12 ga slug accuracy.

C

cajun47

New member
i cut a smooth bore mossberg 500 hunting shotgun down to just under 20 inch barrel and i put one of those fiber optic beads on the end with jb wield. this is a truck and boat gun so i wanted a little bit range.

everything i shoot is 2 3/4 inch. i shoot standing. my target is the bottom of a box 6 gallons of water comes in. i shot the walmart winchester slugs(15 pack) first, one from 30 yards then one from 50 yards. they hit almost dead center and the two holes are touching.

the remington slug from 50 yards hit center but 3 inches low.

i shot two brenneke slugs from 40 yards and they where way off center towards the edges of the box. these are the k.o. slugs and it says its for smooth bore or rifled barrels. is it my gun does not like brenneke or do their slugs suck in general?

i also tried the federal 00 buck low recoil(thats all they had) with flite control. very impressed. this is the buckshot for outdoor use! at 40 yards the buckshot grouped a little bigger than size of a large fist. at 50 yards it opened way up but i still counted 5 pellet holes spread through the whole water box bottom.
 
Shotgun barrels are notorious for liking one brand of slugs and absolutely hating another brand. Shoot several brands to see what it likes and then stick with them.
 
Brenneke makes lots of slugs, conventional and sabots. Just because the one you selected didn't work well in your gun doesn't mean they're bad slugs.
As Doyle said, barrels typically like one slug better than others. It's a matter of finding which specific slug performs best in your gun. On the up side, with a cut down barrel, you've eliminated having determine which choke tube works best, too.
 
Gee, seems to me shotgun barrels end up having one kind of choke diameter or another on the end. If you cut that off, I'm not sure what you end up with. I'm not a shotgun expert. I'd think you end up having an over sized bore the whole length and no choke at all. Not sure how various brands would perform like that. Maybe someone than knows how shotgun barrels are made can explain.
Maybe I wrote the above too soon. Out of curiosity, I checked shotgun barrel specs. It looks to me like you end up having a "cylinder" bore, so I suppose lopping off the end really only changes the length. I gather "cylinder bore" means no choke at all. So I would expect something should work ok. Maybe something like a Remington "slugger".
 
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If I was you, I'd buy Winchester slugs, Federal 00 low recoil buck and quit spending money trying other stuff. Sounds like those worked fine in your barrel.

If you're buying buckshot for shooting bucks you may want to stay away from the low recoil stuff.
 
I used a Remington 1oz slug in my Saiga 12 gauge last summer to knock a moving 150 lb Hog off his feet at just over 80 yard. Nice part was he did not get up, although I had 4 more rounds in that semi-auto Saiga to erase his escape possibilities , if I needed them. I Didn't.
 
Gee, seems to me shotgun barrels end up having one kind of choke diameter or another on the end. If you cut that off, I'm not sure what you end up with. I'm not a shotgun expert. I'd think you end up having an over sized bore the whole length and no choke at all. Not sure how various brands would perform like that. Maybe someone than knows how shotgun barrels are made can explain.
Maybe I wrote the above too soon. Out of curiosity, I checked shotgun barrel specs. It looks to me like you end up having a "cylinder" bore, so I suppose lopping off the end really only changes the length. I gather "cylinder bore" means no choke at all. So I would expect something should work ok. Maybe something like a Remington "slugger".
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Yes "cylinder bore" means no choke at all -- a straight tube all the way from the forcing cone to the crown. But, shotguns are not as standard as you might think -- not all 12-ga smooth-bores have the same diameter. They differ from brand to brand and from model to model within a specific brand. Even guns of the same model may differ a little because of manufacturing tolerances.

Because of these differences, some slugs will work better in your specific gun than others. If you wanna be a big dog in the slug world, you'll need to spend some trigger time working various slugs through your gun to determine the best for you. This includes trying different screw-in choke tubes if the gun has them.
 
I use standard Federal slugs in mine. I have tried other brands and nothing can keep up with them. I have to agree with most of the people here, shotguns are really finiciky when it comes to slugs. I would stick with what shoots best and not worry about what is "Supposed" to shoot better.
 
I've had good luck with rifled barrel and Hornady ammo.

Jack

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