Best shooting slugs???

J

JonM

New member
I have a Savage bolt-action 12ga slug-gun and a Mossberg 12ga pump-gun. Both guns have rifled barrels. I have been shooting the Hornady SST slugs but was wondering if anyone had actually compared these against other sabots. What is the best bang for the buck? :confused:Any feed back would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jon
 
just curious, do both gun barrels have the same twist ratio? A friend of mine has both those guns and says the mossberg slug barrel doesn't shoot faster slugs as accurately as it does slower slugs.
 
Not sure.

I'm not sure where to even look that up. I have heard the same thing about the mossbergs though.
 
Slug performance (as in accuracy) can vary HUGELY from gun to gun and from ammo to ammo. There really seems to be no rhyme or reason as to why one shotgun likes one flavor and hates another and another gun of the same type will like just the opposite. The only way to find out is to stock up on ammo and hit the range.
 
1 twist in 35inches was what the Savage was when first introduced.

That came from an old Gun Tests article from 1996. That's been quite a while so they may have made some changes.
 
Doyle's right

I've seen similar set-ups like different ammo for no apparent reason. @ 10 -12 dollars a box I'd like to keep the testing minimal. I shot 2 groups last year that were less than 1.5" with the Hornady SST's but I couldn't duplicate it a few weeks ago. It would stay under 3" with no problem but I don't know what would have changed. Maybe those groups involved a little luck. I've read that the Winchester Supremes shot really well out of the Savage. I picked up a couple boxes to try out so we will see.
 
Yep, shooting sabot-type shotgun slugs isn't cheap. It's nothing to get a bulk box of sporting Birdshot loads and burn 100-rounds at the local Trap and Skeet club. But, I've never heard of anyone shooting 100 sabots in an afternoon. I suspect most folks, like JonM, shoot a few patterns and head to the hunt. I know of no cheap and easy way to fully evaluate your slug guns.

We've all read threads on how each slug gun in an individual and significant range work is required to find the best shooting slug for that gun. I suspect a lot of newbees get rifled slug barrels, or dedicated sabot guns without fully realizing the significant increase in ammo costs with sabots over conventional smooth bore slugs and buckshot loads.

Let's hope the members of this forum are well aware of: The range work needed to select the best slug/s for your gun; and the significant difference in slug prices between rifled barrel sabots and smooth barrel conventional slugs.

One question that you'd think would come up more often: Under what circumstances do I really need a sabot shooting rifled barrel over a conventional smooth bore with slugs and shot? Obviously, JonH thinks his anticipated shooting environment requires sabots, or he wouldn't have two rifled barrel shotguns.
 
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I'd like to hear your thoughts on "smooth vs rifled" i just ordered a smooth with rifle sights because i doubt my shots (if i even see a deer) will be over 50 yds
 
fishluv,
I live in the southwest where we have a lot of open space and our mountain forests aren't as dense as other parts of the country. We're not required to use shotguns for deer and I don't know anyone who does. When I'm asked for recommendations about shooting out of area my answers fall into two categories. What's your anticipated shooting environment and what do the locals use?

Your 50-yard max target opportunity seems pretty typical for an environment where patches of dense deer woods may be close to people, livestock and structures where longer range rifles are prohibited. Fishluv, your new gun seems well suited to your anticipated hunting environment.

For a smooth bore slug shotgun your main choice is the sights. Old school shooters are accustomed to using their every-day barrel with a front bead for shot and slug, many can place a 50-yard slug in the kill zone with just the bead. Less experienced shotgunners and rifleman may prefer the rifle type sights -- open or optical.

Look at pistol shooters, with open sights, some can keep 'em in the black at 50-yards and others can't hit the cardboard supporting the target. Part of evaluating the shooting environment includes an honest assessment of the shooter's ability. Nobody wants to hear that he's not a good enough shot to go hunting with the big boys. Many of the modern sighting devices are aimed at those not wanting to work on the basics. Why learn sight alignment, and train until you're proficient, when you can get a device that will auto-range and put a glowing dot on your target?

Using sabots seems, in part, to be a way to circumvent the shotgun rules intended to keep shooting at close range for safety reasons. What kind of range and accuracy will sabots deliver?… 100yds?, 150yds? 200yds? -- time to buy a mess of sabots and do some trigger time.

If you're hunting in an environment where it's safe to use sabots (with a trajectory like a .45-70) for long shots, why not try to have the area opened for rifle shooting? When I see large areas (like whole states) that are closed to rifles, I wonder if it's because the game officials are too lazy to make maps showing where safety dictates shotguns. Or, do they think the average hunter or enforcement officer can't read a map? Get real game officials, like rock-n-roll, GPS is here to stay -- it shouldn't be rocket science separating rifle and shotgun areas.

It would be interesting to know how many folks are using expensive sabots in environments where shots seldom exceed 50-yards. And, how many sabots are used for longer (100-yd +) shots in areas that really don't need to prohibit rifles for safety reasons.
 
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Are there any adverse effects of shooting sabot-slugs out of a smooth barrel?
Click to expand...

The worst adverse affect of all - you'll go broke needlessly.


As to needing sabot slugs in a rifled barrel, try Brenneke KO slugs. They are one of the few non-sabot slugs that are made to be fired out of either type barrel and they are only slightly more expensive than a standard foster slug.
 
TheGoldenState,
I've discussed this in previous threads, sabots are designed for rifled bores. You can safely shoot them in smooth bore guns, but you're wasting your money.

I suspect the ammo manufacturers are aware that some shooters aren't sure about the correct slug for their gun and assume that the more expensive sabots will perform better in their smooth bore guns. What Hornady says about their sabots is pretty common, "Designed specifically for rifled barrels but can also be used in smooth bore barrels." At over $2 a pop, they are probably quite happy for you to use their slugs in the wrong gun.

On the flip side, there's using the cheaper conventional slugs in a rifled barrel. The rifling is designed to contact a plastic sabot, not soft lead. Again, it not unsafe; but, you can really mess up your rifling with lead build up. As I indicated earlier, too many new shooters get rifled barrels without realizing they have a very expensive appetite.
 
ZIPPY,

Thanks for the lowdown. I shoot everything out of my Benelli m-1 Smoothe Bore, with the choke that came already in from factory. I shoot all makes and models of sizes, birdshot, buckshot, slugs (sabot and others) all with no hiccups, but just wanted to be sure, after reading this, that i wasn't doing any damage.:)
 
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