Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Shotgun rifled / slug opinions

I would like to buy a 20 ga with rifled / slug barrel to hunt deer with. I mainly hunt from a tree stand in the wooded NC mountians. I don't have any experience hunting with slugs. What brand of shotguns have worked well for you? Do you use iron sights or low power scope? Thanks.

It's not Rifle Country there..?

My wife totes a 20 gauge NEF rifled bore scoped with a 3x9 Leupold and shoots Hornady 250 grain SST loads...

Wicked good shootin' ammo outta her rig.

I killed a doe with it last fall at 125 yards, head shot...

I usr a T/ C Pro hunter in 20 gauge shooting the Hornady SST ammo under 2 inches at 100 yards for 3 shots.

With the big hole in the barrel it is a very light weight rig, but the recoil is sharp...off the bench.

Doc

Honestly, any shotgun will work. Slugs shoot better through open chokes, or rifled barrels. Why a 20? They kick harger than a 12 (Usually).

I would say most deer hunting here is still with rifle. Central and Western NC is going through a development craze. Plenty of family farms out in the country being sold and subdivided. Loss of habitat and hunting areas. It is starting to feel like a centerfire might not be the best or safe option.

I guess I am thinking ahead some. The timber has really grown on the area I own and hunt. The views aren't as far as before. Thought it might be worthwhile to check out an autoloading 20 ga with rifled / slug barrel to hunt with.

How much you want to spend?

Benelli Super 90's are awefully nice hunting guns!

I figured with a 20 ga, that I could plan to get another barrel with chokes. I grouse hunt some, and like the lighter weight of a 20 ga.

Wouldn't rule out a 12 ga though, if that is a better option for slugs, since that would be the main use. Thanks.

I have sort of become a deer hunting addict. I don't mind saving up / spending for a better quality shotgun. I just have to keep it somewhat a secret from my wife :-)

What do you think about Benelli's vs Browning Gold or Remington 11-87?

I don't want to start an uproar about shotguns, but I own all three, and they all have their place. The 11-87 is just an 1100 that will shoot magnums (and perfers them). They are great guns as long as you keep them clean. Browning Golds (3") shoot everything, from 7/8 oz to 2oz turkey loads without a stutter, and have very little "felt" recoil. Benelli's will shoot dirty, function fast and can be fitted to you. The Benelli Super 90, or M1, only weight 5.25 pounds and is a joy to carry, but will bite you!

Dunno if I'd mess with the 20gauge. Certainly will do the job - just more options with sabots in the 12 gauge. (finding them readily)

Hard not to like the Benelli but I don't know your price range.
For me, the 11-87 is hard to beat. I have a 3" 11-87 SPS and use 3" Federal Premium Barnes Expanders.

I had not thought about ammo options. I have not looked into availability of shotgun slugs 12 ga vs 20 ga.

I sold my over / under 20 ga. It was very light and good for grouse hunting and occassional clays, but wasn't much fun to use for turkey.

Do any of you mount a scope on your shotgun? From what I have seen, Brownings and Remingtons have a base / mount system on the barrel that extends back over the receiver. Benelli's appear to have an open sight system with a receiver drilled/tapped for bases. Would that make any difference in your opinions?

Skanes got the right idea........make sure you get a fully rifled cantilever slug barrel and mount a good quality scope on it such as a Leupold.

Mwarren, I personally feel the the cantilever system such as the Remingtons are way more accurate/rigid than the reciever drilled tapped style as the scope is firmly attached to the barrel.

I do not scope my shotguns, so I have no experience with the mounting systems.

Doh! Thanks Tom. Forgot to add that.
Cantilever is the way to go.

Thanks for the input on mount systems. I have always hunted deer with a scoped rifle, so I guess I might be a little lost without a scope.

It is easier for me to move around and shoot a light rifle from a tree stand. It seems deer watch to see which direction my stand faces and then make a point to walk behind me. It's tough standing up for an off hand shot with a heavy rifle while hanging around the side of a tree 35' up.

Put an additional stand on the other side of the tree - that'll fix'em....

And another thing...like I said get a good quality scope! that goes with the rings as well....be it a 12 or a 20 they both are not friendly to any scope mounting system.

Are shotgun scopes and rifle scopes different? I see them listed seperately by the mfr. Is the parallex the main difference?

Yep. Parallax is the difference.
Shotgun scopes generally use a heavy duplex as well.