MD Piney

Having problems with the Remington Copper Solid sabot slugs
I currently use. My Winchester 1300 12ga responds well to them
at the range with nice tight groups at 50 yds, but when I double
lung a deer it runs off 80yds or better. I grew up shooting buck
shot in NJ, so slugs are a new thing for me. I just have a hard
time believing a 1oz slug doesn't bring a deer down closer to
the place of impact. Any recommendations? Better slug out there?
I've tried the Winchester and Winchester Supremes, but they shoot
way to eratic at 50yds. Is the use of copper the problem?

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Quilly

you would be surprised. i have shooting shotguns in my state untill i hunted in maine and found the wonders of thr rifle.
i have taken 4 deer with shotgun. the one that ran the farthest was shot with a rem copper solid ( original design before they where changed ) shot deer at 10 paces and it ran 40yds after getting up.
i have also taken another witha rem lead slugger in the same spot i always shoot, the lungs and he ran about 30 - 40yds.
now i found out last year that the wonders of how a 30-06sprg 165gr. does better in dropping them quicker and have beter blood trails.
i think it is more apon the average i have seen deer drop and where you shoot them.
maybe try the lightfield slugs?

also how much of a blood trail you getting when you shot that deer? i got very litle when i shot mine with the rem copper soilds. took 2 shots and i saw very little but found a chunk of lung or kidney on the ground.

eldeguello

What you are experiencing is very typical of shotgun slug performance! They travel too slow to produce much, if any, hydrostatic shock on a par with that produced by a HP rifle bullet. Consequently, shotgun slugs kill more by hemorrage than any other effect. In this regard, they are more similar to a broadhead arrow than to a bullet! An 80 yard run is not bad at all after being hit by a slug! That's why I prefer to use a rifle, even if it has to be a muzzle-loading rifle, anywhere that slug shotguns and/or muzzleloaders are permitted!

BTW, I once lived in a county in Virginia where ONLY buckshot was legal, and had the opportunity to observe how this stuff works, or rather, doesn't work, for five consecutive deer seasons. I once saw an 85-pound Virginia whitetail buck travel 1.5 miles from where it had been shot to where it died. It had two 00 buck pellets through its' heart, and three through its' lungs, and still travelled that far. NO BLOOD TRAIL!! Had it not been for the fact that hounds are used to run deer in that county (that's how they hunt deer there!!), that buck never would have been found. There's no doubt in my mind why buckshot is ILLEGAL in most states for deer hunting! Too many dead deer left unclaimed in the woods!!

BOWHUNTERCOP

TRY LIGHTFIELD SLUGS. I TOOK A BLACK BEAR ON 12-13-03 HERE IN NJ!!!! I SHOT THE BEAR AT 50yds. IT RAN AT THE MOST 10yds.

Worc

MD, stay with the copper solids. It's not that uncommon for a deer to run 80 yards or so after being hit in the lungs with anything. Iv'e dropped deer stone cold dead with the copper solids at over 100 yards away. A 12 gauge slug has way more than enough "shock" for a deer at 50 yards away. Wait till you hit one right in the heart!

Quilly

Worc..

mine was shot in the heart at 10 paces. when he got hit it was like he got lifted up and thrown back about 5 feet and landed on his side. he tried several times to get up and eventually did to fall right in front of me. then ran another 30yds or so. everything in the middle was jelly ( what ever was left in there vital wise )

bigcountry

You know I believe some people just have bad luck hunting deer. As a Carroll County resident also, I have taken 20 deer or so with Copper solids. All has been under 100 yards, and I have never had them walk more than 30 yards. I just think some people its the norm to have a deer run 100 yards. Hasn't happened to me but some guys swear they do. I believe the condition the deer was before you shot has alot to do with it. Was it running. Was it spooked. Was it calm? MD Piney, where do ya hunt? I live in Finksburg. Hunt behind my house and Morgans Run.

Agree on buckshot. Good reason its illegal in most states. Worthless.

eldeguello

Bigcountry, you're right that what a game animal is doing, or the state it is in, before being shot has a lot to do with what it can do/does afterward! If it is already hopped up on adrenalin, it is likely to go a lot further than if it is peacefully grazing away, unaware of the hunter's presence!!

bigcountry

I quit shooting running animals a long time ago. I know some people have different hunting pressures than I got. And alot of their shots have to be running or spooked shots.

eldeguello

You are wise not to shoot running deer!!! In addition to being harder to bring down, an animal that's pumped full of adrenalin is also a lot tougher and foul tasting when it comes to eating. The longer they've been running, the less edible they become.