caribou_sniper

I sure can give more detail about my experience. I've had another cup of coffee, so maybe I'm not so cranky.

I was shooting remington solid coppers and two other types of saboted slugs under controlled field conditions. I was testing them to see which would be the most accurate and to see if I found any flaws. I sometimes do this field testing, because it is much closer to real world hunting conditions and shown in the past that things aren't always what they seem at the range. In this case, I set up in an alley in a brush lot with about a 70 yard shot. There was an interfering branch down range about 50 yards, not something that was planned. But that is the kind of field conditions that happens and in this case I think it proved significant.

I shot a few groups with each slug, on the second round with the remington solids my second shot caught the down range branch, which was smaller in diameter than a pencil, and pieces of the slug went in different directions. My buddy, who was watching me shoot, saw the whole thing also. We checked down range, the branch was sheared off and there was no impact on the target which was about 15" square. We scanned the area and found the impact from the major part of the slug in the bank about 4-5' right of the target line. We found the sheared branch lying on the ground in the target line. My buddy and I both saw fragments fly off to the high left of the target line when the slug hit the branch. We were pretty shocked there was that kind of deflection from such a small obstruction. We believe that petals, that are cut into the hollow point section of the slug, opened when it hit the branch. Some must have broken off and we saw them fly off high left; and the remainder of the slug was sent off right of the target line.

The slugs had grouped great on paper. Was it a fluke; I don't know, but I wouldn't want to find out in a hunting situation. I didn't duplicate the senario with the other two slugs I was shooting that day. We packed it in soon after that. The Remington slug was the one I was hoping to shoot that season, so I was very discouraged.

For me, confidence is very important when shooting. If I have high confidence in my equipment and my abilities, it's a great advantage for me during my hunting seasons. It allows me to be very patient and wait for just the right shot.

Sorry for the rather lengthy story. This is just my one time bad experience with the Remington solid copper slugs. I ended up sticking with the Brenneke slugs I had been shooting for years. I had confidence in them. I hope this helps explain my previous comments.

ChazyKEJ

My Ithaca Deerslayer II will easily group 3 touching at 100 yds. They certainly work, but they've blown straight through every deer I've shot with them`with very little expansion based on the exit wound. I keep using them just cause they group so well. Someday I'll get motivated to try something else though.

KEJ

Troutman10

I have used the Copper Solids for only one year. I sighted my gun in and practiced with them to get used to my slug gun. Didn't have a deer come into range this season while using my Remington 870. I think the slower sabots (about 1500 fps or so) work well in barrels with 1 in 34" twist rate andbarrels with 1 in 28" twist rates might prefer the newer/faster slugs (up to 2000 fps). I'm not sure whattwist rate the NEF guns have, but I would check into it and buy accordingly.

bigcountry

Well caribou, thanks for the experience. You got to go what you have confidence in. Its rather surprising that a solid 1oz piece of copper would come apart. But stranger things have happened.

For example. I have a best buddy who I help load for with 130gr gamekings in a 270win. He swears up and down that the bullet is failing on him. I have yet to see a deer go 20 yards when hit in the lungs. Out of doezens. He says most deer he shoots go 200 yards or more but claims when/if he finds them there is alot of trauma and damage to the lungs/heart. Says the lungs are melted. But he is not known to be a liar. So he has to use what he has confidense in.

I have shot probably 15-20 deer with em. So that gives me alot of confidense.

Thanks for explaining.

kerbywj

I have killed many (30 deer) with them using a Mossberg 500 with a fully rifled barrel. I have never had a problem with grouping or stopping power. I used to live in Ohio which is a jungle compared to AZ where I live now and Inever had and trouble with them.

4 Buck

A good buddy of mine that i hunt with used them for many years. He always said that they blew right through them w/o expanding. He then switched to partition golds and swears to death by them. He shoots an old model 25 that he sent to e.r. shaw and custom fit the barrel to it. He said they grouped well. just had trouble expanding.