24hourcampfire.com
24hourcampfire.com
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Hop To
Page 1 of 2 1 2
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 4,489
Campfire Tracker
OP Online Content
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 4,489
After running perilously low on Federal Premium Sabot Slugs (the hour glass slugs), and not being able to find any more, I started stocking up on Hornady SST 300gr FTX slugs. They have good reviews on seller sites. I figured it would be just a matter of tweaking the rear sight a bit to hit substantially the same as I did with the Federals. I'm shooting an Ithaca M37 with a 24" rifled Deerslayer barrel and shooting from a Caldwell Lead Sled DFT2. I was getting around 2 inches at 50 yards over open sights, and around double that, maybe a bit more, at 100 yards. These were consistent groupers. And accuracy was acceptable for a stand gun or thick woods where shots are almost always well under 100 yards. I figured the Hornadys would be at least as good. Not my experience.

These are fire breathers. They have a helluva muzzle flash even on a bright day. And they are heavy on the recoil. Muzzle jump is substantial. All that's okay if they're accurate. But they were shooting all over the place. At 25 yards before I adjusted my sights (which were set for the Federals), they were about 4 inches right with a wide group. I had to move my rear sight over to the point is was noticeably overhanging the base to move the group left. At 50 yards, the groups opened to about 6-7 inches. At 100 yards, they were producing 12"+ groups. Absolutely no consistency at all. Some 6 inches high, some 6 inches low, some 6 inches left, some right, and a few where I aimed.

On top of that, some of the shells rattled like the sabot and bullet were loose in the shell.

Anyone else try these slugs? What's your experience with them? I'm disappointed. I mean, I expect a gun to shoot some rounds better than other, but damn, these were crazy. I'm just not going to be able use them. They turned my gun in a 50 yard gun, tops.




Last edited by 10Glocks; 09/16/21.
BP-B2

Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 18,699
1
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
1
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 18,699
Tried em in an 870 12 gauge and an Encore 20.

Never again. I am sure there are guns that love them but I wouldn't try em again unless I had tried everything else around.


The last time that bear ate a lawyer he had the runs for 33 days!
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 1,053
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 1,053
Not surprising. I don’t shoot rifled shotguns for deer hunting any more but when I did I tried almost every round on the market I could find. In multiple barrels nothing beat a Barne’s or an Accutip. I’d start there and look for something similar and see what happens. I have many guns that shoot Hornady’s lights out, the 12 gage was not of them. I’d also suggest trying a Savage 220.
Good luck. 🍀

Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 501
A
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
A
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 501
Hornady makes a reduced recoil version of the SST. I've shot the full power version in both an Encore and a TCR with rifled 12 ga barrels and they do kick. I picked up some of the reduced recoil Hornadys but have not shot them yet.

Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 501
A
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
A
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 501
Hornady makes a reduced recoil version of the SST. I've shot the full power version in both an Encore and a TCR with rifled 12 ga barrels and they do kick. I picked up some of the reduced recoil Hornadys but have not shot them yet.

IC B2

Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 4,489
Campfire Tracker
OP Online Content
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 4,489
Not only were they grouping wildly out of my Ithaca, the sabots were separating inconsistently. I know it's the slug that counts, but I noticed that the sabot would sometimes separate within yards of the muzzle and hit the ground kicking up dust. Other times it would fly through the target at 25 yards.

Joined: Sep 2021
Posts: 3,025
Z
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
Z
Joined: Sep 2021
Posts: 3,025
My Rem 870 strongly prefers the FTX Lite reduced recoil over the standard Hornady.

It actually shoots the Remington Premier 3" magnums with the Barnes bullets best, but of course those are now discontinued 🙄 Talk about recoil though, they'll about rattle your teeth out.

Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 4,489
Campfire Tracker
OP Online Content
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 4,489
If I could find some Lites, I'd try them. The 300 grain SST steps out at 2000 fps. It's faster than my favorite 300 grain .45-70 load.

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_Reloader
I’d also suggest trying a Savage 220.


I used to have a Marlin 512 Slugmaster that I regret selling and have been wanting to replace it with another bolt slug gun. I may do that. I've had my eyes on the 212 but just haven't pulled the trigger yet.

Last edited by 10Glocks; 09/17/21.
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 18,699
1
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
1
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 18,699
Originally Posted by zcm82
My Rem 870 strongly prefers the FTX Lite reduced recoil over the standard Hornady.

It actually shoots the Remington Premier 3" magnums with the Barnes bullets best, but of course those are now discontinued 🙄 Talk about recoil though, they'll about rattle your teeth out.

My Encore 20 gauge liked the Remington Copper Solid I think it was. Had the petals that sheared off.


The last time that bear ate a lawyer he had the runs for 33 days!
Joined: Sep 2021
Posts: 3,025
Z
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
Z
Joined: Sep 2021
Posts: 3,025
Originally Posted by 10gaugemag
Originally Posted by zcm82
My Rem 870 strongly prefers the FTX Lite reduced recoil over the standard Hornady.

It actually shoots the Remington Premier 3" magnums with the Barnes bullets best, but of course those are now discontinued 🙄 Talk about recoil though, they'll about rattle your teeth out.

My Encore 20 gauge liked the Remington Copper Solid I think it was. Had the petals that sheared off.


Yeah, my Dad's 870 liked those solids. They discontinued those for the Premiers, and now those are discontinued too. I still have 4 or 5 boxes, which should last me a few seasons. I'm not overly fond of heavy recoil, so I shoot slugs as little as possible.

IC B3

Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 28,512
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 28,512
Personally, I wouldn't have moved my sights after they failed to group up close. Start looking for something else and sell those.
Somebody must love them.


What fresh Hell is this?
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 2,095
A
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
A
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 2,095
My hunting buddies and I used the SSTs in Mass. when they first came out. Most of us used them in H&R 20ga. slug guns. I've taken several deer with them. However, after a couple of seasons passed we were getting rounds that failed to go off even though the primers showed good hammer strikes.

We all liked the Remington Accutips. After they became almost impossible to find, I replaced them with the Winchester Partition Golds.

Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 4,489
Campfire Tracker
OP Online Content
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 4,489
I've got a few of the Federal Premium sabot slugs left. I'll use those up. I also have a Benelli SuperNova with a smooth bore slug barrel and ghost ring sights that will shoot a ragged hole at 50 yards with Federal and Remington rifled slugs and I have plenty of those on hand. I'm not hurting for ammo yet, but I probably won't find any alternative sabot slugs until after the season. They seem to be out of stock everywhere.

Last edited by 10Glocks; 09/19/21.
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 1,650
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 1,650
I had very poor results with the 20ga sst's on deer. Went to Barnes and they work much better for me.


"Jerry is dead, Phish suck time to get a job "
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 1,313
W
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
W
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 1,313
My experience with slug guns hase shown that they are very individual. Every slug gun that I ever owned has liked a different slug make/model.
I have a Hastings rifled barrel for an 11-87 that I need to shoot, and I am facing the same issue as you so far as availability of differnt slugs.

Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 2,529
Campfire Regular
Online Content
Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 2,529
Try and find some Lightfield slugs. They shoot great in about any rifled barrel.

Ron


People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
Orwell
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 28,512
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 28,512
Originally Posted by 10Glocks
I've got a few of the Federal Premium sabot slugs left. I'll use those up. I also have a Benelli SuperNova with a smooth bore slug barrel and ghost ring sights that will shoot a ragged hole at 50 yards with Federal and Remington rifled slugs and I have plenty of those on hand. I'm not hurting for ammo yet, but I probably won't find any alternative sabot slugs until after the season. They seem to be out of stock everywhere.


Yup. All shotgun ammo except maybe waterfowl and target loads is scarce. I managed to get a pile of 20ga KOs via a notification at Midway. Gave most on my 12s to my neighbor, who’s on a nostalgia kick with his old 870.


What fresh Hell is this?
Joined: Sep 2021
Posts: 3,025
Z
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
Z
Joined: Sep 2021
Posts: 3,025
Originally Posted by WStrayer
My experience with slug guns hase shown that they are very individual. Every slug gun that I ever owned has liked a different slug make/model.
I have a Hastings rifled barrel for an 11-87 that I need to shoot, and I am facing the same issue as you so far as availability of differnt slugs.


That's very true. I've owned about half a dozen slug guns, and only 2 of them ever liked the same ammo. The rest have all shot different rounds best..

Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 4,489
Campfire Tracker
OP Online Content
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 4,489
I pulled the trigger on a Savage 212. I've been wanting a bolt slug gun for a long time since shortly after I foolishly sold a Marlin 512 Slugmaster I had years ago. I threw a Bushnell Prime 1-4X in Warne GQ rings on it.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Hope to get it to the range on Saturday to see how these SST slugs perform in it. If they aren't accurate in this, I'll give up on Hornady SSTs all together. I've got a ton of Federal and Remington foster slugs and guns that shoot them well.

I've already cycled the SSTs through the Savage and they don't cycle worth a damn. They're hard to chamber, and hard to extract. There's something up with the rim on the Hornadys. The slip out of the double extractors when I pull the bolt back enough for the shell to hit the ejector. It's like the ejector knock the shell out of the grip of the extractors and it just lays inside the receiver and I have to fish it out by hand. However, I've also cycled Remington and Federal 2 3/4" and 3" shells through it ands it functions perfectly with those.

I pulled out a bunch of SSTs and plenty of them are out of round. It's hard to see here, but around 1/3 have and oval shape.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

I also think the rim is thinner than Federals and Remingtons, and have less lip. I haven't calipered them but it seems visually obvious.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

I had a couple of instances where my beloved Ithaca would dump the next shell in the magazine on the ground when I cycled the action, and a couple of times it failed to extract and I cycled a second round into the action jamming the gun. I figured it might be a timing issue or wear byt now I think the dimensions of the brass on the Hornady's is different enough from Federals and Remingtons to make extraction or retention in a tubular magazine unreliable.

Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 1,212
E
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
E
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 1,212
I shoot Hornady Monoflex and Federal TC out of my 870 and they group together at 50 yards. I bought a Mossberg rifled barrel made for a 870 and put a 2-7x Nikon on it . Shot deer out to 60 yards with it but I haven't shot it out to 100 yards. Thought about pinning the barrel but I change barrels for turkey.

I shot two deer one morning, one after another, and I really had to muscle the slide back to get the first hull out. That was the Federal TC 300 gr slug (2 3/4" ).

Last edited by EIB0879; 09/26/21.
Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  RickBin 

Link Copied to Clipboard
YB23

Who's Online Now
145 members (257 mag, 10Glocks, 300jimmy, 01Foreman400, 10gaugeman, 257robertsimp, 10 invisible), 1,443 guests, and 780 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums81
Topics1,187,589
Posts18,397,897
Members73,815
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023


 







Fish & Game Departments | Solunar Tables | Mission Statement | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA
Hunting | Fishing | Camping | Backpacking | Reloading | Campfire Forums | Gear Shop
Copyright © 2000-2024 24hourcampfire.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.3.33 Page Time: 0.138s Queries: 15 (0.003s) Memory: 0.9024 MB (Peak: 1.0584 MB) Data Comp: Zlib Server Time: 2024-03-28 09:29:02 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS