buckshot or slugs
 

I recently moved, and was getting myself all pumped up for the season this fall. I just found out that my county and surrounding counties do not allow taking deer with a rifle. I have an 870 that I use for pheasant hunting, and it just became my deer firearm as well. I really can't afford to buy a rifled barrel for it. I saw some rifled slugs. Would those work in a smooth barrel? Mine has a choke tube. If I can use the rifled slugs, what type of choke tube would I need? Do they even make a cylinder bore choke tube? I know I can't fire it without a choke tube. Am I limited to buckshot?

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

Try an improved cylinder (I/C) or a even a Modified choke. Most suggest the most open choke you have, but in some of my guns I have gotten pretty decent groups with a modified choke. Not all slugs are the same diameter so try a few different kinds with a few different chokes and see what your gun likes.

You are right in thinking you have to have a choke tube, never shoot your shotgun without a choke tube installed, especially with slugs.

Adding a set of fiber optic rifle sights will help some too. They are not too expensive and clamp right on to your rib.

As far as what you will get for accuracy it really depends on what you call accurate, what distances you want to shoot and your particular rifle. Some just shoot slugs better than others.

I would say average for a smooth bore and slugs it likes would be around 4 or 5 inches at 60-80 yards. Some guns are better, some are worse. Will also depend on how well you shoot and if you are just using a bead or if you have some sort of sights.

I'm not a big fan of buckshot so I would recommend slugs, but buckshot can be effective out to 50 or 60 yards in some guns. Again, you would have to try a few different kinds and see how your gun does with it. As far as what choke to use I don't want to say for sure on that since I don't use it. Maybe someone else will chime in and let you know. Or do a search for buckshot, it has been covered fairly recently I think.

Paul

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

I have an 870 with a 20" smooth bore barrel. I can cut clover leaf groups at 50 yards. If you are using a VRB, I'd get an improved cylinder choke tube and see how it shoots. You can get fiber optic rifle sights for the barrel or put a scope on it if thats your preferance. I have a scope mount that bolts into the holes from the pins from the trigger assembly. It works great. I use 2 - 3/4 inch rifled slugs. Winchester Super X seems to work pretty good for me.

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

Thanks for the help! I feel pretty stupid, but I've never hunted deer with a shotgun, and never even thought about it.

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

No need to feel stupid, that's a legitimate question. In all honesty you could have searched for it and found it fairly easy but no big deal.

It would have been more stupid of you not to ask and remain ignorant. That is what this site is for.

I personally don't care for a scope on a smooth bore slug gun, and I really don't like the saddle or receiver mounted ones. Every time you take the barrel off from the receiver to clean it your point of impact could change. Heck just shooting it could change your POI since the barrel is not pinned to the receiver.

That is just a personal preference thing though, many have scopes on this type of a set up and are happy with them.

Paul

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

i favor slugs more then bs but both can work in the situation. think about trying muzzleloading when you get a chance it gives you more hunting time and can extend your range.

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

You always want to use a rifled slug through a smoth bore and use a standard slug through a rifled barrel.

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

Remington makes a rifled choke tube as well. $15-$20 bucks maybe. I use one on my 870 and have taken Deer out to 75-100 yards with perfect placed shots. Slugs and Shotguns are pretty amazing today compared to the options we had 5-10 years ago. I also use a Saddle mounted scope that gets removed after Deer Season.

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

I definitely thought about it. I'd have to buy one, plus pay extra on my hunting license to be able to use it. I'm on a pretty tight budget these days.

I did go ahead and order some rifled slugs from Cabela's that were on sale. Would a skeet choke tube be good for those? I have a skeet and a modified choke tube. RIstrutstopper recommended an Improved Cylinder choke tube. Which would be best? Thanks!

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

That shotgun should do a great job of slammin' whitetails for ya. Of course, it's pretty much all of us here in IL have ever been able to use. As mentioned above, you could purchase a rifled choke or simply use your imporved cylinder. Make sure in a smoothbore barrel you use a traditional rifled slug or "Foster type" slug. Of the many different slugs from Remington, Breneke, Federal, and Winchester, it has been the Winchester Super-X slugs that have consistently proved the be the best grouping and does an excellent job of cleanly harvesting deer out to 75 to 100 yards. It is unfortunate though that you can't afford to add a fully rifle cantilever barrel with optics,.... then it's a new game! ;)

Personally, because of such limited weapon restrictions here, I choose to carry a T/C Encore Pro Hunter 209x.50 muzzleloader that will shoot circles around ANY slug gun.

Good luck and good shootin'

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

I have the best luck with winchesters as well.

Paul

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

Andy, with so many guys now going with rifled barrels with cantilevered scope mounts there is a pretty good supply of standard bore slug barrels with rifled sights. You ought to be able to find one for your 870 and pick it up for less than $50 IMO.

Secondly, maybe a rifled barrel with a cantilever and scope IS NOT out of your reach. Mossberg offers a fully rifled and ported slug barrel with cantilever scope mount and scope for $179 for the 870.

Then again, I would go with the chokes Paul mentioned and a couple 5 boxes of $3/box Sluggers and see what ya can do. It'll only cost ya $15.

Then figure out which way you want or need to go.

By the way - what state are you in? Some states with shotguns only rules are ammo specific.

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

Generally speaking......shoot foster type slugs out of a smooth bore and the sabot type slugs out of a rifle barrel. I know people who will say that they shoot sabots out of smooth bores and foster types out of rifled, but foster types can really foul the rifling in the barrel, and sabots have nothing to grip in a smooth bore. One thing you might want to try, and this is starting to get some attention, is shooting a rifled choke tube with the new Remington Buckhammers. They are made for rifled tubes. It doesn't make sense to me ballistically for the rifling to be in just the last couple inches of the barrel, but those who have tried it says it works. With todays rifled barrels and sabot slugs, 150 yards w/ practice is commonplace. I have a H&R Ulta Slug in 20 ga and am very comfortable shooting it @ 150 yards.

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

Thanks a lot for the help! I'll get 'er all tuned in for the fall. Now we play the waiting game

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

You can shoot rifled slugs out of a rifled barrel, like said it will make a mess though.

DO NOT shoot sabots out of a smooth bore unless it has a cylinder choke, which is near impossible to find. The sabots do not crush as they go through the choke and are made to expand in a full bore barrel to seal against the barrel. Not only will they shoot like crap you could very well damage your gun in the process.

Paul

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

As every one has been mentioning stick with the slugs. I have seen and heard about a lot of deer lost with buck shot. I shot my first buck with buck shot and if it wasnt for the one pellet that spined him and dropped him I might have lost him myself due to hardly any blood. You couldnt even really see where the pellets had hit. I never used buck shot again. If your pretty close to him youd be ok but youll have more oppertunities for shots with slugs IMO. Nothing sucks worse then trying to blood trail a deer with no blood on the groundespecially if there is nosnow. They always seem to cross tracks with other deer tracks and trails. Can be a big pain in the butt.

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

Shoot rifled slugs out of a smooth bore with a cylinder choke. Shoot smooth slugs out of a rifled barrel or with a rifled choke. Also check the laws, because in Wisconsin buckshot is illegal.

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

I hunted in SE Virgina for yers and I used nothing but 00 buck and #1 buck and I killed a lot of deer. You just have to pattern your shotgun with the type of buck shot that you find is best for your gun. I'll bet when you go out with your foster type slugs you will find that over 50 yards they are not all that consistant anyway. but its up to you to do the work before the season and find out what works best out of your shotgun.

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

Yep, buckshot and hounds is the name of the game down here. There are plenty of folks who kill deer with buckshot at 100 yards busting fields. What you don't hear about is how many they lose, or cripple up, or hit and think they just missed them. Whole lot of shooting goes on to only have 8 deer in the skinning shed on the AM hunts. Buck shot is a 50 yard tool, MAX in my book. There are plenty of folks who swear their gun can shoot better at 75 than mine can at 25, and thats all good and well. But BS loses its ummphhh fast.

I use #1 buck in very tight cover, where shots will be inside 35 yards. If its a little more open, I'll pick OO, but I still won't shoot much past 45 yards, and only then if the deer is standing still. Inside of 30, I've shot plenty of deer on the run, its not quite like using a rifle and shooting running deer, its more like shooting a big rabbit. At that range, they aren't hard to kill.

However, I'll say this, I have only lost 3 deer in my life, and I have killed well over 200 now... and all three of those lost were hit with buckshot. One, two years ago, was blowing lung blood out both sides... and we still lost that deer. I'm a right fair hand at tracking... but when the dogs get behind them.... forget it. Shame.

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

Cant shoot buckshot if your in ohio....all we can use is slugs or muzzleloader...

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

If you use buck shot stay with the 00 or 000 buck. I shot my 10 pointer with 3" magnumfederal premium 000. But like I said in my earlier post I wont use it anymore due to the lack of blood there was even with the bigger buckshot. When I skinned him there was a whole load of #1 in him that had healed over from a previous season. It didnt penetrate for crap. He survived fortunately but thats not the point. Spend the money get a rifled slug barrel and shoot the premium slugs. You wont regret it at all.

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

I have hunted here in Alberta with a smooth bore shotgun. We have to use slugs and not buck shot here to hunt big game. I have no chokes, and Ifound that sabot slugs work best in it. But since we can hunt with a rifle I don't use my shotgun all that often...was thinking of going back to it this year.

You can think aboutusing a sabot slug.

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

What do you mean you have no choke? You mean your gun game with a cylinder bore choke, or that you have screw in chokes and just don't use them? You should not be shooting anything out of a gun with no choke installed if it takes screw in chokes.

What is your version of "works the best"? What sort of accuracy are you getting out of what sabot out of a smooth bore. I can't believe that you won't find something that is better or just as good in a rifled slug for 1/3 the money of what a sabot costs.

Paul

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

Sorry my mistake...it is a Cylinder bore....it has the same diameter throughout,i.e. without choke. 12ga.2/34inch.As for your other questions... yea I use 1 ounce hollow point slugs too.....andeven cheaper $3:99 slugs as well.But as for cost of sabot slugs well...Walmart was clearing them out so Ibought them.

Now being that I am not a "gun nut" that owns all the gadgets that measures the velocity of the bullet or the velocity of the bullet as it leaves the muzzle, why I can't even give you the ballistics that you asked for. All I can say is that the sabot slug hit closer to the centre of a 50 yard target than did those $3:99 slugs.

As I said already I don't even use the shotgun anymore....haven't used it on a deer since 2001.

But for a guy such as myself who dosn't have all thoughs fancy shooting tools I do all right during hunting season. My freezer is full each year. The velocity, the ballistics, the hitting power means nothing to the deer, and with most of my kills under 60 yards( in the past two years under 45 yards)it don't mean much to me either. In my rifle I use 180gain core loc Rem. cartridges, and my rifle has been sighted in at 100 yards. The shell, rifle and scope haven't failed me yet...the bullet hit where the rifle was aimed. Now the shooter well...he can miss.

RE: buckshot or slugs
 

I didn't ask for any ballistics, just how accurate it was with the sabots out of a smooth bore. Like 4 inches at 50 yards, or 2 inches at 50 yards. That sort of thing. It is pretty rare that you see a sabot be more accurate than a rifled slug out of a smooth bore at any real distance. You might get some pretty close at shorter ranges, but it sure isn't worth the price difference.

Paul