Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Sabot slugs for rifled barrel

I shoot Lightfield's out of my Browning A-Bolt and Winchester partition golds out of my Benelli Super Black Eagle dedicated slug guns. Have always had good accuracy and mostly bang-flops on deer.

I took a Savage 1899 in 38-55 out this year because of the whole straight walled thing being ok in PA for doe after I got my buck and had a big tracking job on a decent hit doe. It was fun to use the Savage - looking at it and all that in the tree stand - but a pain in the butt to track the doe. It ran about 200 yards leaking all the way. Next time I want to use a straight wall I'll grab my 45-70 Ruger #1.

I shoot Remington Accutips out of my Savage 220. Federal Trophy Copper are good as well. They dropped the Barnes Expander load awhile back.

My slug gun was a Winchester M/25 with an E.R. Shaw rifled barrel, Federal sabot slugs shot the most accurately. It accounted for many whitetails, never needed a second shot most were bang-flops.

both the good ones are no more. lightfields and buckhammers were super in the old H and R.

Dayum. This is crazy to me. They were excellent or at least really reliable in so many different shotguns.

Why? Are they all LEO stuff, or military, or ?

Buckhammers rattled teeth in a stock mossberg 500. Hit very hard on both ends. They really do hammer deer. Love that meplat. I have one box elft somewhere.

Another one i used to rely on was remington copper solids. They were accurate for me in a rifled barrel, but the $$ was prohibitive for practicing at the range (distance shooting).

Went to lightfields (universally quite good) and then Brenneke KO and KO sabots (not quite as accurate but plenty so for sub 100yds and hit great.

Now i use whatever and limit shots to 40 - 50 yds . I cant afford the $ and aggravation to practice and figure out the slugs that each of my shotguns likes. Use the ML almost exclusively now anyway.

I have killed deer with the Barnes Expanders loaded by Remington, Rem Buckhammers, and Rem Accutips. I am
proud to say Indiana and many surrounding states changed their deer hunting laws to allow pistol caliber and some CF caliber rifles. If I never shoot another slug in my life I'll die a happy man. I can only imagine how many people were turned off by being limited to slugs and MLs only.

Indiana DNR reported record numbers of deer hunting license sales after they changed their laws. Even more interesting was how many more of those licenses were purchased by/for youth and women.

I am using Remington Accutips in my Savage 220 and an 870 20 gauge with a cantilever barrel.

I tend to ue SST's in 12 gauge gun the rare times I use them anymore. I will go to accutips when I run out. The SSTs seem a bit hot in my Ithacas.

I have never gotten good results with receiver mounted optics on a switch barrel gun.

Truthfully, I would just go get a Savage 220 if I were you. It gives you a 175-200 yard capable gun without accuracy issues.

^ congrats. Trying in NJ. Couldnt agree more.

I found the old WW BRI 2&3/4” to shoot best in my 870 w Hastings barrel. Pretty sure WW quit making them. I’ve tried about everything else I can find and nothing shoots well enough for me to attempt shooting much over 75 yards. The BRI’s clover leafed at that range and killed very well.

Same here. I have a Hastings Paradox on an 11-87 and spent several hundred testing different stuff with blah results. The best ones are the 1oz Federals but we're talking 3" at 50 but that's plenty good.

The 220 is badass. More like a rifle than a shotgun.

My Remington 1100 w Hastings rifled barrel shoots Remington Accu-Tips the best, even though the Hastings website says not to use them. 🤔

There is no right answer, you have to try a bunch until you find out which work best.

I have always found slug guns to individuals. Each one I have ever owned seems to have a favorite. Buy one box of a couple different ones to try. When I had a rifled barrel, I did well with the Lightfields. Recoil was heavy but I like that they were a bigger diameter slug in a thinner sabot.