biscuit jake

Never used one. Are they humane on deer at 100?

Thanks

absolut40

I have a 20 gaugeH&r ultra sluggerand have taken 3 deer out to 100 yards with it.I would limit your shots no further than that though.Very adequate out to 100 yds.I shoot lightfields.

Paul L Mohr

With the newer sabot loads no question about it. They are pretty much the same as a magnum Muzzle loader charge. And my muzzle loader will shoot out to 150 or farther. As far as energy and bullet performance they are plenty good out to 100 yards. As long as you have the accuracy.

I'm not so sure about a full bore rifled slug, I would have to do a little research and play with one to be sure about that. I would think they would have enough power to take a deer with a good shot, but I'm not sure about the accuracy or amount of drop you would have.

Right now with the modern slug technology that we have I would actually suggest a 20 ga over a 12 for a dedicated slug gun. It just has too much going for it to not seriously consider.

Paul

Troutman10

Does a 20 gauge shoot flatter than a 12 gauge when using slugs or would they have a very similar trajectory? I would think a 20 gauge would have a better trajectory b/c the slugs are quite heavy. Just curious. Thanks in advance.

eldeguello

I believe some of the newer sabot-type slugs that are used in rifled bores might be OK. But the Foster type is not. In fact, I have seen some miserable failures with Foster type slugs even in 12 ga., and at ranges much less than 100 yards.....

Paul L Mohr

That is going to be very dependant on the load you are talking about. There are so many loadings for both gauges at the moment and they overlap in the middle. If you are comparing a 12 ga to a 20 ga and they have the same load, like same bullet weight and what not the 12 will most likely have more velocity and shoot flatter. The question is will it be as accurate. Speed isn't everything, just like in archery.

Most of the time the same load in the 12 ga will have a heavier 50 cal bullet so it sort of equals out. It will have more down range energy in most cases though because of the heavier bullet. However both will probably have more than enough to get the job done.

Like said above, when comparing the older type BRI type sabot slugs and foster slugs (rifled slugs) the 12 is for sure the better weapon. You are going to get a larger frontal area on your slug and more energy down range because of the extra momentum.

But with the newer premium sabot ammo things have changed a fair amount. They make some great ammo for the 12's that looks very impressive. Lots of speed and great accuracy claims. Good luck actually seeing any of it though. From what I have been reading on various hunting sites the speeds are not as advertised and most average slug guns don't like the high speed ammo (H&R, 870, mossberg) because for what ever reason the speed or bullet shape just doesn't match the rifling in the barrel. So accuracy just isn't what you would hope for at 100 yards and beyond. You may get lucky and your gun will shoot them though, there are guys out there having good luck with them. However the majority don't, and I am in the majority with my H&R ultra.

Now when you look at the 20 ga offerings they shoot a VERY simular loads to a modern muzzle loader. 45 cal. bullets at simular speeds and barrel rates on par with the good inlines, say 1 and 24 to 1 and 28. And they seem to be showing accuracy you would expect out of that combination. As a matter of fact most of the better 20 ga offerings are better than what I shoot out of my muzzle loader as far speed and bullet weight go. And I am very confident with my ML out to 150 yards.

Again, when we are talking smoothbore rifled slug performance the 12 ga is king for sure. A 20 will kill a deer, but you better know what it's capable of and shoot it well because shot placement will be important.

I know I repeated a lot of what I said in my orginal post, I just wanted to try and make it a bit clearer. Of course I may have just confused you even more.

Paul