Is Savage 220 a great slug gun for deer?
 

It seems to be the best bet out there for taking deer where shotgun slugs are required by what I'm reading and learning so far. I gather cantilever barrels on pumps for deer hunting are a rotten setup. Savage's 220 20 gauge bolt job seems to be as ingenious as his Savage Model 99 was 120+ years ago.

The "B" of it is, quality 20 gauge hunting slugs, depending upon how fancy you get, can be up to 5 bucks a pop and they might be hard to find in stock to boot. At about $700 retail, this Savage bolt slugger is quite more spendy than your average Mossy 870 or Remmy 500 police pump.

For the first 15 years or so that I hunted I used a 12 gauge 870 shotgun. I would gamble to say that gun has killed about as many deer as any in states that don't allow rifles. I have never shot any of the higher priced shotguns so I would be curious to see how much difference there is in accuracy.

Obviously your set up "got it done".

The Savage 212 and 220 are great options. They'll really take slug hunting to the next level. More like carrying a rifle than a slug gun. Although you're still limited by range.

I have a Mossberg 695 that shoots incredibly well 'for a slug'. I can usually keep the holes touching at 100 yards. And have played with it out to 200.

I also use a Mossberg 500 in .20ga with the cantilever barrel. I haven't played with different loads with that one but it'll do 3" at 100 which is good enough for deer.

All of these options are vastly better than the smoothbore, bead sight, rifled slug option of yesteryear where you were trying to hit a paper plate at 50 yards and the bead covered the entire deer at 75.

But honestly I'm partially convinced that those guns were more limited by using a bead sight than anything else. I haven't actually tried this but I wouldn't be surprised if a scoped smoothbore would hold an acceptable group at 75-100 yards. Maybe I'll play with that this summer. See what I can do

-Jake

Whenever the gubmint regulates things, it's pure grief for the consumer. Specialized slug guns, barrels, scope setups and/or loads arose out of regulations against rifles for deer gun seasons. Hunters moaned about steel shot when it was forced upon the duck shooting community. Consumers are forced to spend more money and learn new tricks being the old dogs they are. The same things happened to automobiles. The wonderful EPA was born in 1971 under the watch of Nixon and cars got spendier and more painful to buy, upkeep and drive.

Here is a video on what the scoped Savage 220 can do in the minute-of-deer department with spendier slugs. The old man says it's a point-blank deer gun within 165 yards.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQjaV8ZIi98&t=322s

This chap says a cantilever pump slug gun can't be shot the same way as a centerfire rifle and it can beat you up.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDh_OsYZbAc

They will for sure but they won't compare to a Savage 220.

I smoked a doe at 180 this year and didn't even think twice about it really....Ive been able to do that for awhile and Ive done it before but I guess having used a 220 for 10ish years now I guess this is the first time it wasn't even a question, no doubts, No second thoughts etc. on that distance.

The only thing that would stop me from buying one in Illinois right now if I didn't already have one is I believe they are going to allow straight wall cartridges in the next few years.

Love my Savage 220. I bought it several years ago. Prior to it, I shot a Remington 870 LW 20 gauge with slug barrel. Believe me, as far as accuracy, there is no comparison. The 220 is far and above in accuracy . I always shoot Winchester 3" Partition Gold Sabots. We can also hunt with Straight walled rifle cartridges here in Ohio, but they are no more accurate at nominal ranges than the 220.

Let's put it this way based on the reviews I've read. If I lived in an area that required me to hunt with slugs my first option would be the Savage 220. The 20 ga slug won't knock you around as bad as the 12 ga version and will kill any deer you hit with it. And they are as accurate. Id prefer one without the Accutrigger though but that's my preference.

But far and away cheaper and easier to come by which would make them far more accurate for me because I can afford to practice.

You like other factory triggers better or are you comparing to custom triggers?