Looked at the Luepold 2x7 or 3x9 shotgun scopes, and the Nikon slug hunter. Any suggestions on brand/magnification? This will be going on top of a Ithaca Deerslayer 20 gauge slugger.

The twenty gauge will not recoil badly, so any good scope will do. That is unless you want the specialty scopes set up for bullet drop of slugs. Personally I would go with a good 2-7 and be done.

What is the max distance a person would shoot a slug gun?

I've sold a number of Nikon ProStaff 2-7x32s to guys in IA when IA was a "shotgun only" deer state. Never had any complaints or any returned to Nikon, that I know of.

I have a Nikon ProStaff on my IA deer hunting shotgun, an old Mossberg 942KA with the barrel cut back to 20" and the bolt handle modified for a low scope placement. It is a smooth-bore, but will often shoot Rottweil-Brenneke 16 gauge Classic slugs into 5" at 100 yards, so I feel pretty well armed for anything under 150+/- yards.

Jeff

I got a Cabela's 2-7 x 32 on my slug gun. Works fine.. I guess it just depends on how much you want to spend.I just looked at thier site and they have this on discount..

Cabela's Pine Ridge� Shotgun/Black-Powder Scopes Item:9IS-712571
Reg: $69.99 Sale: $39.99

All lenses are glass and multicoated for enhanced light transmission, image clarity and freedom from aberration. Each scope is waterproof, shockproof and fogproof. Prolonged exposure to sub-freezing cold followed by immediate and prolonged immersion in hot water failed to cause any leakage or problems. Plus, they have been extensively torture-tested on hard-recoiling rifles without ever having an element shake loose. 1" tubes are rigid, precisely machined aluminum. Windage and elevation adjustments are 1/4-MOA clicks. 2.5X and 2.5X-7X compact scopes have 4" of eye relief and 50-yard factory-set parallax.


and no I don't own stock in Cabelas company..lol

I had a red dot for many years (10?) on my 12ga. All of my slug season deer have all been within 80 yards; no need for magnification. It was lightning fast on target. Nothing better for jumping deer.

Last year I had problems with it holding zero, and replaced it with a 4x Leupold traditional scope. No need for big magnification or the complexity/cost of a variable, and the simple scope should hold up to the recoil.

I kinda miss that red-dot tho.

Although the 20ga does not have a much recoil as a 12ga, my advice would be to get a scope with a ton of eye relief. It's easier on your eye-brow.

-nosualc

I use a 2x7 VXII on my 11-87. It's been quite reliable and I haven't had to move the scope in 4 years.

1.75x6 Leupold, perfect

2.5X

So a shotgun capable of 5" at 100 yards (pretty tough to find in a typical smoothbore) needs a 7x scope? Amazing...

My dedicated slug barrel shoots better than 5", but it has never had anything other than a 3x leupold on it...

A 2-7 seems sensible ...but I was not kidding about the 2.5X. I laugh like crazy when I see a 3-9 on a muzzleloader...hysterical!

+1 on the 2.5x.

As I said, I have a 4x and even it feels pretty silly for a slug gun.

-nosualc

To me, a big powerful scope on a slug gun is like racing slicks on a KIA.

I have a Burris 4x on a Rem 1100 rifled barrel that I leave in Iowa at a buddy's house for when I draw. I only put it on cause it was an "extra" I had laying around...but...I find it about perfect for up close and far away. YMMV but I think a good bright 4x is pretty good.

I like the 2-7 because I leave it on 2 power for most of the work.. but you can dial it up to look without picking up the binoculars.. but in reality a 2.5 would be just fine.

The 2x7 on campfire Leupolds does not say "for shotgun", but on the Leupold site it does. Is that the same scope?

I do alot of coyote hunting and some deer. Most of my shots and 10yds to 300yds and I hunt alot of heavy cover. I really like low power variables for their wide FOV and fast target aquisition. I'm running a couple Weaver V-3's(35 Whelen-35Rem), two Luepold 1x4x20mm (6x45mm-300Sav.), Nikon Monarch 1.5x4.5x20mm(6mm-204Ruger), Sightron 1.5x6x40mm(22-204Ruger), a Bushnell 4200 1.5x4x24mm ILL. (250 Sav carbine) and a couple of old Weaver K-1.5's(218Bee-375Win). At shogun ranges I'd be hard pressed to find a scope that was better than any one of these.

erich

Bob-
I should have elaborated on the 2x7. (I should know better *L*)

I had a 1.5x5 on it that was a wee fubar the week before the season and had that scope lying around and it's just worked so it's stayed put. I don't like tinkering with shotguns anyway. *grins*

Is this Ithaca drilled and tapped, or are you mounting out on the rear sight base? If the latter is the case, you are going to need an extended eye relief scope. I've got a 2 3/4X Burris Scout on my 37.

I have owned a dozen or so Cabela's Pine Ridge scopes that came to me on rifles that I traded for and didn't think much of them. Particularly in IA, since there are few other states where you're likely to bump into a B&C size whitetail buck. Wouldn't you kick yourself in the butt if ol' mossyhorns himself walzed right out in front of you and Murphy arrived just in time to make your $40 scope take a dump?

Jeff

LOL!

Magnumdood: Picture it!

Here is the Deerslayer, it comes with the rail base.

http://www.ithacagun.com/deerslayer3.html

I have a Holosight on my 20 gauge slug gun. It's mostly for the kids and the Holosight works great for a beginner to experienced hunter. I have a Swarovski PH 1.5x6 on my Savage ML for those fading light shots in the timber. I'm going to be getting a Savage 12 gauge bolt action slug gun in a month or so and picked up a Zeiss 1.8x5.5 on closeout for it.

When the slug gun or muzzle loader is the primary long gun in the state you live or hunt, good optics are just as important as they would be on a centerfire deer rifle. Just like anything else in the shooting industry, the new slugs make 200 yard shots as easy when matched with the right gun as they are in a rifle. Same with a good ML, and even futher then. A good scope just makes sense. I believe you would be well served with the 2x7 (with dots?)or 4X Leupold. For the optical quality involved and low light capabilities, I wouldn't give up my Zeiss.

I gotta say I really like the looks of those Ithica's! I'm going with a 12 gauge in the Savage as the ballistics are a bit better for the 12 than the 20 as reported by the ammo manufacturers from my reading. Not much but a little. I could sure see trading off the 20 Youth 870 in favor of a new Deerslayer in a few years after my youngest outgrows it. Might not wait that long.

2 good scopes for slug guns at a reasonable price are the Weaver K2.5 and if you want more power , the Burris FII 2x7 .

slg - great looking outfit. Mine is an old 37 with the smooth bore Deerslayer barrel. It will shoot Fosters just as accurately at 100 yards as my Winchester 1300 will shoot sabots, so I can only imagine what your outfit will do. Best, John

Stoney- my fav. was a 2X7 heavy duplex shotgun scope from Leupold I had on Betty Lou for 6 years. Parrallax was set from factory at 75 yards. Never a hiccup. You can't believe how those crosshairs jump out in the woods. When she came up, deer went down.

The Shotgun scopes have the parallax set at 50 or 75 yards usually and for rifles it is set at 150. Otherwise, same:same. You can have the parallax reset in either direction if you want to. For a slug gun parallax is not an issue I would worry about.

Irons....

Schmidt&Bender 4x36 - Here's mine on my Tar-Hunt 12 gauge.

For many years I hunted a section of MN which was shotgun slug only. I first had a 2.5 Weaver on a side mount scope system using Weaver rings bolted to a 12 gauge Rem 870 action by replacing some pins in the shotgun. Worked great out to about 75 yards which was max range for the old Foster style slugs and smoothbore. Later I got a rifled barrel from Hastings for that gun which had a rib mounting system attached to the barrel. I put on a 2x7 Leupold shotgun scope with HD cross hairs and was able to kill animals to 135 yards with Lightfield slugs. Longer than that and the drop was just too much to consistently hit the target and energy just wasn't there. For 12 gauges with a rifled barrel and a stable mounting system, I recommend the 2x7 Leupold. If you use a smoothbore, 2.5 is all you need since max range will be about 75 to 100 yards. I also tried a 1x4 Leupold shotgun scope but liked the 2x7 better. Since your gun is a 20 gauge, your range might be less than 135 yards even with a rifled barrel. I think a fixed 2.5 power with HD crosshairs might be best for your gun.

Now thats a nice shotgun rig! Your scope and tar-hunt is worth more than your whole house of berber carpeting Its laying on.

Please don't tell the little woman that though - LOL!!!

Yep!