PABowhntr

I have been kickin' around the idea of getting a rifled barrel for my Rem 870 Express magnum for quite some time now. But I have a question and this thread seems and appropriate place as any. Which is more accurate...a rifled barrel with a slug or a rifled slug with a smooth barrel?...and why?

voodoosmc

I' m not sure why cause it' s only been based on my personal experince, but a rifled barrel seems to be much more accurate than a rifled slug in my rem. 1100. Like I said that' s just based on personal experince.

Hunter501

Thanks deerslayer for poting that out to me. Well i guess i will be using the 1100 then with buckshot. Thanks Guys

paulyseggs

the rifling on the rifled slug does very little to inpart spin on the slug, it does more in swaggin the slug through the choke by allowing the softer " fins" to compress. to see a rifled slug fly is much like watching a shuttlecock fly " badmitten birdy" . now a rifled barrel contributes to accuracy much better because it actually spins the sabot which in turn stablizes the bullet.

the best rifled slugs i;ve shot as far as accuracy goes are brennke attached wad slugs. outta my benelli sbe with a ic choke i can get about 4in groups at 75yards. i just bought a rem 870 with rifled slug barrel. so i;ll be able to really do some shootin now.

Hector500

Pauly - I shoot the Mossberg 500 and the brennke slugs seem to shoot better. I like the Federal slugs too. My setup is the 500 with rifled barrel and red dot scope. I love hunting deer with shotgun but dont shoot anything more than 70 yards tops.

CLOUD 9, MN

I' ve shot probably 20 deer with slugs. Our deer party has shot at least 100 the last 10 years. If you' re going to shoot a shotgun with no scope, sight, or red dot, then keep your shots under 65-75 yards. I' ve done this this alot, years ago. Basically you' re using your bird gun for a deer hunt. Personally, the best choice for a sight a red dot sight. There are many on the market. The main thing to get is one with a small dot size (like 3 -4 or no bigger than 5) If you buy one that is a 5, at 100 yards it will cover a 5 inch circle. Red dots are great for fast shooting, on drives or quick short range brushy shots or moving shots. These shots are about impossible with a scope. Scopes and red dots will extend you range a bit. I stop with a red dot at 115 yards and if scope hunting 125 yards. You can shoot smooth bore but a rifled slug barrel will give alittle more accuracy. Differant slugs shoot very different in differant guns/barrels. Test alot!!!!

Basically, whatever set-up you decide, shoot the heck out it so you know what your limits are!! This is the most important thing!! Shoot at a range with set distances. Shoot, shoot, shoot! I sight my set-up (Remington 870 3" Fully rifled slug barrel, red dot) for 75 yards. With the slugs that shoot the best for me, it puts me 2" high at 50 yards and 4" low at 100 yards. Slug shooting is not like shooting a rifle, but they are absolutley devistating when they hit a deer!

Practice alot!! Good Luck!!

Stump_MN_Hunter

Cloud 9.....I agree with everything that you had mentioned. Probably because I have almost the exact same gun, barrel and scope setup that you got. On a shotgun, where most of the shots a person is going to take(depending on your setup) will be under 50-60 yards, the red dot is the ticket. But just don' t forget to turn up the intensity when it gets light out. I made that mistake once(but only once ). It was about 7:00 and I forgot to turn it up. I had probably a 130 class buck 45 yards out in front of me walking broadside with only one shooting lane. I seriously thought to myself....done deal. Because for some reason, I don' t get nervous or jumpy until after I shoot. I shot and the deer just bolted. I didn' t think that there was anyway that I could miss at that distance, so I just watched the deer run 200 yards into some thick stuff waiting for it to tip over. No dice. I went up to where I shot at it and all I saw was a little hair...no fat, no meat....nothin. The dot wasn' t bright enough for me to center in the scope and I just shot low. Needless to say I was bit**in at myself for a few hours. LOL

kodiakhuntmaster

Good advice from everyone here. I' ve used a smoothbore shotgun for years. The most important thing that I' ve noticed is to find what your gun likes, and know your guns limitations. Every gun will shoot differently. My mossberg 500 shoots 2-3/4" federal rifled slugs & improved cyl. choke the best. It will hit a paper plate at 120 yards all day if it isn' t windy out. But with brennike slugs it will barely hit a paper plate at 20 yards. And with winchester it groups good but hits about 1 foot to the left. So I use the federal 2-3/4" and limit my shots at deer to about 90 yards since I can get 4" groups at that range from a steady rest, but I have yet to shoot a deer over 50 yards since I only use my shotgun when I' m hunting in the woods and not in fields. I' ve never used a red dot scope because I was always afaid it would run out of batteries.

With buckshot, just find which brand shoots the tightest pattern in your gun with the choke tube that works best. With 00 buckshot I' ve killed deer at 50 yards, but don' t go that far unless you shoot for the neck or head.