Ammo for H&R Ultra Slug Hunter??
 

I recently purchased an 12 ga. H&R Ultra Slug Hunter. I put a Bushnell 3200 Firefly scope on it, and picked up a few boxes of Winchester Supreme XP3 sabot slugs (2-3/4" 300 gr. 2000 fps) to go sight it in.

I was ok (not great) at 50 yards, and all over the place at 100. Since then I have read some bad reviews on this Winchester ammo, and have also read that this particular shotgun can be real picky with the type of ammo it likes.

I have read that Federal Premium Barnes Expanders, Lightfield Commander, and Hornady SSTs are better options than the Winchester.

My question is - has anyone here had some experience with any or all of these ammo brands with a slug gun? What's your opinion of where I should go from here?

Thanks in advance

RE: Ammo for H&R Ultra Slug Hunter??
 

None of those loads worked well in mine, the federals were horrible as a matter of fact. Mine really liked winchester platinums.

Paul

RE: Ammo for H&R Ultra Slug Hunter??
 

A hot topic for me...I have 2 H&R 12 gauges....

I shoot Hornady SST's with my H&R and have taken a deer at 213 yards with a range finder and light winds....

My gun is sighted in for2.5 inches hi at 100 yards and zero @ 150 yards...My SST's drop 6.5 inches at 200 Yards...

I harvested about 10 deer with the federal Barnes expanders out to 180 yards...I dropped the federals and went for the SST's because of the 300 gr. bullet and longer shots. I hunt an area that allows for open field long distant shots...

Remember...the only way to get your H&R the best it can be is to site it in with a gun vice with zero to light wind conditions...try to take as much human error out of the gun that you can....Your H&R should hold in a 3 inch circle at 100 yards (Worst Case)..It will give you 1.5 to 2 inches with some work and patience...

Hornadys & Federal shoot the best for me.......Winchester were ok ..remingtons were bad.......lightfields were good but they're bulling balls...heavy....PM me if you want more info...I use a Leopold 2X7 on mine....Have fun.....You have a great gun there....but boy is she heavy aeh???...actually took a 43 inch bull moose with mine!!:D

RE: Ammo for H&R Ultra Slug Hunter??
 

mine loves sst's

RE: Ammo for H&R Ultra Slug Hunter??
 

that's impressive. 213 yards?? I was planning on using mine from 100 yards and in. But you are making me think.....

I was using a gun vice, but I should say, it was my dad's vice and it was the first time he used it. So it was sort of a learnign experience.

I do like the gun. I heard they have quite the kick, but using it in the vice I havent had the chance to experience that yet. I do liek the weight, and I love the Bushnell scope too. I cant wait to get it sighted in right and drop some boar.

RE: Ammo for H&R Ultra Slug Hunter??
 

just dont go shooting 3.5 inch shells, i got a H&R 12 ga turkey gun and i shoot 3's and it nocks me almost off my feet everytime, but my 20 ga, slug gun dosnt kick bad, and i think i am shooting 3's too.

RE: Ammo for H&R Ultra Slug Hunter??
 

The heavy bull barrel eats up the recoil...its smooth...

Hey guys....don't get me wrong the 213 yard shot with the sst's isn't an everyday shot...lets just say I could hear the bullet hit the deer quite clearly at that distance....

I'll tell you this though...I flipped an 8 pt at 168 yards with it like it was in my lap.....The H&R's are hungry for those 150 yard shots....youhave to site for zero @ 150 yards though...I never have to aim differently really at 50-100 yards...I just go 4 inches up from the belly and behind the shoulder at close range and it usually busts them mid to upper body behind the shoulder which almost always results in a drop in the tracks type of shot...

However - If you're a Zero @ 100 yards guy then just hold about 3-4 inches below the spine at 150 yards.....with a range finder I have learned alot about my H&R.....If you're going tobe confident and you want percision shots out to 150 yards and beyond...you have to have the range finder....you owe it to the animal....love this topic..!!! You guys got me going...I do not find much H&R talk on here!;)

RE: Ammo for H&R Ultra Slug Hunter??
 

talk to me about what type of gun vice you use. my dad has one that had 2 adjustments on the front and 1 adjustment on the rear (up and down adjustment). We were not thinking, and kept adjusting the front part. 2 moving parts (and they were not easy to adjust accurately) was not the way to go. We shoul dhave been adjusting the rear to get it set up correctly.

Is that right?? Maybe he just doesnt have the best gun vice. It was definately better than not having it, but it still caused some confusion.

I got it sighted in to be about 1" high at 50 yards, and decided to move to 100 yards (I was running out of ammo). The first shot I took at 100 looked identical to the last shot at 50 - dead center 1" high. I know a lot of that depends on the flight of the slug, but I was surprised. And after that the shots actually got higher, up to 3" or 4" high and started to drift to the right.

Like I said, we werent real familiar with the vice, so I am not sure how much of the problem was the vice, the ammo or the shooter.

RE: Ammo for H&R Ultra Slug Hunter??
 

Riner69,

I have acheap Lyman vise I bought from Dunhams....The main thing is that you try to lock the gun up as much as you can....once you set your shoulder into it you will see slight movement in your scope...

I shoot at 3 inch black ring targets at 100 yards......My recticle dances slightly inside the center of the black 3 inch ring....this is only what I experience with my set-up..30 dollar vise vs/ 200 dollar...

Trigger Squeeze -Not judging your experience - but..... if you're notsqueezing graduallyuntil the gun fires (you should be surprised when the gun goes off) you may only get ok groups...4 inch at best...

If you have a rock solid trigger finger your gun may not be happy with the ammo ...if you're experiencingbullets thatare drifting upward...I have had this problem with bullets too...

H&R gun barrels are thick and heavy....I have never experienced eratic groups because of hot barrels...however....5 boxes of shells on a 90 degree day could cause variation as well...

One thing is for sure....Regardless of where the tool life was on the tool that machined your barrel at the factory? There should be a bullet out there that your gun likes...I would say Hornady, Federal or Lightfield would get you where you want to be...the Remingtons sure did leave me with a dirty barrel in my gun though....My H&R 30-06 puked up the Remingtons too...I'm pumped to get out and try a different round with my new 30-06...

RE: Ammo for H&R Ultra Slug Hunter??
 

I really think any of the things listed coul dbe the problem. Or some combination of all of the things. I did find that if I pulled the gun tight to my shoulder it would move the scope. I wasnt sure if I shoul dbe doing that, or just touching the gun to my shoulder so as to take as much "play" out of it as possible (I probably wont pull the gun tight with the same amount of pressure every time, but I can barely touch it to my shoulder every time with much more consistancy).

I really dont have much experience, I am more of a bow hunter, but I was taught to shoot by taking a deep breath, slowly letting it out, then half way through the breath (or so), slowly start to squeeze. Like you said, I was taught that I should be surprised when the gun goes off. I tried to do that as much as possible, but I'm afraid I started aimign and firing towards the end. I need to slow down some and take my time.

I am in Ohio, and this weekend is was arounf 20 degrees, so heat was not an issue. Ha! Yea, I was checking the barrel periodically, and it wasnt even warm.

I actually tried one Remmington copper solid on my last shot just to see how that would go (my dad had some in the truck). it ended up higher and more right than the Winchesters were. But it was only 1 shot, so....

Yea, I am going to get the Hornady and Federal I think and see how that goes. It sounds like most peopel are happy with the SSTs, so I'll start with those and if I'm not happy try the Federal.

thanks a lot for the info, I am going on a boar/Aoudad hunt in August, which is why I got this gun. I was thinking I might not be able to take an Aoudad with this gun since I didnt think it was accurate outside of 100 yards, but now you have me excited to work on my 200 yard shot.

RE: Ammo for H&R Ultra Slug Hunter??
 

I shoot the SST's out of my Mossberg 500, loves them. Just my 2 cents.

RE: Ammo for H&R Ultra Slug Hunter??
 

You're on the right track...Based on your experience you look like you got it licked...

Next time you goto the range...or wherever you shoot....leave yourself some time to play and relax about what you are doing...I am married with little babies now and I know what feeling rushed is like...

Make it a fun event and leave yourself some time to relax and learn your gun...

Keep this in mind...for my gun...I never touched my scope when moving from Federal Barnes to SST's.

My buddy Bill comes to the range with 4 boxes of every name brand slug out there....

I prefer to goto the range with 3 boxes of my slug of choice...don't confuse yourself with 4 different slug manufacturers...you'll be firing slugs and ultimately confusing yourself....

My Opinion - Here's the real deal...grab 3 boxes of SST's....leave a 3 hour window to go and play....Bring a ram rod with a soft pad and run it downyour barrel after each shot. Leave a few minutes between shots...set up...squeeze gently...sip on a coke...and just learn your gun....

Squeeze ...squeeze...gently until she fires...each shot...every shot....same way...everytime....tell yourself that......when the day is over you will be happy...print this darn email chain out:)I wish you luck....you're going to flip that boar or Aodad on its back with this gun...send me the link to where you are hunting...I live in Michigan...you going to a ranch? Sounds awesome...Killed a few pigs with bow and my 44 mag...

RE: Ammo for H&R Ultra Slug Hunter??
 

I am going to the Double C Ranch in Texas. My dad won the hunt at a dinner in Ohio back in November. Here is the site for the ranch : http://huntingwithjeff.com

We can each take 2 boar and 1 aoudad. Although I have heard the aoudad are pretty easily spooked and it's tough to get a good shot on them. I would love a nice aoudad mount though. My dad and I are both taking our bows and guns. We want to take 1 boar with a bow, 1 with a gun, and an aoudad.

Hmmm the old shoot once and clean, eh? I have read so much about how often to clean the barrel that my head is spinning. I saw a write up from a barrel maker who has made many many champion barrels, and he claims that there is no need to clean the barrel any more than once time per 5 shots. He says that cleaning it any more than that will damage the barrel more than shooting it will. He thinks the idea behind cleaning after every shot is that it wears the barrel down quicker, which means you have to buy a new barrel sooner, which means your barrel maker gets paid more often. I dont know if that's a conspiracy theory or what, but that's all he could think of as to why people have been told to clean after every shot.

I dont know, I see both sides of the argument. This weekend I cleaned it after every 5 shots. I dont know, maybe I will start cleaning it more often.....

RE: Ammo for H&R Ultra Slug Hunter??
 

Thanks for the site...thats awesome you and dad hunting..I've hunted and killed alot with my dad....deer and boar...Cherish those memories...He is 61 now and still kills at least a doe(a year)with my H&R....he taught me how to shoot in 1986.

Interesting....I never heard that about re-cleaning...I have learned something today! I will try the 5 shot and clean method next time I am out...This cleaning thingonly worked for me....find out what works for you....We should keep in touch...email me if you ever want to shoot the breeze...you gotta send me pics from that hunt...I'm going back to Quebec in May to smack another bear....this time with my H&R or Rossi 12...and not bow...If you want a guaranteed kill on a black bear...let me know....Guaranteed are tough words...lets just say..you will have bear in front of you...!!! Cherish those memories with dad.

RE: Ammo for H&R Ultra Slug Hunter??
 

Riner.... from the other post...

Sight in for 100 yards and then back track to see where your gun is at 50. If you have 200 yard shots available... site in for 100. You'll find 50 yards will still be a kill when you aim mid body on a white-tail. The 7- 9 inch kill zone should still eat up your slug at 50 yards...

I keep forgetting to saythis !!![8D] Get a range finder if you do not have one....this 150 +yard thing is a gamble without a range finder...You're going to sacrifice +/- 3 inches with out one... and it could result in a bad hit...if you don't own a range finder....don't be afraid.... you'll find time to mark the animal...if you have one... than enough said...I use a 180 dollar Nikon 400 range finder....The Bushnells were shaky for me...spend the extra 30 bucks and get a nikon...