Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Shotgun only states

What does everyone think to be the best available shotgun for hunting that would be currently available? Also, muzzleloaders are allowed but I’ve never tinkered with one before. I almost prefer to keep it simple and continue to go the shotgun route but wouldn’t completely rule out a muzzleloader if you all said nothing compares performance wise. I currently use my pops old wing master with the Remington sluggers in the green & yellow box. Just looking to up my game and maybe move to something fully rifled and take advantage of some of my tower blinds where I can hunt over open fields and stretch my distance some. Any words of wisdom out there??? TIA

Get a rifled slug barrel for whatever you go with and put a scope on it. Make sure you get a slug scope with a longer eye relief (5" or 6") so you don't knock the crap out of yourself. I use an Encore and have a muzzle loader barrel and a rifled slug barrel for it. I use Breneke Magnum Crush 3" rifled slugs that are designed to go through a rifled barrel. They are 1 1/2 oz., 1500 fps and are very accurate. I've got a Nikon Slug Hunter 3-9x40 with a 5" eye relief. It's sighted in at 100 yards. The problem is that it kicks like a mule. I also use a Rem 1100 with a rifled slug barrel and that thing is smooth sailing. It only has open rifle sights on it, but I've killed deer at 100 yards with it. A 12ga slug is about the nastiest thing you'll will ever shot a deer with.

Muzzle loader is easy-peasy. Triple 7 50 cal, 50gr pellets (50/50 pellets). 295gr HP Power Belts, 209 primers. I've shot deer out to about 125 yards no problem.

If I had to hunt deer with a Shotgun, it would be a Savage 220.

Browning A-Bolt
Savage 220 or 212

I guess I should have mentioned that I’d like to move to something that’s a dedicated slug gun and if I go the shotgun route I’d probably move to a 20 gauge

The 220 is what you want. Anything else is just throwing slugs into the wind and hoping they hit something.

Savage 220 is, arguably, the best bang for the buck for slug guns! No pun intended.

Very accurate and packs a punch out to 200yds.

I didn’t know if there’s folks shooting the TC Pro Hunters that would maybe chime in with some of their results. The TC is a bit more $$$ compared to the Savage though.

Also, I think CVA is making a shotgun that is real similar to the old H&R sluggers ... didn’t know if anyone has experience with these

Not a Pro Hunter, just a regular Encore. Very accurate, but like I said, kicks like a mule. 20ga might not be that bad.

Nice rig & a beautiful deer! Thanks for sharing.

The Savage slug gun in 20 ga. makes a good slug gun for deer hunting.

Savage 210 or 220
Or H&r ultra slug

What kind of glass would you folks put on one of these Savages? What power?

Savage 220 for me currently wears a Leupold VX-3 3.5-10x40 but may swap if for a fixed 6x Leupold

I've lived in a shotgun only county in Md for 20 years and have either owned or tried just about every conceivable brand and model of slug gun made. These including Remington 870 pumps and 11-87 semi auto's, H&R Ultra Slug Hunters, TC Encore single shots, Ithaca 37 & 87 pumps, Benelli SBE & M2 semi's and Mossburg pumps and bolts and Savage 220's.

Of those listed above my favorites are Benelli M2's and the Savage 220 which I currently own and hunt with. The Savage has the best trigger but the Benelli's will match it in accuracy and allow a much faster follow-up shot.

Hmmm, the Benelli is definitely one I wouldn’t have considered. What’s the recoil like on one of them in a 20 gauge?

When I lived in Ohio as a young man I hunted with an Ithaca 66 single shot smooth bore with $2.00 a box foster slugs, moved up to a Winchester 1300 12 ga and it liked Rem copper solid 2.75". Now that I'm an old fart I shoot an Encore 20 ga rifled bore and Hornady 250gr sabot rounds. Biggest deer - Ithaca, 275# doe. Most deer Win 1300 and farthest with the Encore at a laser ranged 145 yards.
It aint the arrow, it's the Indian. Get good with whatever you get.

As far as scopes I'd use a 2.5-8 2-7 or 3.5-10 or 3-9

If relegated to a shotgun slug gun, I'd would jump immediately or sooner to the Savage 220 slug gun, a 20-ga set up with a rifled barrel set up to shoot slugs and fairly accurately too. For me, it'd be no contest.