Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Purchasing very first shotgun... What should it be?

If you are recoil shy, I'd suggest the Rem 1187 Special purpose with cantilever scope mount rifled barrel. Those pump guns kick quite a bit with 3" slugs...

I would want a shotgun with as rigid a lockup as possible. An Ithaca 37 is one of them , Tar Hunt and the BRowning Abolt shotgun come to mind for serious long range shooting. Of course you could buy a Knight DIsc extreme in 50 caliber and outshoot the shotgun at relatively long range as well. As far as the rigid lockup there is a gunsmith in NY state that threads Remington recievers and installs a bolt that puts pressure on the barrel to cut down group size. His name escapes me at the moment.

Browning BPS, eject and loading from the bottom, keeps all the rain, snow, grit out of the receiver. Well made, very accurate and comes in many flavors. Solid scope mounts, rifled barrels.
Look it up on the Browning website.

I have a benelli super black eagle that never leaves the safe and a mossberg that I paid $185 for that is always with me. the mossberg is made to military standards and is very durable. for the money, they are hard to beat. I use it for everything as I just dont worry about it at all. I can used it as a boat paddle when duck hunting if necessary. they can be set up quite well for slugs if that is your objective. there are other good options but for the money, its hard to beat.

I'm sorta shotgun poor and have tried slugs through quite a few different combinations. These are the ones that I've tried that had a dedicated slug barrel with rifle sights of some variety or a scope or red dot sight and the results of experience with them:

Browning A5 Auto: Don't waste your time. Inconsistent past 30 to 50 yds.

Browning BPS: A winner! Highly recommended. Excellent accuracy with rifled barrel (didn't try smooth bore). Design similar to Ithaca 37, but modernized. Super reliable. My top choice.

Ithaca 37 ("Deerslayer" is slug gun version): Another winner. Accuracy pretty good with smoothbore barrel, and excellent with rifled barrel. Rifled barrels are available from aftermarket sources for older shotguns. Super reliable. Older ones with lots of drop in the buttstock can kick like a mule, especially when they don't have a good recoil pad.

Beretta 391: Pretty decent accuracy. Low recoil. I haven't had any reliability issues, but then again, it hasn't been used as heavily as the others.

Mossberg 500: Another winner and probably best bang for the buck. Fair accuracy with smooth bore, pretty decent to excellent accuracy with rifled bore. Very reliable. Quality seems to have actually increased over the past 10 years or so. Anvil-tough, except for the plastic safety button (which can be easily replaced with a steel one).

Remington 870: Fair accuracy with smooth bore, pretty decent accuracy with rifled bore. Quality and reliability of older ones are great. Quality and reliability of ones made in last 10 years is a complete crapshoot, with most I've seen being more crap than shoot. Last two I bought (one express and one really beautiful wood stocked with cut checkering) were both junk that wouldn't unlock after being fired, even after chamber polishing and being sent back to factory. I wouldn't gamble on a newer one unless you're willing to spend the time and money to make it reliable.

Remington 1100 and 11-87: Fair accuracy with smooth bore, pretty decent accuracy with rifled bore. Good reliability. Low recoil. Best bang for the buck for an autoloader.

Winchester 1300: Pass on this one. The shoulder bolt that attaches the slide assembly to the bolt carrier is prone to shearing off if the action is cycled with much gusto in an exciting moment. It never happened to mine, but I've repaired several that had done it. But accuracy is almost on par with the BPS's and Ithaca's.

With ANY of these, you have to experiment to find which slugs it likes the best. Experimentation can yield fantastic results.

I haven't tried a Tar-Hunt or the A-Bolt shotgun, but sounds like they would be interesting.

There are probably more accurate rigs, but I've had good luck with my 1187 and Hastings CL bbl in terms of accuracy. I already had the 1187 for wing shooting and purchased the 24" cantilever full rifle bbl. I also dropped in a light weight sear spring and mounted a Nikon 2-7 SG scope.

It will do 2" at 100yds with certain ammo if I do my part. The most accurate slugs I've used so far were 3" Rem Copper Solids and 2-3/4" Winchester Partition Golds. Tried some Hdy SSTs last year and they were all over the paper. Came up with a handload using some cast Lyman 525s that shot around 3" at 100yds.

Good Luck

loder

One of these Besides slugs are for puzzies... That doe got kacked with a big dose of #4 buck at about 45 yards. I use this set-up on coyotes as well...

Good advice here. Based on limited adventures with deer and shotguns in Washington State, I'd get an 870 Express Combo (bird barrel w/choke tubes and a 20" smoothbore barrel with rifle sights). You can use either buckshot or slugs in the smooth barrel, you may never need another shotgun, and there are tons of accessories if you need them. Whatever you get, hunt a few seasons with it to get a baseline for your next purchase.

This combo will leave you wanting only on the rare occasion that you get a shot over 75 yards or so. If I found myself regularly getting those kind of shots, I'd find a new place to hunt. My second choice would be to set up a dedicated slug gun with a rifled bore. Rifled barrels can shoot nearly as well as a good rifle but they require sabot slugs, and those cost in the range of $3.00 PER SHOT. Whether a gun is rifled or smoothbore, you will have to experiment to find the ammo it likes best. No two slug guns are the same.

Either a 20-gauge or a 12-gauge will kill deer. Some 20's are a bit lighter and trimmer, but I'd get a 12 for three reasons, all logistical. First, good 12-gauge ammo goes on sale way more often than good 20-gauge ammo. Second, there is a larger variety of slug loads for a 12-gauge than for 20-gauge, so you have more chances to find a load that shoots well in your gun that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Third, 20-gauge slugs can be hard to find, so you may find yourself up a creek looking for ammo some day. Been there, done that.

Finally, I'd consider used guns. It's just about impossible to wear out a decent shotgun. You'll also save some money that you can use for ammo. That's going to be a factor, since even cheap slugs run about $1.00 per shot.


Okie John

The Brownign BPS sounds promising. I like the sounds of the Ithaca's as well.

Roach

870 Remington is hard to beat but my choice would be an 11-87 or an 1100---I like autoloaders and once you've shot one a lot you won't want to go back.

270

Mossberg if ya like pumps

Rhode Island and Massachusetts are the same with the no rifles. I have used a Rem 11-87 Premier in 12 gauge for the last 20 years with zero complaints. I recommend it or even an 1100 sporting 12 to anyone everyone. A friend just bought a 20 and killed a couple this year, but I like the 12. Friends bought the Bushmaster made Dicks Sportsman version with the black plastic and paint, and as of a couple days ago... three out of three have had feeding malfunctions and have gone back to REMINGTON. My shotgun has shot thousands of trap and skeet loads, hundreds upon hundreds of duck and goose loads and maybe a hundred slugs. Not one misfeed where a shell popped back out behind the load gate or got stuck in the tube. I would get a blue and wood 11-87 Premier or an 1100 sporting 12 gauge with a 26" barrel for birds and a Rem factory slug barrel. It'll run you a thousand bucks (Blue and Walnut) if you have a friend with a FFL, but 20+ years without headaches is worth that. You might be talking Benelli Super Black Eagle money, but I would go with the REM.


PS I had to hit the edit button and let you know that my Dad passed when I was 3 and my 8th grade science teacher convinced my Mom that hunting birds was a healthy past time for a youth and off we went to K Mart to buy me a shotgun. I got a Rem 1100 for my twelfth birthday and have used it for everything, including an emergency canoe paddle and it still goes off every time. If you're going to have one shotgun, and you're going to put a deer barrel on it, it's the one to have. Good Luck.

I used a 12g bolt action Savage 210F for a couple of years and was very satisfied with it. That rifled barrel really made a difference...once I found the right load, 3" groups at 100 yards were the norm. Going rate on Gunbroker.com seems to be $500-525. I will warn you...the recoil with 3" shells is an eye opener.

Should be mentioned that the Ithaca 37 has an interrupted thread barrel attachment....early ones are hand fitted. Makes a great repeatable barrel/receiver joint.

If you can find a dog Model 12 Winchester, maybe with a Cutts or Polychoke you can cut back or a nasty pad added, they make a super slug gun. They have the interrupted thread barrel and a tensioning/takeup screw. You can tighten them right up.

The M25 Winchester is a model 12 with a FIXED barrel....probably the ultimate sleeper as far as slugging.

Also the Smith and Wesson 916A has a fixed barrel....they're cheap as dirt too. I think they are the old Nobles pump.

12 GA 3" is more more then I care to shoot in a slug gun. 2 3/4 is also pushing it.

Went to Rem 1100 20ga rifled barrel. Wife uses a 870 20 ga youth with rifled barrel. Both are scoped.

Have been using singles mostly the past 10 years. Have 20 ga Encore w/rifled barrel and a blackpowder barrel. Think about this one but you need to please yourself. Singles aren't for everyone.

I simply like a single shot with a exposed hammer. This year's gun is a TC Contender in 30/40 Krag. Perfect for poking around in the bushes.

if you are thinking about a Mossberg,send me the money abd I'll send you a box of crap.

buy a Remington in 20ga with a rifled barrel and you won't be sorry.

If you don't mind the limitation of a single-shot, you cannot go wrong with an NEF/H&R Ultra Slug Hunter in a 20 GA. I see them going for around $275 used.
(I also lost a good hat and a case of beer to my best friend betting against a 100yd shot with his.)

I can't say I disagree with any of the other recommendations either, and all of the following have proven to be great guns to our crew in Southeast Minnesota.

Ithaca Deerslayer: Its a classic, and the name says it all.
Rem 870 Slug: Like they said, "can't go wrong".
Savage 220F camo Slug Hunter: Savage, and bolt action. 'Nuf sed.

870.00

I live in Ill. and have been slug hunting for 22 years. I have tried all but the Tar hunt. The Ithaca 37 deerslayer is by far the best. Do not go cheap when looking for a slug gun. Most guys I know have spent $1200.00 on a rifle that someday they hope to shoot but will not spend more than $200. for a slug gun they will use every year. I just bought a new Ithaca Deerslayer 111 and they guarantee it too shoot under 4" group at 200 yards. That is as close to a rifle as a slug can get. Put a leupold 2x7 shotgun scope and never look back. You can order nicer wood from the custom shop. You can email me if you have any questions at doublegunsbcglobal.net

Lots of good suggestions here.

For me I chose the 11/87 shotgun mostly because of it versatility but also because I like the cantilever scope mount.

Next I like the 870 pump.

Beware finding which slugs that any rifled barrel will like might be a $$$$$$ prospect.

Also someone earlier suggested a MZ, while I concur on the fact they can be more accurate and shoot further, I will tell you from experience that sometimes a fast followup shot is required especially if ol bigboy is about to run toward another hunter or property boundry.

On the 870 deal the only problem I see with one is if the woods are real quiet, you just shot at a deer, and for some reason you missed it, and the deer is now motionless and unhurt (it sometimes happens the deer dont know which way to run) you have to rack in another shell super quiet all the while hoping that deer dont hear you and take off in the opposite direction. (remember it is listening for some noise, any noise) the 11/87 already has that taken care of for you.....just point and shoot...only this time hit that danged thing!