3 Inch Slugs

C

cdutton

New member
Went to the range on Saturday to try out a couple different slugs.

First box that had my mouth watering was Federal's Power-Shok 12 gauge 3-inch Magnum slugs. Good god, those kick. Pretty accurate out of my 870's 20 inch barrel, though.

Tried some standard Federal Power-Shok 2-3/4 rifled slugs. Accurate enough, however, it's hard to tell when you're firing standing.

Also had some Federal reduced-recoil 2-3/4 slugs. Had about the same amount of recoil as 7 or 8 birdshot. These ones seemed to shoot a little high, I have no idea what that's about.

Hope the info helps.
 
The specs tell us the Federal Vital Shock Low Recoil slugs are about 300fps slower than their Power Shock slugs. Were all other factors the same when you experienced the slower loads hitting higher?

Perhaps slugs behave like some claim a pistol does at close range: with a reduced velocity load, the barrel has a chance to rise more under recoil before the load clears it, so it's "aimed" higher. But, that's pretty far fetched, or is it?
 
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Perhaps slugs behave like some claim a pistol does at close range: with a reduced velocity load the barrel has a chance to rise more under recoil before the loads clears it, so it's "aimed" higher. But, that's pretty far fetched, or is it?
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Not at all Pete, in my experiences shooting off hand out of a pistol or shotgun sighted for a given load, a slower load seems to shoot high. I expect that time in the barrel has something to do with this.

Bob
 
I was shooting at 25 yards, so I'm pretty sure it's just me anticipating recoil after the 3 inchers.

Hard to tell what kind of damage they would inflict when I'm only perforating paper, though. They sure do leave a big hole whether they're magnums or reduced recoil.
 
Those 1600 fps 3" magnums are amazing. I find theyre much more accurate than the 2 3/4" ones. The little ones seem to have a really wide spread on the two little slugs whereas the big one always seems to be dead on. The only problem is the big ones are punishing on your shoulder even after just a few rounds
 
The difference is where the slugs were hitting could have to do with trajectory. If your aiming at the same point with the same sight (making no adjustments other than shells) it could be the problem. You have to think about the highs and lows in the trajectory of the slug / bullet. That is why once you figure out what you are going to shoot you need to adjust your sights for that one and stick with it. I had this problem before when I would switch slugs between what looked good and what was on sale.
 
I've experimented with 2 3/4" versus 3"mags at under 100yds. I just can't justify the minute(if any) advantages of the 3"ers.

Good god, those kick.
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Again, never found anything I could do with a 3"er I couldn't with a 2 3/4". Except more of a sore shoulder:o

Different shotgun's prefer different loads and brands of ammo. The secret is finding that one particular ammo. Once found, with practice you'll be very accurate at multiple deer killing ranges.
 
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