Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Foster slugs on target

20ga Ithaca model 66 modified 28”bbl. w/peep sight.
Foster slugs on 50yd target.

1st shot gave ragged hole. 3rd shot looks as expected
Is the slug tumbling, giving me a keyhole in the target?
Or is it just variations in how the paper rips?
Too far away to have the wad hitting, which I have had happen at 25yds.

Looks to me like two slugs hit close together. If you had said you fired two slugs, then it would appear to be a "keyhole" shot.
I hunted with 2 3/4" foster slugs years ago and quite effectively. My brother shot 3" foster slugs and had keyhole issues. My thoughts back then was a foster slug can only go so fast, accurately.

I fired only 3 shots & showed pics of 1&3.
The 2nd shot was also ragged, but not as big as the 1st shot.
All of my slug hunting is in the thick stuff on the ground & 25yd shots are usually my maximum. Have had a couple 5 (five) yd shots, which were exciting.
Another thought: maybe the wad is sticking to these 40yr old 2.75” Winchester slugs?

My first guess it's the way the paper ripped. It may have gone in at a slight angle. I doubt its tumbling. In slow motion video fosters will sometimes do a hula dance as they fly down range. Given a foster slugs design, I think it would be hard to make them tumble. But they can oscillate a little as they fly. I suspect the more the slug is choked own, the more it will oscillate. I don't think its anything to worry about.

Agree with 10Glocks, you appear to be shooting fairly decent. You must hunt in cedar swamps or similar (?).

If you haven't already, try other brands of slugs. My 1100 slug gun preferred the Rem Sluggers first and Winchester second. Took a lot of deer with the sluggers.
FWIW, when it comes to slug guns - I'll take a smooth bore shotgun (IC) any day to a rifled shotgun. That's just me.

Inside 75 yards, I would, too. Fosters are devestating. And Remington Sluggers have been most consistent for me, too.

Is your barrel clean? If it has a lot of plastic fouling from shot wads or leading it may be causing the Foster slugs to become somewhat unstable.

As long as I hit where I aimed, I’d soldier on.

My brother bought one of those in a 12ga slug model long ago and far away. Recoil was “noticeable”, to say the least. Had to install a higher front sight too. That little orange triangle was too low. The firing pin broke from dry firing and he made a new one from a small carriage bolt using the grinder attachment on a Kirby vacuum cleaner, very McGiver-esque.

Slug guns are very individual animals. I had a couple smoothbores that shot those high velocity Sluggers really well, and another that you couldn't even hit the paper with all the shots from 50yds.

In regards to the OP...

I'm gonna agree with the crowd on that being 2 close hits, not a keyhole. Different slugs cut paper differently, too. The Remingtons sluggers and Brenneke KOs always seemed to punch pretty clean holes for me, whereas the Winchesters and Federals seem to tear a lot more ragged ones through a target. They all knock the crap out of deer, though.

As long as you can consistently group them like that, I wouldn't worry about how the holes look one bit.

Thanks for all the comments. Much appreciated.
Accuracy is fine but will double check the bbl for plastic/lead build up.
Lake Erie provides lots of rain (& snow) here in western NYS. Lots of thick areas to hunt that aren’t swampy. The shots are up to 25yds because I can’t see any farther.