looking at adding a slug gun to the mix, i have a mossberg 500 12 gauge and have looked at the smoothbore slug barrel and the riffled version also. im leaning towards the smooth bore option. this will be for close in hunting and its just another challange while in the field.

anyone have any advice/ pics or info they would like to share on this slug hunting adventure? in the years past i used compounds and magnums to hunt with...now i like my recurve and 45-70! must be getting old...

The smoothbore slug barrel is great for rifled slugs and sub 100 yard shooting. I do it. The rifled barrel takes sabots and allows you to reach out 200 yards. If you go the smoothbore route it is tough to beat Brennekes.

What mike said. I've had plain foster's slugs tear in half and not penetrate very well, and I took less than ten deer with them before I switched over to muzzle loaders.

Try a Savage 220. Great trigger, bolt action, very accurate. And the 20 gauge sabots have ballistics very similar to your 45-70!

Brenneke Green Lightning slugs are devastating and work well in a smooth bore. I have had very good accuracy with their tactical slug, but haven't taken any game with them.

Fosters are okay for deer, but are a little soft. Keep them in the lungs and don't expect any lightning kills.

I played with Breneke Black Magics in a 870 with an IC barrel and scope a while back. Never shot anything but paper, but they would group 3 in about 3" at 100 yards. Made nice clean holes that showed the rifling marks cast into the slugs.

I'd opt for the rifled barrel. More accurate, generally, and more and better ammo options. If you do decide to scope it, I suggest a cantilever mount barrel.

When I have to use a slug gun, I use an Ithaca 37 smooth bore, and Federal Tru-ball loads. It's a foster type slug with an added ball in the base of the slug to help it obturate to bore diameter. I shoot 4" groups at 100 with this load, and ammo is cheap. I killed my biggest buck to date with this load, a 90 year shot that flipped him upside down and buried his tines in the ground. A 4 1/2 year old 9 pt. that dressed out at 160.

I shoot the 500 smooth bore 18" barrel.

Seem to notice that it hits about 6" high under 50 yds.

-Ken

Rifled slug barrel is more accurate than smooth - but it has to be legal in that state.. check your regulations.

If using a smooth bore barrel make sure you have a open choke in when shooting slugs... Cylinder or IC are ok.. NOT full chokes.

When you get your barrel try a half dozen slug types - and make sure you try the more common plane Jain variants. I have a very expensive slug barrel (SBE with a Slug barrel) and it shoots plain old Winchester 1oz slugs the best... plus they are cheap so I get to practice a bit with them each year.

I've seen some smoothbore slug guns really shoot. You'll have to play with a multitude of slugs to see what launches best.

Are you thinking of running a scope or using irons?

Lastly, are you doing this for grins or are you required to use a slug gun in the areas you hunt? I've killed enough of them with slugs to know I'd take the rifle any day to dispatch them in a quicker fashion.

Its a fallacy that you cant shoot Fosters in a full choke. I've done it plenty.

I would and did opt for a fully rifled barrel. Played with smooth bores for a couple years but they were 75yd guns at best. Switching to a rifled bore allowed me to get into saboted high performance ammunition. I currently shoot a Browning Gold and a Rem 1100, both fully rifled / cantilevered scope mount. Either one is capable of 3" at 150yds.

CR

I use an old H&R (30's) single shot with a cheap rifle scope on it. I never sighted it in past 50 yards, but at 50 I get one ragged hole with 3-5 shots, and I have dropped deer out to 75- 80 yards and it hit where I aimed. I tried various brands and Federal 2 3/4 lead slugs work best for me. Whatever you buy, put sights or a scope on it. Using the bead sight on the front is a crapshoot. This set up is great for where I go because you rarely see a deer past 30 yards in the thick stuff anyway.

Use the fully rifled barrel!

Welcome to fire. I'm from your part of VA and stickbow guy too.

thanks for the responses, thinking a very low power scope and the federal trueball slugs. not required to shoot a sluggun but just wanting to try it!

I use an escort 20 gauge with a rifled badger barrel. Very accurate, 200 plus yard range, easy on my shoulder and hits them hard. If it gutted and dragged them for me it'd be the perfect gun. lol

If you're gonna scope it, get a barrel with a cantilever scope mount. IME, they stay sighted in much better than the saddle style mounts. Most of those barrels come rifled. I have yet to see a rifled slug barrel not shoot acceptable with Lightfield Hy-Bred 2 3/4" slugs.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mossberg-500-Slug-Barrel/4242371

I have both rifled and smoothbore slug guns at present. I used the smoothbore barrel with sights for a long time and will again. I like the rifled barrel a bit better. It has a scope on it and it easily makes 125 yard hits. I run Remington Buckhammers and Brenneke OS slugs in it usually. This may seem odd but I get better slug performance out of the rifled barrel and more straight line penetration. My next loading I will test are the federal 7/8ths ounce lead hollowpoint sabot slug (Powershock) which are not expensive and make 3 shot groups touching at 50 yards, 2 1/2 inch groups at 100. It is a 20 gauge Remington 870. I use it for hog hunting mostly nowadays and like it a lot.

Started with a smoothbore and quickly changed to a cantilevered rifled barrel. Like others have said, try several boxes of different slugs to see what YOUR barrel likes. While living in Indiana, I took several deer from 10 yards out to 125. I liked the Remington copper solids.

If you end up with a rifled barrel try the Lightfields - there is no better slug and the kills are dramatic.

I have never had any penetration issues with regular foster type slugs and the kills have been spectacular. Slugs kill deer extremely quickly and almost always leave a blood trail if the deer does not drop on the spot.

Boonyrat:

I was a Buckeye Sluggun hunter for several years, before I moved my hunting to KY and started using a rifle.

Honestly, I cannot tell you that you will enjoy a smoothbore slug gun any more than a 45-70. My Rem 1100 smoothbore is about as good as you can get inside 50 yards-- it always managed to devastate with simple cheap Remmie Sluggers. However, I cannot tell you that there was anything "MORE" to it than a 30-06 or 35 Whelen. I still like to get out and still hunt with the 1100 a day or so a year, but it is more for old time's sake than anything else. I haven't killed any deer with that rig so far this century.

I also have a Mossberg 500 with a rifled barrel and a scope. It reaches out to 100 yards easily, but again it is not a rig I'd pick over one of my 30-06s , given a choice.


Good luck. Happy hunting!

I have and would strongly recommend getting a 20 ga. H&R ultra slug hunter. It is a relatively inexpensive single shot with a fully rifled barrel. Mine is scoped with a 1.5-6x32 scope and with slugs it likes it is definitely under 1.5-2" group at 100 yards. Usually it is much better than that and it is not at all rare to have holes touching at 100 yards. Some places I hunt require a slug gun or muzzleloader and I will pick this slug gun every time. The only downside is that it is a little heavy since it is actually a 12 ga. barrel that they only bore to 20 ga. essentially making it a bull barreled slug gun. The H&R 12 ga. ultra slug hunter is really heavy (10 ga. bored to 12 ga.)

I like the 2 3/4 in federal truball slugs in my youth 20 that I got for kids. Dick's (only place close that has a decent selection of ammo) has them on sale for 3.99 plus 20% off. With the current federal rebate of $2 back per box it comes to $1.19 a box (not counting tax). I wish this rebate was not limited to 5 boxes.

I've hammered quite a few deer with a smoothbore 12 ga and "pumkin balls." I fired you a PM if you're interested in a good slug load. I actually have an O/U 12 Ga bird gun with a IC and Mod barrel set up and it "regulates" rather well at 40-50 yards with a particular Federal 2 3/4" slug load. Makes for a great still hunting package in the thick stuff.

I have (2) Mossberg 385 and (1) Mossberg 185 that I have cut the polychoke off of, re-crowned the barrel and cut/welded the bolt handle to clear a scope. I then drilled and tapped for bases and added a scope and base. These things shoot very good and are better than a 75 yard gun. I also have a Savage 210F and a new Camo/Stainless Savage 220. At 100 yards they are all very close. The 185 and 385 are much cheaper to shoot which make them fun to shoot.

I have less than 100.00 in each of the old Mossbergs not counting the scope.

I hunt in a "controlled hunt" watershed area only a few minutes from my house and it is a shotgun only area.
I use my old 870 in 12 ga. with the shorty smooth barrel and iron sights. Even though I can't see the irons as well as 30 years ago,I'll take an 80 yard shot without any trouble.
2 3/4 inch Sluggers work well. For some reason they shoot far better than 3 inchers in my gun.
This setup works for me, but that Savage bolt gun in 20 may be calling me for next season.

I live in a shotgun only state here in the NE . For years we could only use buckshot . Slugs have now been legal several years . I used a 12 gauge 870 with a rifled barrel then went to a 20 gauge 870 -this year I bought a Savage model 220 bolt action 20 gauge slug gun topped with a 3x9x40 Leupold . It is dead nut accurate with Remingto Accutips . I would not hesitate to shoot out to 175 yards with confidence . Now let me clarify that . You have to get the right slug for your particular gun and you need to sight in and practice at various ranges . Slugs run from 14 to16 for a box of 5 . Practice costs !!!
Soup

I just bought a H&R ultra slug gun 24inch heavy rifled barrel in 12ga from a guy I work with. $300, bucks never fired with a nikon prostaff 3x9 on top. I took to the range and tried 5 different types of Saboted ammo. Best of show went to the Hornady american whitetail 2 3/4 325gr. load, three shot at 100yards under 1 inch.first two shots in the same hole, the third just above the first two. Awesome! It will be a 200yard death stick on deer.

I hope you enjoy it more than I did.