Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Slug Gun or Muzzleloader

I may have the opportunity to hunt in a shotgun or muzzleloader only area next year. I have taken an ark load of deer with buckshot, but have never used a slug gun or muzzleloader. I am not asking which is more lethal as I know either kill deer graveyard dead if you hit your mark. But, are there any advantages in recoil, accuracy, or performance with one or the other? For those that have used both, which do you prefer and why?

Thanks,
CH

Slug gun is many times faster to reload, no large cloud of white smoke from black powder or it's substitutes, easier to clean. JMHO

If, God forbid, I ever found myself in such a predicament, I'd definitely own one of the 20 gauge savage bolt action shotguns.

I try to stay away from Black powder and its' various substitutes so that EvilTwin and FlyBoyFlem will have enough of the Holy Black to run those Sharps rifles with.

Slug gun for me. I just find muzzleloaders too much work.

Muzzleloader is the easy choice.

Shotguns are for shooting shot.

You may as well duck hunt with a Remington 700 in 30-06 while you are at it, if deer hunting with a SHOTgun doesn't feel out of place to you......

Muzzy all the way.

With a little work they are a 200 yard gun. Plus, you only need one shot unless you have multiple tags.

Check out the savage 220 for sale or trade on classifieds. I have one and it is impressive. I have some muzzelloaders too. My 220 is not only accurate it will reload very fast compared to a muzzel.

I've killed a pile of deer with both.A good 20ga slug gun is hard to beat.Absolutely no need to get beat up by a 12ga and with todays sabot slugs a good slug gun can hang with a muzzleloader in the accuracy department.

Probably more a matter of personal choice and preference. Muzzleloader or slug gun if set up properly will get the job done on whitetails without a hitch.

While a muzzleloader can be set up to be a 200 yard gun, so can a slug gun with a fully rifled barrel and sabot slugs. Set up a high quality muzzleloader like a .50 cal Encore with the right 200 grain bullets and 150 grains of propellent, and you can bust 6 inch ballons at 250 yards offhand with a sling wrapped around your arm all day long without batting an eye. Really a matter of ranges you'll encounter and what you prefer to use.

A smoothbore barreled slug gun set up properly is a 125 yard gun in either 12 or 20 gauge persuasion.

I don't feel out of place at all hunting deer with a SHOTgun, been doing it since the mid sixties. The kids and I have killed a passel of them with SHOTguns, I hope that doesn't mean we have to hunt ducks now with a 30-06.

I guess it comes from growing up in the Socialist Republic of NJ, where you can't use a centerfire rifle for deer, shotgun or muzzleloader only, so I grew up playing with slug guns and trying to make them more 'rifle' than SHOTgun.

This one, while a smoothbore 20 gauge, is definitely more comfortable shooting slugs than it is shot, and my preferred weapon for hunting deer where it is SHOTgun only up to ranges of 125 yards. If ranges were to be beyond that, then I'd reach for one of my slug guns with a fully rifled barrel.

Instead of trying to make a slug gun more rifle than SHOTgun(which it will never be), why not just use a rifle? Just sayin'

If I could I would, but the Socialist Republic of NJ says I can't use a centerfire rifle to hunt deer, only a shotgun or muzzleloader, so I have to make do.

I have to admit though, even when I hunt in NY, the catskills, there are certain places where despite being able to use a rifle, I prefer the sluggun. There's a lot to be said for a large, heavy, 3/4 to 1 ounce foster slug traveling sedately at 1600 FPS getting through thick cover and finding it's way to the boiler room of a white tail. And anyone who has tried shooting foster slugs and rifle bullets through mountain laurel to a target on the other side of it knows exactly what I'm talking about.

A muzzleloader IS a rifle. I never said CF. A good muzzy is more accurate and better handling than any shotgun IMO......

Would be interested to know how your "muzzy" is more of a rifle than say a Savage 220. From the Oxford dictionary: "Rifle, a gun, especially one fired from shoulder level, having a long spirally grooved barrel intended to make a bullet spin and thereby have greater accuracy over a long distance". I have many muzzleloaders and many years experience with them. While it would be my choice, I wouldn't recomend it to someone with no experience unless they're interested in learning the sport first.

Opinion:
Hunted the NY Southern tier with slug gun for years when muzzy or slug gun only were allowed. Most of that area has been approved for rifle and is now what I use sometimes. For me, hunting with a slug gun is way ahead of muzzys.

I have an old Ithaca37 (pump) that I would not consider trading for any muzzy I have ever seen. Muzzys always feel awkward, stink, slow, and exceedingly troublesome for cleaning and maintenance. Muzzys just don't have that smooth shotgun swing nor the get on target fast aspect of a shotgun.

An 870 corn sucker, 20gauge, scoped, rifled barreled, shooting sabots and you will be feeling sorry for those stuck with a fog pole thrashing through the woods with their possibilities bag stuffed full of all that junk needed just to make a second shot. Ever been down wind from a smoke pole when it went off?

Go slugger and you won't look back. Tough, clean, accurate, fast, efficient, reliable, will shoot when it's raining, wheelbarrow not needed for second shot supply.

Opinion and experience.

Jim

Agree with both of these guys.

If I was going to do it full time this is what I'd buy. http://www.tarhunt.com/tarhunt/ Like some guys already said in 20 gauge

The Savage 220F in 20 gauge would be a wise choice and can be a killing machine to 200 yards if you experiment with different brands of slugs or reload your own slugs.

Doc

When hunting deer at under 200yds with my Browning 12ga Abolt and Federal Barnes Tipped Expanders I've never wished I had a rifle instead

I remember going over to my buddies shooting range. He had a just outta the shop 6.5 x55 Ruger action custom barreled,triggered you name it spanking new rifle. I had a 220 savage. The 220 although the three shot group may have been a little bigger, due to the meplat or diameter of the projectiles looked a lot tighter and closer together. The 220 is very very accurate. Get a spare magazine a good scope and mounts. Save the smoke poleing when the slugs are illegal. IMO

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