Smoothbore shotgun slug accuracy?
 

It seems fairly common knowledge that a smoothbore shotgun with rifled slugs will not shoot as accurately as far out as a rifled shotgun barrel will.

Experimentation with a given smoothbore and different rifled slugs will reveal its potential, but I'd like to know what to expect.
How far out do you think a smoothbore coudl reliably keep a 6 inch group? 75 yards, 100?

I don't care so much about how much drop there is, as I know it's considerable, just about predictable point of impact at a given range.


Keep 'em all in the Bull.

Edited by - bulzeye on 12/10/2002 12:56:36

RE: Smoothbore shotgun slug accuracy?
 

About 75 yards for most guns. If you use 3" slugs, a little farther.

"Hey ya'll, watch this"

RE: Smoothbore shotgun slug accuracy?
 

My dad can get 3.5-4" groups at 100 yards out of his Win. 1300 with winchester rifled slugs. I have a 1300 as well, but only tryed once and couldn't get it to group at 100 yards with remington slugs. It all depends on your shotgun.

RE: Smoothbore shotgun slug accuracy?
 

With a smooth slug barrel on an 870, iron sights, and factory Rem slugs, I've found 2" groups at 50 yds and 4" groups at 100 yds to be quite attainable off the bench.

RE: Smoothbore shotgun slug accuracy?
 

I've never tried patterning slugs past 50yrds but I intend to. Keep up the conversation I'd like to know.

Nahum 1:7

RE: Smoothbore shotgun slug accuracy?
 

I can hold a 4" group with my 870 smoothbore double bead using winchester super X 1oz. slugs
from 125yds with no problem.
You just have to find a combo that works well and practice.
Remmy slugs always work good in 870's as well.

RE: Smoothbore shotgun slug accuracy?
 

first lemme say that you should set your goals abit tighter than a 6" group. In theory a 6" group will get the job done but out in the woods in a hunting situtaion is alot different than off the bench at the shooting range. You should try for under 3" groups to give yourself a small margin of error out in the field.

how far can you EXPECT? 50 yards for an average smoothbore

a few people get lucky and get a gun/ammo combo thats stretches it out to 75 yards. I have never even heard of a smoothbore that will shoot 125.

many people have bouts of 'wishful thinking' and/or exaggerate when it comes to the effective range of their slug gun. ONE or two lucky groups at 100 yards doesnt make the gun a 100 yard gun. If someone tells you they can shoot 3" groups at 100+ yards with a smoothbore ask them to take you to the range and prove it....watch how fast they backtrack on ya. I'd even offer to pay for the ammo if they could really do it.... but I wanna see several consecutive 3-5 shot groups at 3" and not one lucky group out of 5.

** I almost got him but I refuse to take a marginal shot **

RE: Smoothbore shotgun slug accuracy?
 

Every gun is different and as a result some will shoot better than others, it is impossible to say what smoothbore shoots the best. The only thing you can do is figure out first what brand/type of slug performs best out of your gun and then practice with it to see what kind of drop you are getting.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

RE: Smoothbore shotgun slug accuracy?
 

Well I own several shotguns and have been shooting slugs through the old smooth bores for 20 years and I also agree that it is rare to find a 100 yard gun. I have an old JC Higgins 12 gauge with full choke that will put them in a butter dish at 100 yards with about 6 inches of elevation. with most smooth bores you are lucky to hit a five gallon bucket at 100 yards if truth be told.

Try your gun with a number of different slugs to find the one that shoots the best out of it.

With the price of rifled barrels and sites so cheap these days it is almost a sin not to just buy another barrel and use it.

" Anyone can be a father, but it takes a real man to be a Dad"

RE: Smoothbore shotgun slug accuracy?
 

I am one of the lucky ones I guess, I have a Rem 870 that I use for deer hunting on one of the tracks of private land here in CT. I usally do not get shots farther than 75yds max while hunting. I sight the gun in at 50yds and can make each 3 shot group touch, my son can make it into a short leaf clover at that range. At 100yds my spred goes out to about 2.5-3.5" my son can still make them touch. This is with a 28" vent ribbed barrel, IC choke tube with a Simmons scope on top. I spend a lot of time at the range and know my firearms very well. I would not try this with others I have owned and own now. Knobby, I would gladly let you buy me some ammo if the oppertunity ever came up. That said, if it didn't shoot as well as it does I would by a rifled barrle in a min, might anyways. All in all, stay well within 75yds and you should have no problems. Practice,practice and then practice some more.

Misplaced Buckeye

RE: Smoothbore shotgun slug accuracy?
 

Well, when shooting slugs, I shoot 3" Brenneke slugs. With my 870 Wingmaster, 26" improved cylinder barrel, off a bench I can make 3 shots touch. I just use the two beads. Without using holdover, my groups are about 2" lower than point of aim. I guess I am one of the really lucky ones.

RE: Smoothbore shotgun slug accuracy?
 

I did not mean to say 3" groups at 100 yards are impossible...only they are not common and could not be expected. Atleast not from uncustomized guns. I am assuming that we are talking about your average everyday off the shelf smoothbore shotgun.

Misplaced I will gladly buy you the ammo to see you shoot several groups inside 3 inches at 100 yards lol.... and then probly try to talk you into selling me the gun

as for misplaced's son and ducka shooting 3 shot groups that all touch at 100 yards...well what can I say lol anyone else here find that highly unlikely?

** I almost got him but I refuse to take a marginal shot **

RE: Smoothbore shotgun slug accuracy?
 

Well, I have an Ithica 16 guage that I have sighted in at 100 yards and will shoot 3-4 inch groups consistantly with the right ammno. Remmingtons it will throw all over the place but the winchester or federal will shoot extremely well out to 100 yards.

RE: Smoothbore shotgun slug accuracy?
 

knobby shooting from a bench with a scope and using the same ammo every time, I would be careful about what you challenge some one to. There is that occasional smoothbore that from a bench with the right shooter can do what misplaced son does. There are very few smoothbores that can cloverleaf at 100 yards consistantly, but they exist, remember that every gun is slightly different, whether they are mass produced or custom.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

RE: Smoothbore shotgun slug accuracy?
 

I have several shotguns that will shoot 3 inch groups at 100 yds. One is my grandfathers Sears and Roebuck 16 gauge pump with a full choke and a 28" barrel shooting remington 2 3/4" sluggers. The other is my Remington 870 28" vent rib w/ IC choke tube and Active 2 3/4" rifled slugs. It all depends on the gun and ammo combination. I think just about any gun can shoot a 3" group provided you put in the time and money looking for and testing all the different ammo.

If you really want to stretch your range you need a rifled barrel and sabot's. My buddy shot a doe at 227 yds as she was trotting across a field, his gun was an Ithaca Deerslayer III with a Leoupold 2-7X32 shooting 2 3/4" Winchester Supreme Partition Gold's. He hit it through both lungs and the deer went approx 50 yds and died. Let me explain a couple of things before evreyone goes crazy, the doe had a broken leg, he had used his laser range finder to get the distance and he had burned 15 boxes at $12.50 a box prior to going out hunting. From a bench he hit a coffee can every time at 200 yds during our trips to the range. He also shoots more in a week than most guys shoot in 2 years. The first deer he shot was a feeding doe at 165 yds and he ranged it with his range finder prior to shooting. He lent the gun to another guy in our group and he shot a doe that was feeding at 154 yds, once again the distance was verified with a range finder prior to shooting. If you want to put $1100 into a gun and scope and then buy a $300 range finder and spend another $200 on ammo you can get rifle-like performance out of your gun.

Edited by - Forestboy on 12/12/2002 10:14:10

RE: Smoothbore shotgun slug accuracy?
 

Do any of you have any experience with smoothbores with rifled choke tubes? I was thinking of getting one so I could shoot sabot slugs. I hear they are not as good as a rifled barrel but might turn a 75 yard gun into a 100 yard gun. One thing about 2 3/4" rifled slugs, you can't beat the price, I got a 5 box of federals for less than 3 bucks. I wish they sold rifle bullets in 5 packs.

"Hey ya'll, watch this"

RE: Smoothbore shotgun slug accuracy?
 

All I can say is...buy an Ithaca. Deerslayers are the ultimate slug gun, either smoothbore or rifled barrel.

I have an old Model 37 12ga. smoothbore, and can consistently get 2-4 inch groups at 75 yards. Without a scope, I can consistently get 4-6 inch groups at 100 yards with Federals.

This year I picked up a few boxes of Brenneke's, and they outperform the Federals, better accuracy with a reduced recoil.

Hey SCB, I also find that Rems go all over the place, some not even finding the target at 50 yards.

I'm not surprised with what Forestboy stated...and the new Ithaca Storms are supposed to have even greater accuracy...that's almost scary.

S&R

RE: Smoothbore shotgun slug accuracy?
 

I have a Winchester 1200 that I use for any gun hunting I do. It will hit a milk jug every time at 100 yards and has consistently been reliable on deer at ranges out to 93 yards--hit right where I was aiming and dropped the deer in it's tracks. It's an off-the-shelf smoothbore with screw-in chokes.

That said, slug guns are a short-range gun. They're better today than they used to be and I believe that--with work--4-5" groups at 100 yards are attainable with the right load combinations for most modern shotguns. Smoothbores will have less accuracy than rifled barrels will and should be thoroughly tested and practiced before determining your effective range.

Today's small bucks are tomorrow's trophies.

RE: Smoothbore shotgun slug accuracy?
 

Taz as I said b4 its not impossible only highly unlikely...and its not a challenge as much as I would like to see it done.

Myself and many friends have been slug gun hunting in Ohio for 20 years and I have NEVER seen a smoothbore slug gun shoot 3 shot groups at 100 yards where all the bullet holes touch. 3" groups at 100 yards is not common at all...atleast not consistent. I dont wanna talk about that one time way back when...when someone shot a 3 shot group that touched. I wanna see someone shoot 10 or 15 shots in a row into a 3" circle becuz only if you can do that would I consider it a 100 yard gun under hunting situations.

and mainly I was just trying to answer Bulzeye's original question of what could be expected...and for the vast majority of smoothbores that would be 50-75 yards.

** I almost got him but I refuse to take a marginal shot **