Anybody Hunt With Slugs?

[easttex]

Anybody?

I ask because I don't know anything about them.

The reason I'm curious is, the parcel of state land I intend on deer hunting on this year is archery/muzzle loader/shotgun/rimfire only - no centerfires. Although I do intend on bow hunting this year, I'm not sure I want to do it all season long. And, I'm trying to buy a house right now so I really don't need to buy a muzzle loader.

So, would I be nuts to try hunting with slugs? I'm hunting thick bottom land so any shots will be close. I have a Mossberg 500 12 gauge. Could I get away with it till my situation improves?

Thanks!

Jason

[shlomo]

Look into the Lyman Sabot Slug.


General consensus is that they are minute-of-softball at 100, as opposed to minute-of-boat cushion for most conventional slugs.

They kill like a freight train, too. I have supplied a few friends with them over the years, and they have killed something like a dozen deer and hogs with them. So far, not one animal has taken a step after impact. Pancakes 'em right there.

I don't know if anyone loads 'em commercially, but if you have shotshell reloading gear, you can make your own. They use standard AA wad cups and a standard star crimp.

[Muggzy]

All slug guns shoot slugs differently. Smooth bore? I have had great luck with
Brenneke's but they make slugs for rifled barrels too.

Your best bet is to try a box ( 5-pack) of different type slugs that you can purchase locally.

I have not had good results with sabot type slugs but...other swear by them.

I own smooth bores and rifled barreled slug guns. A 3-4 inch group at 50 yards
is about average for me, smooth bore and rifled.

[GW870]

Jason, what be the choke on your Mossie?
I'm asking because in our delta lowlands, we're sometimes
looking at shooting ranges of thirty yards or so. If that's
your situation you might be well off with buckshot. Some of
the tighter chokes pattern surprisingly well.

GW

[JohnnyV1966]

I've hunted with a Lyman Slug I cast myself and found it to be very effective on a doe at about 60 yards. It died within 3 feet of where it was struck. The shotgun was an 870 with an cylinder choke and Scattergun Technologies tritium "Ghost Ring" sights. With that firearm I get oval groups of 2x4 inches at fifty yards.

My son used the same shotgun with a Factory Winchester "Foster" slug at about 25 yards, the deer dropped like a rock and blood was all over the snow.

Slugs are devastating!

[easttex]

GW,

I use removable choke tubes so I can switch them around as needed. However, I'm not sure I can legally hunt with buckshot on state land(?). That's unconfirmed at this point but my old man is fairly adamant about it. I know several game wardens so I will find out.

In the interim, I guess I'll start trying some different slugs and see what's what.

Thanks for the feedback guys!

[wolfsburgbob]

As I live in Ohio we must use slugs. No Buckshot allowed. I use Winny or Remmy 3/4 oz saboted slugs fired from an old 870 with a red dot scope on a rifled barrel. Honestly, out to 50 yards, its perfect. 75 yards it's still pretty good, approaching 100 it is a 10 ish inch groups with the possible gut shots, so....beyond 100 yards and it's off to Pennsylvania with the trusty 700.



Good hunting!

[GW870]

Well, if your Pop is correct and you can't use buck, then I'd
agree with what Muggs said -- try a few different types and
find out what your shottie likes best. They can be sorta perplexing
and nonsensical sometimes.

GW

AND - if you're lucky enough to get a shot at one - please let us
know how you come out.

[olgier]

i dropped a 13 pointer with a slug gun a couple years ago.

remington 1100 with fully rifled barrel, 1.5-4 scope and pistolgrip speedfeed stock.

only used remington copper solids and hornandy sst's. 5 rds into a coffee cup @ 100 yds.

i would NEVER use buckshot on a deer. (home invader yes) i hit one @ 25 yds with 00 buck, and it's a damn good thing i had a slug loaded right behind it. (smoothbore win. 1300)

[akajun]

Use Brenekke Slugs with and without a rifled choke tube. See what works best for your gun.

[ggiilliiee]

ya i hunted with a slug before ....dam freind just wanted to sit around camp , drink beer and eat ... .

[Muggzy]

Originally posted by ggiilliiee
ya i hunted with a slug before ....dam freind just wanted to sit around camp , drink beer and eat ... .

I like this guy, already

[ggiilliiee]

[Skilter]

Originally posted by Muggzy
All slug guns shoot slugs differently. Smooth bore? I have had great luck with
Brenneke's but they make slugs for rifled barrels too.

Your best bet is to try a box ( 5-pack) of different type slugs that you can purchase locally.

I have not had good results with sabot type slugs but...other swear by them.

I own smooth bores and rifled barreled slug guns. A 3-4 inch group at 50 yards
is about average for me, smooth bore and rifled.

good advice... My vang comp Mossy 590A1 (and my shoulder) did not like the Berneke slugs, but it did like Federal. They all shoot different.

[WiFAL]

Like olgier said.

I have almost the identical setup as him. An 1100 with fully rifled cantilevered barrel wearing a 1.5 x 5 scope. I only shoot Remington Copper Solids and can hold a 3" group at 100 yards all day long.

[JB Books]

I used an Ithaca M37 loaded with Remington Buckhammer slugs to kill a nice Russian Boar.

[gearlogo]

Buy yourself a New England Firearms 12 gauge rifled slug gun wit ha good scope, use 3" win/bri slugs and see that 125 yards is an easy shot. This rig shoot slugs touching at 100yds. Buy a closed loop SS 12 gauge brush also and run it through a dry bore ever 5 shots or so.

[olgier]

i just took these for fun.

remington copper solids..... before and after. the after was recovered from just under the skin on the opposite side of the deer after going through the opposite shoulder blade. distance was very close to 100 yds.

[Muggzy]

that is what I would call perfect expansion on those copper solids. I tried some of those and they did group well also something called SST's group well. But they beat the crap out of me good photo.

[WiFAL]

Man-up Muggzy. One shot - one kill.

[ICE1210]

I use Remington foster type slugs in a smooth bore Scattergun Technologies 870 on SC whitetails. I try to keep my shots under 60 yds. It is a very effective combination. YMMV so try several types of slug and see what your gun likes best.

[Muggzy]

Originally posted by WiFAL
Man-up Muggzy. One shot - one kill.

uh....well.....I did have a few years running where I had the one shot one kill going. But....you know how that goes. Problem is around here you have another hunter within 100-150 yards of ya. Rule is....last one to put a slug in em...he gets the deer. Now...unless I see that slug hit heart or lungs
there is another slug already onthe way sometimes the little buggers will wake me up and it scares ya...

[WiFAL]

"unless I see that slug hit heart or lungs there is another slug already on the way"

I know what you mean. We hunted an area for a time where you could not let your deer cross the fence line or it was forfeited to the neighbor. That's where I learned to presume a second shot was going to be needed and never took my sights off the deer until certain it was down. Still a great first shot is better than four poor ones.

I haven't noticed that the Copper Solids produce any more recoil than any other sabot. I use Buckhammers to zero because they are a little cheaper to shoot but they seem to kick just the same.

Guess that's where using a gas operated shotgun is helpful.

[Muggzy]

I'm using a Rem 1100 with cantelevered barrel (rifled) and scope ( now a scope)
the Brenneke KO slugs shot as good as any and the recoil was much less .....and they were cheaper .

[1MOR]

I hunted deer with slugs for 20+ years while living in upstate NY. I bought whatever was the cheapest, Winny or Remmy solids for use in a smoothbore 870 or Ithaca 37. I used the notched receiver and post front sight on both weapons. Excellent knockdown to 100+ yards. Practice with plenty of offhand shooting at different ranges untill you can confidently make one shot kills on stationary and running deer.

[Muggzy]

just thought of this. We were talking about recoil and we all agreed that we feel the recoil at the target/range....when shooting at a deer....we don't notice the recoil

[1MOR]

Pachmayr makes an excellent slip on recoil pad that not only reduces felt recoil but also increases LOP. Good stuff for guys with long arms. For some reason, I have always felt that most commercial shotgun stocks were made for dwarfs.

PACHMAYR SLIP ON PADS

[Gazz]

I've shot most of my deer with a Rem 870 smoothbore slug barrel and Winchester slugs. Years ago, I ripped a bunch of slugs apart and measured them - the Winchesters had the largest diameter and rattled down the bore the least, or so it seemed. They did shoot the best. The past couple of years I have been shooting the Brenneke KO slugs which are as accurate and maybe better. I do not think they are as a powerful though. 100 yards plus is do able. I remember reading an article in Gun Digest (the fat book - not the replacement of the Gun List) where a guy was using smoothbore shotguns and Foster slugs and keeping shots on target at 200 yards! Honestly, I have seen deer shot at those ranges with smoothbore slugs but always considered it a fluke.
One of the things I have learned about shooting slugs is that the they lead the barrel quickly and that really messes up accuracy. Keep the bore clean with smoothbores. Rifled barrel slug guns foul quickly with plastic and they will open up your groups considerably too.
A well placed shot with a foster type or Brenneke KO slug is about as close to instant death as you can get. It makes a big hole - no expansion neccessary.

[ICU308]

Have hunted in Ohio with a Mossberg 500 combo ( smoothbore , and rifled barrel ) which has accounted for MANY deer and turkey . You do not mention whether yours is a smoothbore , but if you can find a rifled barrel for it inexpensively ( $75-$100) it is worth the investment . Either way , experiment with various slugs or sabots , to see which shoots the best from your gun .
Through the rifled barrel on mine , I use Winchester Supreme Platinum Tip sabots 385 grain . Out to 100 yards they are very consistent , and if you do your part ; are deadly .
gOOd luck !

[Deltaten]

I use the same Lyman cast as Shlomo pictured. Never took any game with it; but I have rung the 8" gong right smart like at 100yds for more than a couple full tubes worth
Rem 870, 20" smoothbore, rifle sights. 1oz Lyman in a WW12 (?) trap wad over IIRC 18.8 gr Clays. Cast with scrap/recovered bullets..sorta semi-hard
Sights dead on, center hold. Never chrono'd 'em; but they sure do buzz outta the tube! Was getting some serious plastic in the bore so I backed it down a bit to 18-18.2 or thereabouts. Drops a bit more; but that's what adjustables are for

Woe be to any critter that steps into its way! 100 yds?? No question about it.any more and I'd hafta have a good rest, and a steady hand and a good eye to add elevation. Never wonked any out to 200; but it's prolly doable.

[kerplode]

I picked up a couple boxes of these to test in my anti-personnel shotgun:



1-1/8oz steel that expands then splinters. Haven't tried them yet, but the results on the manufacturer's website look pretty impressive.

http://www.ddupleks.lv/EN/ddupleks_p...show/Hexolit32

Aim currently has some in stock. They aren't cheap, though...

[Gazz]

I am guessing that those Lyman slugs are loaded as cast and not run through a sizer. Correct?