Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Slug gun help

My Dad had an old Hastings rifled barrel back in the day that would only shoot slow, heavy slugs worth a hoot. Basically none of the new, higher speed sabots shot well from it, so he traded it off. It was an absolute tack driver with those old Remington Buckhammers, but you'd have to de-lead the riflings about every 20-30 shots.

I always used a smoothbore with Remchoke rifled tubes, and those cheap Federal full-diameter slugs. I liked the idea of a full-diameter slug.

That H&R should easily out shoot the 1187, at least mine does. My 1187 liked the Copper Solids, since they're gone I'm shooting SST's and they are just as accurate. My H&R will drive tack with Accu-Tips and isn't bad with SST's.

Are 2.75" Winchester / BRI sabot slugs, with the 50 cal. projectile still being made? That's the only thing my fully rifled 870 has seen for the last 12 or so years. Luckily, I probably have a lifetime supply due to stocking up on them years ago. Don't always hunt in shotgun areas but they are my go-to when I do. Can't recall seeing them around in the last few years.

Winchester and Lightfield were the last ones to make BRI style slugs, I think. Winchester discontinued them. I haven't seen Lightfields in ages.

Looks like Lightfield is out of the hunting ammo game altogether, if not completely out of business.

I always used the Winchester BRI’s in 2.75”. They’d shot a clover leaf at 75 yards…. Hit deer very hard also. Haven’t seen them in a few years and I’ve been looking. Only have about 15-20 left. I shoot an old Hastings barrel on an 870. It was by far the most accurate load for the gun.

I think they will work ok out of either type of barrel. That's what my uncle always used in a Ithaca 37 smoothbore. Killed a lot of deer with them and that gun.

My Mossberg 835/rifled groups Hornady sabots the best, shoots plain lead rifled slugs good enough for anything under 100y, and struggles to even pattern anything that says Remington on the box.

This has been my experience. Sabots work best in fully rifled barrels. The downsides are the costs and recoil to test them to see which your gun likes best. Both of mine really like Lightfields, but since they are out of the business I am not looking forward to having to find a new one.

Another vote for Brenneke slugs. I have been pleased shooting the Green Lightning version in 2-3/4” 12 ga. Pretty accurate, <2” @50yds for 5 shots. Absolutely slams deer!
Good luck and have fun!

I've killed more deer with an Ithaca M37 with a 26" vent rib barrel, fixed IC choke, and Federal rifled slugs than all other guns combined, except maybe buckshot. Remington Sluggers, Winchester Super X rifled slugs, and Federal rifled slugs are fantastic deer loads if ranges are realistic. They self stabalize without barrel rifling. Aren't all that choke sensitive. And will obturate to fill even a back bored barrel. I have a 1975 Ithaca M37 with a standard bore 26" fixed IC choke barrel and they fire well from that. I have a newer 2018 production M37 with a "back bored" barrel that uses Browning Invector Plus choke tubes and they fire even better out of it. I can consistently break stationary clays with those slugs at 50 yards, and that's looking straight down the rib and covering the clay with the red front sight. I don't know how they'd do out of a fat barreled Mossberg 835. But they shoot very well out of Browning, Winchester and newer Ithaca barrels that use the Invector Plus choke tubes.

BTW, Winchester is still listing their BRI slugs. https://winchester.com/Products/Ammunition/Shotshell/Super-X/XRS123

Remington Accutips all the way , even though they have gone wayyy up in price in the last two years

Another vote for Remington Accutips. Both my 870 and 11/87 pattern 3" groups with them @ 100yrds. They absolutely hammer deer as well. I have recovered several slugs and they make a pretty awesome mushroom. I would say, stick with the 2 3/4" version over the 3". The extra 50 fps isn't worth the shoulder pain.

Amen to that!

I started out using Accutips in my 220f due to how accurate they are but I lost all confidence in the bullet after having to grid search for 2 different deer with no sign of blood. Another buck only went 50 yards on a death run but he was shot right through the heart but no pass through. When I opened him up, there was little bullet fragments all over the off shoulder. I switched to Federal Trophy Copper slugs and have not looked back.

I know a lot of people use the Accutip's with success but that was my experience, for what it is worth.

Remington copper solids were a 1 ounce slug pushing about 1400 fps for the 2 3/4 inch version, 1500 for the 3 inch version. The older slug barrels liked that type of slug better because of the rate of twist. I have an 870 with a hastings barrel. I lucked out when Hastings went under and picked up a couple of cases of their slugs for $40 a case. They are tack drivers in my barrel. You could save some money going with a heavier slower slug and get better accuracy. One reasonably priced slug that I am amazed with the accuracy is the fiocchi aero rifle slugs. I was busting clay pigeons at 100 yards with them at the range bracing against a post.

Last year I used a 2.75 inch 20 ga. Accutip out of a Savage 220 to take a buck that dressed out at 173 lbs. I shot it at approx. 25 yards in the right side back ribs angling toward the off shoulder. At the shot it humped up and ran off the plot. I gave it about a half hour before walking out to check for sign. I found hair but no blood. My SIL found it about 50 yards into the woods. There was not one drop of blood found. The bullet did not exit and we didn't find it when we field dressed the deer by flashlight While I'm not claiming bullet failure, it obviously worked, I don't trust them after last year. Had that deer gone any distance I might night not have recovered it.

This year I will be using Federal Trophy Copper slugs or Win. Gold Partition 2.75s. They shoot equally well out of my gun and hopefully I will get exits.

Thanks for the suggestion everyone.

Hornady SST