what slugs?
 

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!

RE: what slugs?
 

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.

RE: what slugs?
 

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

RE: what slugs?
 

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.

RE: what slugs?
 

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

RE: what slugs?
 

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

RE: what slugs?
 

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.

RE: what slugs?
 

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.

RE: what slugs?
 

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.

RE: what slugs?
 

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!

RE: what slugs?
 

Back in the 60's BRI (Ballistic Research Institute) of California did extensive research with their slugs using the Mossberg 500. It is now knownas the Winchester BRI., but it's a Sabot for Rifled Barrels.

RE: what slugs?
 

In the early 70's, I tested these BRI slugs in an Ithaca Deerslayer smoothbore which was quite accurate with Remington Foster-type slugs, 3"-4" at 100 yards. There were very few rifled shotgun barrels at that time, and BRI claimed these slugs could be used in smoothbores. These slugs were .50 cal., and housed in a two-piece plastic discarding sabot, much like the fin-stabilized, long-rod penetrator armor-piercing projectiles used in tank guns.

These BRI's would not shoot from mysmoothbore, some even breaking in half, and making two lopsided holes in the target (50 yds). A couple hit point-on, most hit sideways, and two or three broke in half through the waist section.

This was BEFORE the makers announced that the bores had to be rifled. They were supposed to fly point-on from a smooth bore because they were "shaped like a dart" with a plastic plug in the hollow rear section-allegedly "fin-stabilized". Obviously, this idea did not work at all. Subsequently, they decided that a rifled barrel was necessary to shoot them. Then Winchester bought the design, and I guess they still make them (but the ones I tested were in a white & blue box labelled "Smith & Wesson - BRI"!!

(If you take a look in the old, original Lyman Black Powder Handbook, they shot some of these slugs from a .75 cal. smoothbore Brown Bess flintlock musket using black powder. Darned if the Bess didn't shoot them better than my Deerslayer!!)

RE: what slugs?
 

:D:D:D:D:D:DBack in the 60's BRI (Ballistic Research Institute) of California did extensive research with their slugs using the Mossberg 500. It is now knownas the Winchester BRI., but it's a Sabot for Rifled Barrels.

RE: what slugs?
 

You are right, but at first, BRI DID NOT STATE that they had to be used in a rifled bore-quite the contrary, actually!

RE: what slugs?
 

Many people on this forum don'teven know what BRI is, only the Old Timers.:DI have been shooting them since 1980 and still havesome boxes on the shelf.

Never have shot one out of a smooth barrel. Mossberg 500Rifled, Moss 835 rifled andBRN A-5 withHastings Paradox.;)

RE: what slugs?
 

bullet,
Haven't used either in copule years but I have 2 500's.One with modified vent rib smooth bore.The other has rifled slug barrel w/cantilever scope mount.I've shot a *****pot full of deer with both these guns.After years/decades foolin with various brands of slugs in both these guns,I've always ended up going back to the Federals.
I'd give them a try and then work up from there.Don't forget - make sure everything else;scope,sights,barrel is up tight,clean etc.. before yoo go out popppin off a 2-3-4 boxes of slugs.Gets expensive and hard on the shoulder!

RE: what slugs?
 

why dont you try the new hornady sst slugs they are very accurate and can be shot at longer distances than regular slugs.the lightfield slugs are also a good choice