slugs

[sharpshooter94]

whats the biggest thing you'd use a 12 gauge 3 in. slug on. Im thinkin about getting a slug bbl. for my mossberg 500 but I want to make sure I'll get enough use out of it. I think it would easily take down black bear and whitetail right?

[Badger]

sharpshooter94,

IF it has a heartbeat, a 12 gauge slug will do the job, if you place it right.

Badger

[GF.]

IF it has a heartbeat, a 12 gauge slug will do the job, if you place it right.



Just don't say that in the Africa forum :D


JMO...


Long and short, if you own a rifle and are allowed to use it where you hunt, then no, you won't get much use out of the slug barrel.

Unless you're just God's Own glutton for punishment :rolleyes:

It's not that the slugs won't cut it, but it's a pretty crappy rifle that won't out-shoot a very good slug barrel at 100 yards; and beyond about 100 yards, there's no point whatsoever in comparing trajectories. Not only that, a 3" slug load will dish out one hell of a lot more recoil than any number of entirely satisfactory 200-250 yard deer cartridges.

If outfitting your Mossberg with a slug barrel is going to allow you to become a deer/bear hunter instead of a small-game-only guy, then by all means do it. You may find yourself 'upgrading' to a rifle before too very long, but there's nothing wrong with having a backup gun, or a slug-zone gun, or one you can loan to a buddy to get him started.

So unless your funds are a lot less limited than my own, the only remaining question is if you could find a rifle for about the same up-front cost as the barrel and a good scope. But I don't know of many good choices that would likely be in the same ballpark unless you're OK with a used rifle and hunting with iron sights.

Though it does seem kinda odd to be talking about a scoped shotgun vs. an iron-sighted rifle... :confused:

Whatever you do, don't buy some cheap, POC scope and expect it to stand up to 12-ga. recoil for very long. 'Cuz it won't :eek:

[Badger]

GF,

LOL. The original post was about black bear and deer and a 12 gauge slug will do both. As for Africa, most animals there will succumb to a 3-inch 12 gauge slug in view of some of the newer projectiles.

I have a slug barrel for my 870TB trap gun that will put Remington foster 2.75" slugs into 3 inches at 100 yards. Some places in PA, and other states, require shotguns and slugs for deer. Yes, I would prefer a rifle for deer, but some entire states require shotguns and that is the question I addressed in my prior post.

Badger

[DancesWithKnives]

www.dixieslugs.com

I have the Tusker for my Mossberg 590 rafting gun (haven't tried their Terminator for rifled barrels). I've carried it in AK brown bear country. While far from the ideal cartridge/projectile for brownies, it's a good slug. Harder than a Brenneke and outpenetrates it (and the Brenneke isn't bad).

DWK

[sharpshooter94]

say I do go with the slug bbl. what should I go with for optics. Red dot or scope? If scope what magnification. I will be getting a 30-06 from the family with a scope so I don't need a rifle.

[Altjaeger]

If you are looking primarily house protection I would go open or ghost ring sights.

[Smokey]

I agree with Badger and GF. If you are going to use it for hunting and can also use a rifle, the shotgun will not see much action. Mine are as accurate as Badger's with a Foster slug. I have four slug guns and all shoot as Badger stated and I only use the Foster slugs. All barrels do not shoot the same as I went through seven barrels to get the four "good ones".

My boys and I used these in IL, VA, and PA special hunting areas. They do knock a deer flat when you hit them. All of our barrels have rifle sights, we never had a need for scopes.

[Bayrat]

Slug barrel, but smooth or rifled?

I have both for my Mossbergs and the differance is the rifled will do at 100 what the smooth will do at 50 yards, so I never tried all the differant slugs available for it, just went over to using rifled barrels instead.

The slugs will work, but acuracy drops off faster than energy levels do. As others have said, why go slug when a rifle will be more acurate at longer distances. Here in our county it was slug only up until a few years ago, then the state made it rifle also. As you can imagine, alot of guys have gone over to rifle. I'm saving up for either a 270, or 308. Deal with that choice when I get the money.

If you still want slug ...... my 12 ga 500 smooth bore shoots Winchester, or Federal Fosters about the same, all shots in a paper plate at 50 yards.

My 835 cantilevered rifled bull barrel likes Light fields and the Remington copper solids, but even at 11 pounds scoped, and the thickest Kick-ese butt pad there is, it still kicks the snot out of me. Plus, if I want to get out of the stand for awhile, it needs wheels on it to get around these hills !!!!!

So I got rifled barrels for two of my 20 ga. One cantilevered, one iron sights. Both those rifled barrels like the Federal Barnes copper sabots. Expansion is excellent, and no pass throughs so far, flatter trajectory, and ALOT less kick. Plus, less weight to cart around all day........ and Deer don't travel any further than if they were hit with a 12 ga foster.

I got the 20 ga iron sight rifled barrel for still hunting in thick cover, but since my eyes are getting too old, I only use the cantilevered barrel now. It has a Tasco Bantum scope on it. Nice wide field of view, and I can see better with it in deep woods. It's been used on both the 12 and the 20 and has held up fine to pounding from alot of differant slug types/velocities.

Bayrat.

[sharpshooter94]

since I am getting the 30-06 I will have a gun for the longer range stuff out in the open. I will usually be hunting with my brother. He has a stevens 200 in .308. I figured I would take deer closer than 150 yards and he would take everything else. I also thought a slug gun would be good for close cover hunting if nothing else. I probably will go with optics if I get it so what would you suggest I get. I was figuring on getting a low power scope like a 1.5-6 or something like that, but a red dot still has a chance.

[Altjaeger]

since I am getting the 30-06 I will have a gun for the longer range stuff out in the open. I will usually be hunting with my brother. He has a stevens 200 in .308. I figured I would take deer closer than 150 yards and he would take everything else. I also thought a slug gun would be good for close cover hunting if nothing else. I probably will go with optics if I get it so what would you suggest I get. I was figuring on getting a low power scope like a 1.5-6 or something like that, but a red dot still has a chance.

I'd go with a fixed 2.5X and get another gun for the house protection role.

[GF.]

I will be getting a 30-06 from the family with a scope so I don't need a rifle.

If you've got a good rifle (and are permitted to use it), you sure as hell don't need a slug gun, either!!! :D

And speaking of 'needless'....


Both those rifled barrels like the Federal Barnes copper sabots. Expansion is excellent, and no pass throughs so far, flatter trajectory, and ALOT less kick.

JMO - at .62 cal, the last thing a 20-ga. slug 'needs' is any expansion; and if you have yet to get a pass-through on deer (fer cryin' out loud!!), that is one seriously mis-engineered round. I'd heard about those Barnes slugs failing to penetrate on a black bear and thought that was bad enough :eek:

And a 12-ga.- at .72 cal - well, just add some emphasis.

No way in hell! would I ever shell out the boo-koo bucks for Barnes projectiles and accept having one come to a complete stop inside of a piddly ol' whitetail.

--------------

FWIW, I don't thnk Sharpshooter has brought up home defense. I don't believe I'd use slugs for that application, but a rifled barrel might help open up a shot load at closer range, and that might not be all bad.

Smooth vs. Rifled?

Why would anyone use a smoothbore when he could have rifling??? Unless required by law, get the fully rifled.

Optics? If you're not a traditionalist of any sort, the red-dots do have the advantage of putting the round wherever the dot is. That could be handy at short ranges when the deer shows up in a spot where you can't get a good, 'normal' sight picture, and a scope won't do that.

In the other hand... with a 2X scope, it's as easy to pick your spot at 100 yards as it is for an iron-sighter at 50. And arguably even easier - even for young eyes...

Good optics turn no-go opportunities (for irons) into slam-dunks. If you like variables or if you think your average shots are going to be closer to 100 yards, then the 1.5-6X would be fine. On the other hand, outside of a couple of occasions on food plots, I've never had occasion to take a shot past 80 (which I ended up taking with irons :rolleyes: ) and honestly, 2.5X in a fixed would be ample for any whitetail hunting I've done in any kind of woods whatsoever. And fixed-ower scopes are usually lighter, cheaper and (depending on whom you ask) tougher than variables.

And scopes don't usually have batteries that go can go dead on you at the worst possible time.

With the' 06 in the equation, you might well prefer a red dot or a good (very) low-power fixed. Since you'd have the bases covered for both near and far with those two, you might as well look into turning the 12 into a sub-50 yard specialty tool that you use any time the stand amounts to what is basically a good bowhunting set-up.

Anyway, me being the cheapskate that I am....

Unless required by law, I'd forget all about the slug barrel....

[ncboman]

why not? :D

When it comes to 12ga slugs, the only advantage of the 3" goes to your dentist. A 2 3/4 " shoots just as far with plenty payload.

In home defense 2 3/4 Foster HP slugs may be more desirable as they aren't as likely to kill the kid in the next room beyond the bad guy.

I wouldn't scope a home defense shotgun. Iron sights only.

ncboman

[Bayrat]

In home defense 2 3/4 Foster HP slugs may be more desirable as they aren't as likely to kill the kid in the next room beyond the bad guy.

I wouldn't bet on it. Having seen how often the 2-3/4 fosters blow right through good sized deer, even out to 60 yards.

I heard that for a while some Suffolk County cop cars carried Foster slug loaded 12 ga for stand-off situtions to shoot bad guys who were barricaded behind house walls.

Bayrat

[sharpshooter94]

as G.F. said I never mentioned home defense. I'm still on the fence about either scoping my m91-30, buying a slug bbl., or getting another newer rifle. (the 06 is about 30-40 years old maybe more) The slug bbl. would be the cheapest to do but would probably get the least use. All things considered I might be better off with a 30-30 or .35 rem lever gun for close cover, but I can never find a rifle in those calibers that I like shouldering. They're usually all awkward to bring up. But then I think about the longer range shots and say that a 7mm-08 would be better. Slap a 2-7 or something like that on it and still be able to hunt the brush rather easily with it. The M91-30 no drill scope mount would be around $150 for the mount and a bent down bolt plus a scope. If I get the higher quality mount for $100 I have to drill and tap the receiver for around $80 then still get a bent down bolt for $50 and a scope. Its a lot to think about.

[GF.]

There's nothin' at all wrong with a 40-year-old rifle unless somebody's done it wrong. Or if it was just a POC to begin with....

Myself, I've got a 7-08 Rem Mtn Rifle that I like - 22" bbl with a 2-7 compact. Great all-around deer gun, but probably no 'handier' than your '06, really.

I've never been one to take 'quick' shots - that doesn't mean I can't get a shot off quickly, but while gun hunting, I've never had occasion to shoot at a deer moving faster than a purposeful walk. One time I can recall that a deer bounced through underneath my stand without my getting a shot off, but I didn't even try to get on her, so that's not to say that I couldn't have. Some guys here can roll a deer on the run like they were shooting wabbits, but I'm not one of 'em.


Now, I also have a Marlin 1895 in .45/70, and that's by no means a 'handy' rifle, either. If I really wanted something light and compact, though, I'd look at one of the pistol-round lever guns. Most likely in a .44Spcl/.44mag, but if I came across a screamin' deal on a Marlin in .45LC, that'd be fine, too.

Or if you prefer a bolt-action, there are several carbines out there to choose from, but since they're chambered for higher-intensity rounds, they're likely to be harder on the ears than one of those levers. Unless you go with a 'Guide Gun' and get a ported barrel, in which case you've asked for it....

Really, if you're hunting well, getting the rifle up quickly should never even come up. Just make sure that you see the deer before they see you, and ease the gun up when they give you the chance.

Not that one of those little lever guns wouldn't be a kick in the pants to have... You probably ought to find the thread on these in .357 mag... It's around here somewhere...:cool:

[BamaBob]

I have a doubled barreled, rabbit eared Coach gun which will keep a slug within four inches of center at a 100 yards. Is great for Alabama Deer or hogs.

[Smitty5]

Interestingly I have had few passthru's using slugs myself. I mostly do not get the pretty broadside shots when hunting with my slug guns. I like the Old style Brennekes in my 20 gauge and even though I seldom got a exit hole deer sure fell down fast to them. I really did not care for the average rifled slug in 20 gauge feeling they are a bit light generally. The Brennekes are 7/8th oz. and the Buckhammers I am shooting now are 1 oz. Can't wait to test em.

[GF.]

Have you seen the .45 cal sabot loads? They're basically a 300-gr. .45/70 load, and that's not exactly 'light' for deer hunting....

I've used that load in my 1895, and it was pretty convincing....