how many of you guys hunt open sight shotgun?

chuckmatlock

New member
my old ted williams doesn't have anywhere to mount a scope so I will be forced to hunt open sight, now do I use buckshot or slugs?

Chuck
 
Well, I have hunted both, and my best suggestion is slugs. They are a little more predictable then buckshot in my opinion. Basically, the best thing to do is to get several boxes and shoot it at a target. Aim good and see what happens, It should group pretty good I would think, just base it off of that. Make sure the shotgun is able to shoot slugs though, don't pull a stupid move and run a slug through a full choke, you will regret it. My buddy did it once on an old single shot, blew the living tar out of that barrel and he thought he was certain to die.

F-C
 
Please check the hunting regs in your state concerning the use of buck shot. Some allow it and some don't.

Slugs are much preferred for deer hunting. It is safe to assume that you do not have a rifled barrel for the shotgun so stick with 'foster ' style slugs. Buy a few boxes of each brand and see which ones shoot best out of your shotgun. Some may like rem sluggers, other may like win, federals. Try each brand and stick with the most accurate one.

Your max range with iron sights and a smooth bore shotgun will probably be whatever range you can consistently hit a 6-8" circle. Anything farther than that would be unethical. For most smooth bore shotguns and iron sights this range is usually in the 50-75 yard range. YMMV though.

Foster slugs are just fine through any choke- even full, as long as the barrel is in good condition to start with. Until I got a cantilever scope mount rifled barrel for my 870 I used an improved modified trap barrel with good success out to about 75 yards.

Hope this helps.
 
my state allows the use of rifles, so if i carry my shotgun it's loaded with buckshot...i don't have a use for slugs. with this being said, i use the factory open sights with buckshot.
 
Look at Williams Gusight website...

they carry a receiver sight that mounts on the side allowing rifle rear sight for buck or slugs.

A Ted Williams should be a Winchester Model 1200, 1300 or 1400 auto-loader.
Check gun parts corp. catalog for listing of private marked firearms.
 
It depends...

If I'm still-hunting through brush, (or on a drive) I prefer buckshot and open sights since the action is likely to be close, fast and furious. If I'm hunting from a stand, I'd use slugs. Either way, shoot enough of them until you're confident of your ranges.

+1 on checking regs. Buckshot is legal in SC but not in TN.
 
I guess you're talking deer, but yes I do for turkeys use an open sight. Although I haven't yet, I'm thinking of trying to blood that same shotgun for deer with slugs, or an x-full choke and 3-OT buck with neck shots, after I first blood a few other rifles I want to try first. That shotgun has fiber optic front and rear.
 
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