gunner870

They are both just as accurate. Grow a pair and shoot a 12 gauge unless you're bird hunting and you're good, like me. I shoot a .410.

arcticap

I've always shot a 20 gauge hunting deer in my state land shotgun state of CT.
I started out shooting 2.75 inchRotweil Brenneke Magnum rifled slugsout ofa smoothbore, andthey do make larger wound channels and exit wounds than the saboted slugs do that I shoot out ofa rifled barrel now.
Since I stockedup on thesesabotslugs, I haven't switched to any "premium" ammo. So Ijust shoot standard 2.75 inch WinchesterBRIsaboted lead slugsthathavethe original BRIhour glass shape. They start out at .40 caliber and the only one thatI ever recovered from a deerexpanded to about .64 caliber. It had traveleddiagonally throughmost of the length of alargedeerfrom a frontal quartering shot, and I recovered it fromunder the far hide. The deer ran between 100 - 150 yardsafter being shot from pretty close range basicallybecause there wasn't an exit wound and it was the largest deer that I've shot withthe BRI sabot. So it ran twice as far as normal.But there was still enough of a blood trail to lead me towhere it was foundalreadydead.
I've neverlost a deer, but they do run a little ways if they aren't hit in theheart orbackbone.But I have the utmost confidence in using a 20 gauge.IMO the 20 ga. sabots arenotthe sameas using a 12 gauge, but thena 12 gauge is not as comfortable for meto shoot becauseit has noticiably more recoil and muzzle blast. The 20gaugeworks fineformostevery deer hunting situation, and I'msatisfiedwith theperformance of the standard Winchester BRI sabots.The last deer that Ishotwent rightdown on the spotdue tohitting the heart. So being able to hit where you're aiming is what's most important.

willy 9889

I purchased a slightly used 20 gauge 870 express cantilever synthetic last winter and on the advice of the gun shop owner I bought some remington Buckhammer slugs.They group reasonablywell,Consistently less than 3 '' at 100 yds.Tried a number of other brands of sabots without success.I am quite confident in this combination out to 150 yards
Willy

eldeguello

With a rifled barrel, and shooting the new sabot-type slugs, what you have is actually a large-bore rifle which is every bit the equivalent of some of the .45/70 loadings. These loads make a 12-ga. unnecessary. Usingsuch ammo, I would opt for the 20 every time.

However, if your rules prohibit such ammo, and you are stuck using the old, sorry, Foster-type slugs, I'd be forced to use a 12.

Generally the use of slugs is required on the (mistaken) theory that because such ammo has shorter range, it is thus safer to use. This idea is not only nonsense, but it is untrue when you look at the performance of some of the new "slugs" which perform like rifle ammo. To be "safe", they'd have to restrict you to Foster slugs and prohibit the new ones as well.

gmil6184

I would pick the 20 if you were going to be using it only for deer hunting, if you were looking to use the same shotgun to hunt lots of different types of game i would go with the 12. I used to hunt with an 870 12 gauge before the area of NY i hunt switched to rifle. Used to shoot Remington 3 inch copper solids and they were butt kickers on both ends. 20 gauge will be a lot easier on your shoulder and the deer will never know the difference.

TerryM

Thanks all, I'm going to go with the 20 guage cantilevered 870. This will be a deer gun only as I have a couple of other guns I use for birds and rabbit hunting. I already have a Leupold 1.5x5 sitting in a drawer to top it off with and this should serve me well.

IndyHunter83

I've got an 870 12 ga that I use for a brush gunand for longer shots I use a CVA Wolf. 20 gauge will do just fine and 870 is a good gun and so are the NEF Slug guns

pitjeep

i have no problem shooting my H & Rultra slug 12 ga. out to 200 yds with 2 3/4 in. lightfields.i dont see the recoil beingthat bad.

HEAD0001

I just looked at the Ballistics on the Hornady slugs. They seem to be pretty awesome. However an earlier poster said the 20 outperformed the 12 gauge?? Acoording to Hornady nuimbers the 20 gauge is a distant second. It showed the 12 gauge shooting a 300 grain bullet at 2000 fps, and a 20 gauge shooting a 250 grain bullet at 1800 fps. People who shoot a lot of big bore know how much difference 200 fps makes in slower moving projectiles, especially when the faster moving projectile is 50 grains heavier!!

I am not saying the heavier and faster 12 gauge slug load is necessary. But it is definitely more potent than the 20 gauge load. If you could get that 300 grain slug to shoot accurately then longer distance shooting should be no real problem.

Has anyone had any experience with the Encore slug barrel?? Tom.

Hurricanespg

head; I said that the 20ga outperforms the 12ga accuracy wise. You will have no argument from me stating that the 12ga packs more punch.
What specifically would you like to know about the Encore slug barrel? From my experience it performs well in both the 20ga and 12ga, but just like any other barrel it can be a little picky on what you feed it.