20 gauge vs .50 muzzleloader

T

TMW89

New member
My dad and are deer hunters. he has a Traditions muzzleloader he uses and i have a H&R ultra slug rifled 20 gauge heavy barrel.
Yesterday he says, "You can prbably only shoot 150 yards with a good skip off the ground with that thing right?"
I said it would shoot just as far as his gun, which got a rise out of him lol.
So, what do you think? As far as hunting accuracy/range, which wins?
 
It's a toss up because I have had two of your guns. One was outstanding and you would be right. But the other didn't shoot worth a crud. In which case he would win.
 
Fur sure.
A muzzle loader, in the hands of an expert, is just as accurate as a modern rifle.
The real test for you guys is if either your shotgun had a rifled barrel with sabots, or your Dad's ML had a smooth one.
That would be an interesting challenge.
 
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Shoot both & find out for yourself.

Let the both of you shoot both guns, side-by-side @ the same range(s) at the same time or day for a true comparison.




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Listen to your Father !!!

20 gauge vs .50 muzzleloader
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This question has come up before and basically the way it was explained is to compare the aerodynamics of the projectiles. What your Dad is saying, is that the flight of your round nose slug will die, in good order and the M/L projectile will keep on flying straight. Now, the slug may travel just as far but with less accuracy and punch. By the way, you did not list what projectile he is using. One of the deadliest projectile I have seen, is a .45 sabot round. ..... ;)

Dad is right and;
Be Safe !!!
 
I'm gonna side with the 20ga. slug gun, but don't sleep on the old man and his muzzleloader. I'd love to see the range report if you guys decide to take it to the field.
 
I'd like to test it, but Pops isnt one to go out and shoot for the fun of it. maybe i'll just have to take his muzzleloader to the range sometime. Although if mine turned out to be the victor, he'd never believe me lol
 
In my case, I had a shorter heavy barrel version that was dead nuts spot on the money at 100 yards distance. I reluctantly had to sell off firearms a few seasons ago after some health problems & bills. I came to replace that super shooter with a model that had the thumb hole stock and a little longer barrel. Shooting the same Hornady SST's that gun wouldn't hit squat. At the time, the idea was that the rifling was too shallow. It never performed as expected (better than the previous one). It was much worse. I gave it to a relative and told him to use full size Remington lead slugs and he would do well inside of 100 yards. And that did prove to be the case. The long distance slug gun of my dreams was found in the Savage model 220 shooting Hornady 20Ga SST's.
That baby will lay those puppies right in there winning your bet. Or should I say that puppy will lay those babies right in there- again winning your bet. Just not sure at this writing how your particular gun compares to the two I had or the one I'm using now.
 
Sounds like there is some consistency issues with H&R quality.
my gun is the standard stock, heavy, 24" barrel i believe. it shoots right on at 50 and inside a paper plate @100 yards. good enough for deer hunting. im sure i could be a better shot too.
both my gun and the lightweight synthetic 12 guage version i used to have are/were pretty accurate
 
I just had a similar conversation with a buddy who bought a 500 mag handi rifle. I would have gotten the slug gun instead.

500 mag 400 grain dual bond; 1725 fps & 2477 ft-lbs
12 gauge 375 grain dual bond; 1800 fps & 2697 ft-lbs (plus the ability to
hunt in shotgun only zone)
20 gauge 260 grain dual bond; 1800 fps & 1870 ft-lbs

Sight the 20 gauge in at 100 yds and it's .8 high at 50yds & .7 low at 175 yards.
 
I use both muzzle loader and shotgun in my favorite deer huntin' spot. For accuracy and distance my .50 cal and my 12 ga are close to the same. For the first shot it is a toss up. After that my TC Encore 12 ga wins on the speed of follow up shots. But the first one is the one that counts most ;) IIRC the ballistics for a 20 is close to the same as a 12 with similar sabot/bullet loads. I almost went with a 20, but ammo for them is scarce around here at times.
 
they are probably both very close in accuracy but i would take the muzzleloader just for the ability to hunt the muzzleloader season and the shotgun season
 
Thats what my dad does. hasnt got his shotgun out in a few years.
i just get my bow back out for the rest of the year
 
Vs

The 20 gauge is going to shoot a heavier slug 260 grains +/- at 1600 fps or more.
The .50 cal. MLer is going to shoot a 173 grain .490 round ball at 1600-1900 fps depending on the powder charge.
The lighter round ball will shed its velocity more quickly than the heavier slug.
The edge goes to the 20 gauge slug gun.
Pete
 
Are you using saboted slugs in the shotgun and saboted bullets and black powder subsitutes in the muzzleloader?There is very little difference between the two.The slug gun will be faster to reload.The muzzleloader will usually be more accurate.You should be able to get much better than paper plate sized groups with a rifled barrel and saboted slugs.Noreaster which 20 gauge slug shoots that flat?
 
Yeah I picked up on that one too but didn't say anything. But now that it's been brought up, inside a paper plate @100 doesn't sound like a good shooter to me. My second shot hits the same hole and a couple more shots makes a clover leaf. Using a Leupold Ulti ( Ultimate ) Slam scope and 20ga SST's. However, I'm dialing in off a solid rest and I have a clearly marked target. I place a cross on white with 1/2 wide black tape that gives me outstanding reference marks to align myself with down range. In fairness to the OP, and so as not to insult his gun or ability, it could be he is just taking a quick aim at the plate and calling it good enough. My goal is 200 yards, so that is why a plate size group @ 100 wouldn't cut it for me. My very first H&R Ultra slug hunter did kiss the same hole at 100 yards using SST's. That is why I expected the second one to go out to 200 since it was a really nice setup having the thumbhole stock and longer barrel. That thing splattered holes haphazardly all around the target. What a shocking unexpected surprise. The bolt action Savage 220 sure fixed that. That second H&R I gave away to a relative. And yes it did pretty well shooting full size Remington slugs inside 100yards. And he did take a deer with it. It just wasn't getting me where I wanted to be.
 
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