Wife has enough preference points to draw one of three Mule deer tags on a wildlife refuge here in Oregon. It is arguably one of the best hunts in the state. Only drawback is the hunt is restricted to shotgun or muzzleloader only. Since I can scope a shotgun and can't legally scope a muzzleloader in Oregon, we've decided to go with a shotgun.

So, shotgun hunting is new to us and don't know what guns to look at. Went down to the Sportsmans Whse and they had a Mossberg 500 12 gauge Slugster with a ported barrel and drilled/tapped for a scope mount.

Are these any good? Price was $309.

yup, it'll do the job.

Doesn't Savage have a shotgun with the Accu-Trigger? That looks like a nice gun but I suppose it costs more than $300.

the mossberg should do the job. if you want to get one a little less expensive that has a great reputation for accuracy look at the h&r heavy barreled slug gun in 20 gauge. only a single shot but it does have a good reputation.

I have the Mossy 500 slug gun. You'll need to shoot sabots and not the rifled slugs. Experiment to see which load works best. Right now I'm consistently in the 10-ring at 100yds with Federals (surprising as they are the least expensive). Be sure to regularly send the wire brush down the barrel to remove the fouling caused by the plastic on the sabots.

That gun will recoil. Mine isn't ported so that may ease the recoil for your wife.

Get the Savage in 20 gauge.

Doc

We have 2 of those mossbergs and they get plenty of use and have taken plenty of game.

Dad picked up a savage 20 g last season and its on a whole nother level. Flat out doesnt kick by comparison, incredibly easy shooting...

one is a shotgun with a slug barrel, subject ot the whims and vagaries that all pump+rifled tubes are. The other is a rifle that happens to shoot shotgun shells.

IMO unless you need a switch barrel dual use gun, if I were to do it again from the start I'd not spend a small fortune testing different slugs in the pump. I'd get the HR or Savage.

Then again, neither of those slug guns were around in 84 when I got the mossy's, so the point is moot.

On a budget? H&R.
Not? Savage.
Need a dual use gun? mossy/rem870 etc.

I do have an 870 shotgun and thought about just picking up a rifled barrel for it with a cantelever scope mount but I am looking for somethng that isn't going to kick her teeth out?

Is the 20 gauge Savage the way to go then? What would be the farthest effective range?

Is the 20 guage the way to go? What is the effective range?