds. I shot a doe at 205 last yea and it did the job but thats just cuz im good.but i think max for a good safe shot is about 200.

TomFromTheShade

Even though the slugs dont really expand at the 200 yard mark that doesn't make a difference. Its still a 385 grain slug travelling at800-900fps. That would do tons of damage with no expansion.