20 gauge slug distance question
 

how far is it lethal to? 100 yards? and is it dependable to hit its target? never hunted with a shotty

Practice practice practice know your gun everyone is different. What type of gun do u have. I have a h&r slug gun and I can put 2-3 inch groups at 150 yards.
Where as I have a rem 1100 smooth bore that's good only out to maybe 80 yards.
Its all the gun and type of slug/sabot used.

wow. thats good info. wouldnt think there would be such a big difference

Really? I can't get mine to go even that far and stay within an 8 inch circle.

Best I could get it to do was 8 inches at 50 yards using the Remington rifled sluggers...

I bought an 870 with a slug barrel because of that.

It is my opinion, and others may have different experiences, that smooth bore guns with rifled slugs are not good anywhere past 50 yards for an "ethical kill shot"..

Anytime I track a deer more than 50 yards, I get a sinking guilty feeling because I didn't kill it quickly enough.

All 20 Ga slugs are not created equal. Are we talking rifle slugs or sabot slugs? Some of the high end sabot slugs can kill deer to 200 yds.

It is reasonably safe to say that the slug will kill deer out to the range your gun can shoot it acurately.

Murby: "It is my opinion, and others may have different experiences, that smooth bore guns with rifled slugs are not good anywhere past 50 yards for an "ethical kill shot."

***Here is another Murby opinion that is incorrect and probably stated just because he has one that ain't jack chit past 50 yards! FYI pardner, some smooth bore guns with rifled slugs will shoot well and kill a deer "ethically" at 2 to 3 times that distance, including a setup that I have on an old Winchester 1200 pump with a short slug barrel that I bought new in 1967.

I have the Savage 220 F in 20 an have killed them out to 220 yards an dropped them using 3 in Remington Accutip. I have it zeroed in at 200 yards. I bought it for long shots. I killed 4 deer with it this year at 136, 147, 177, an 80 yards none went farther than 30 yards great blood trail.

My Mossberg 500 12 ga. slug gun is good to maybe 125 yards.

I'd confine myself to shorter range with a 20 no matter how far I could reliably make hits with it. Say 75 - 80 yards.
But I'm not a slug hunter so maybe I'm selling the 20 short. (no pun)

Well at at 180 yards a 20 gauge out of a 220f will put a 260 grain slug in one side through both lungs/heart and out the other side.

I killed a buck with a Mossberg 500 20 gauge with a rifled barrel and sabot slug. The distance was 125-150 yards and he was dead within 50 feet.