20 guage slug accuracy testing.

H

HKP7PSP

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I got the Ithaca Deerslayer II in 20 gauge with a 20 inch barrel and put a good scope (Schmidt and Bender) on it for testing.

At 50 yards:

Federal 3" Premium 275 grain HydraShok sabots shot three into 0.38 inches! One hole. Fantastic accuracy. Speed was just 1287fps for just 1010 ft/lbs of energy. Marginal considering it is a 3" shell and the projectile is lighter than the Lightfield, yet it is slower from the muzzle :( But very gentle recoil and super accurate, so I will use them, but any .44 Magnum handgun can match these ballistics unfortunately.

Lightfield 380 grain sabots shot three into 1.16 inches. Speed was 1385fps (1612 ft/lbs). Very good accuracy for a slug, 2.3 MOA.

Federal 325 grain Barnes Expander shot three into 2.3 inches. Just acceptable accuracy. Heard these kill deer very well but the Lightfield are twice as accurate and clost less also.

Winchester 260 grain Partition Gold sabot shot three into 14 inches! Horrible! I also had no luck with these in 12 gauge with a Benelli rifled barrel. I wanted to like these because they are so powerful, but they don't shoot for beans. No idea how Winchester can even sell them for $12-$15 a box of 5.
 
Thanks for posting this. Once again we can see that slug choice can only be well made after much testing. Five 3 shot groups is the minimum I'd consider as authoritative. Other than that, your methodology is great.

A couple things....

I've seen deer shot with 20 gauge Rottweil Brennekes that left short blood trials when hit in the vitals. I've also had to track a few hit with other 20 gauge slugs,seemingly hit as well, and had to track them farther. Observations during the autopsy show no major difference in effect. While my sample is smaller than I'd like, IMO there's a bit of a threshold effect, and some 20 gauge slugs fall right on the edge.Maybe it's the square shoulder on the Rottweil that makes it so good.

Except for those Golds, ALL of the slugs tested would be OK for deer in that shotgun. Naturally, I'd go for the most accurate...
 
Dave -- I know a 3 shot group is nearly useless. I only did not do more because the makers charge as-if I am going to kill a deer with each one! I mean, they are like $9 to $15 a box of 5.

My reasoning was that a 5 shot group will always be larger than a 3 shot group. So if the Winchester puts 3 shots into 14 inches at 50 yards, there is no reason to shoot more. There is a reason to shoot the Federal HS more since the shots all went to the same hole. So now I should try that again at 100 yards with more shots.
 
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