i realize i don't know much about shotguns beyond small game hunting.

C

cajun47

New member
sure i went deer hunting a few times with buckshot but never saw anything and i thought i could take one at 100 yards cause of all the hunting stories i hear. boy thats false, in my case anyway.

over the years i tried many hunting 12 ga(for small game) and found the mossberg 500 the best fit for me. every time i see a 500 for $100 used, i buy it. i own 4 now. 2 with a mod choke, one with improved cylinder, and one with a fixed full choke 30 inch barrel.

i took them to the range with some average 2 3/4 00 buckshot and a few slugs. remington, winchester, estate, federal, brands. all the shotguns and all the brands of buckshot did ok at 25 yards i guess but i wasn't impressed. im looking for a tight pattern. at 50 yards they where all pathetic imo.

shooting slugs, even at 25 yards, looked like i was shooting a musket, barely hitting a poster board at the edges. the improved cylinder is the only one that did well at 25 yards, dead center but a few inches low. am i right assuming full and mod choke aren't good for buckshot and slugs? if i cut that 30" barrel to 20"(for sd/hd) would buckshot be tighter, slugs more accurate?

are the hornady tap and federal flitecontrol what im looking for in buckshot?
 
FWIW, While YMMV, I've learned the hard way (half-days tracking wounded deer never found) not to use buckshot at any range further than in a 15-yard jungle.

OO buck seemed to perform best, in the more open choke(s) (I/C, straight cyl) in the guns I tested - although it will take choking better than slugs, which do better in a straight cyl (Foster/Brenke lead) or rifled bore (saboted slugs).

I would advise not to bother with slugs until some sort of sights, iron or optic, are fitted to the gun - IOW, w/o sights, you're shoveling sand against the tide.

There are at least two companies that make clamp-on (to a vent rib) open sights (standard & fiber-optic); and also a QD scope side mount for the Mossy, which locates the scope ( a 1x, 2x or Red Dot is best) atop the receiver.

Another good sighting option for slugs is a reflex sight, similar to a Burris Speedbead, or TruGlo BriteSight (under $100).

.
 
if i cut that 30" barrel to 20"(for sd/hd) would buckshot be tighter, slugs more accurate?
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No on both counts. Buckshot will have a wider spread and slugs will be less accurate. Across a room however the difference won't be great. Down a hallway you will see a lot wider buckshot pattern.
 
are the hornady tap and federal flitecontrol what im looking for in buckshot?
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Hornady TAP (Tactical Application Police) ammo is intended for police and personal defense use. Just because it's got "buck-shot" sized pellets doesn't make it be best option for hunting. Ammo loaded with Federal's new Flitecontrol wads have been getting rave reviews.
 
Good thing about that mossy 500, there are alot of dedicated slug barrels out there to be had. I think someone was even making a blackpowder barrel for it at one time.
 
First off, 00 buckshot at 50 yards is pretty pathetic no matter your choke. 00 doesn't like to be choked tight and quantity wise there's not enough to maintain any sort of pattern density. That's why coyote hunters use 4 buck, copper plated bb, etc and only then with turkey/extra full chokes for shots at 50 yards. A full choked, 2 3/4" chambered, 30" barrel should hold a good pattern for coyotes out to 30, maybe 35 yards with some form of smaller buck/larger shot but don't even try the small buckshot with deer. Now amazingly enough 00 often does pattern better/tighter in open chokes. Like I said, it doesn't like to be choked down. Still, it's a 20 or 25 yard proposition on coyote sized critters at best, even less for deer.

As for slugs your gun should of shot them better than that. Were you trying sabot slugs or good 'ol cheap foster type? In smoothbore's you want foster slugs not sabot. But even if you find a foster slug that shoots better groups it doesn't mean they're gonna hit POA. Shooting slugs....just get a slug barrel with sights.

LK
 
Cajun, does the barrel you are using have a middle bead? If it does, make sure you are using it correctly. The correct way is to make sure the bead on the end is seen on top of the mid bead. Many people make the mistake of trying to line the beads up together and that causes low-shooting. Sighting where the end bead sits on top of the mid bead raises the point of impact.
 
For slugs, get a "B-Square" Moss 500 scope mount..

attached to receiver side and come with replacement screws to use.

For Ohio and SE Michigan I used the Brenneke slugs, ther are heavier than the Forster slug and properly sighted in can give you 100yd capacity.
[YOU MUST DO YOUR PART TO HIT, if not the shoot no further than 75 yds.]

Consider getting a 24" barrel that use choke tubes to allow fat change out at hte car when the game type changes, SK/IC for grouse & close squirrels, IC/MOD for waterfowl & Pheasants.

You can alos get a rifled tube that extend past the muzzle and use the sabot slugs. Thou I'm not sure of accuracy/ grouping.
 
With an 18 inch barrel with cylinder bore (not choked down) 20 gauge using cheap winchester or federal slugs i can hit a pie plate (6 inch circle) at 65 yards off hand with a bead... just gotta get in tune with your gun...

I doubt I could have been a 3rd as accurate in the first 3,000 rounds from various M-500s... Took a lot of intentional practice and hunts before I ever considered sluggin' game.

Brent
 
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