bullet_magnet

hey guys what slugs should i be using with my 12 gauge mossberg 500? i've got a 24 inch slug barrel but im pretty sure its not rifled. I need to be using 3inch slugs, all help is appreciated thanks!

Retaks

I shoot Federal Premium slugs in my 835. Why do you feel you need to shoot 3 in slugs? Im my gun it seems like they havealot more recoil then 2 3/4 in slugs of the same type. I still shoot 3 in slugs but i have never had a problem with recoil so it dosnt effect my accuracy.

bullet_magnet

in my state your gun has to have a 5 shot maximum. In a mossberg 500 using 2 3/4 shells my capacity is 6 shots. With 3 inch shells i lose a round of capacity making my gun legal

Retaks

Ohh i guess thats a good reason. My dads 500 still holds 6 3in shells though. My 835 holds 6 3 or 2 3/4in shells and 5 3 1/2in shells. I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. I wanna find someone to load me some 3 1/2in slugs and see how the shoot.

bullet_magnet

i'd read that mossberg 500's lose a round of capacity when using 3 inch slugs guess i'll have to try it myself

Retaks

I looked on Mossbergs website and they still hold 6 rounds.

sjsfire

First, you need to determineif your barrel is rifled. If it's rifled like mine my 500 was a tack driver with the plain ole Winchester foster slugs. Other option is buy some sabots but if your barrel is a smoth bore sabots are a waste of money. I don't understand why you think you need to shoot 3 inch slugs unless you enjoy pain.

HEAD0001

It does not matter what size shell you are using. YOU MUST PUT A PLUG IN YOUR MAGAZINE TUBE, if your shotgun holdsover the limit with any sized shell. Ask any goose hunter, they will tell you. Tom.

Scrapdawg

It does not matter the size. If you feel like you need 3" slugs by all means use them. I have a 500 and use 2 3/4" slugs and it still kicks like a mule. I have a rifled barrel and can not seem to find a slug that shoots consistant past 50 yards. If your state allows 5 slugs for deer season then you will need a plug if can hold 6. Brother do not be caught by DNR for having space for an extra shell. Overall what you really need to do is buy a box or 2 of different brands and sizes and shoot them until you find what works.

eldeguello

Open the breech. Put a clean patch against the face of the breechblock to reflect light, and look down the barrel from the muzzle. Do you see any spiral grooves?? If not, it is NOT rifled.

If the gun is not rifled, you will have to shoot bore-size lead slugs, not any of the newly designed sabot-types. This limits you to either the Foster type, which are short, hollow-based slugs generally having "rifling" grooves swaged on the sides. These grooves really do nothing (the slugs don't really spin) except reduce resistance to help the slugpass through a tight choke without damaging anything. Of course, the thin skirt of the hollow base also helps them go through a tight choke as well.

The other type of slug you can use in smoothe bores is the Brenneke design, which includes the Lightfield brand. These have the wad attached to the slug, and the wad goes along as a partof the slug to keep it flying point-on, like a badminton shuttlecock.

The Brenneke type slugs are much more dependable killers of heavy game than the Foster type. But you will have to try several different brands of both types in order to find out which kind are the most accurate from your gun-all guns differ in this regard, so testing is inescapable if you want the best performance.

From looking at them, you'd think a 12-ga slug would bowl over anything that it hit. This is not true-you have to place a shotgun slug just as carefully as any rifle bullet if you want to take the meat home!

If your gun does have rifling, however, you can use the same type of slugs you can shoot from a smoothbore, plus the sabot type, which have to be spun by rifling to achieve enough stability to fly point-forward.

The problem with big, fat lead slugs in rifled barrels is that in some, they lead up the bore. Leadingruins accuracy. But with the sabot slugs, you get about the same performance you'd get from a low-velocity rifle such as a .45/70 or .50/90 shooting bullets of similar weight at comparable velocities. IMO, this is an entirely new ballgame compared to bore-size hollow slugs like the Foster!