Is it OK to fire slugs from a smooth bore barrel?

U

ursavus.elemensis

New member
Is it OK to fire slugs through a Mossberg 500 Persuader, 20 gauge, with cylinder bore, 18 1/2 inch barrel? Specifically, if the barrel is not rifled, is it still OK to fire slugs?
 
If you really want to smoke something use the Brenneke "Black Magic" - For a lesser round use the Federal Tru-Ball. I only use smoothbore's for slugs - you should be able to get 4" groups if you do your job at 100 yards - It is a 100 yard gun.
 
Slugs thru a mossberg 500 are perfectly fine, trust me I know. And you'll be surprised at how accurate it is, Ive cloverleafed 3 shots at 100 yards off the bench. Off hand only managed to put two on top of each other. All coming out of a smooth bore 24in mossberg barrel hooked up to a bone stock mossberg 500:cool:
 
Use rifled slugs in a smooth barrel. Sabot slugs are designed for rifled barrels, and are very accurate when fired from them. While they won't hurt your barrel, you won't get very good accuracy out of them from a smooth barrel.
 
Some people don't know the difference between a sabot slug and a foster slug. I'm not saying you don't, but if you don't, and if you have a smoothbore shotgun, avoid buying anything with the word "Sabot" on it. Sabot slugs are made for rifled barrels, which you don't have. They may not be dangerous to shoot in a smoothbore, but they are very expensive compared to a Foster type rifled slug, and most reports say they don't perform any better than a rifled slug does in a smoothbore.

I suggest that you just go out to your favorite ammo supplier and ask for a box of Remington "Sluggers" in your gauge.

Remington "Sluggers" are "rifled" slugs, thy've been around for a long time, and are made for shooting in smoothbore shotguns. The rifling on the slug itself supposedly imparts a spin to compensate for the lack of rifling in the barrel. (I don't know if they really spin or not; I've heard they don't.)

Remington "Sluggers" can be used in smoothbore shotguns with cylinder barrels and in smoothbore shotguns with improved cylinder barrels; but I don't know whether you should use them in guns with tighter chokes than that or not. Maybe somebody else can comment on that.

In my 12 guage smoothbore gun with a 26" improved cylinder barrel, I find that the 2 3/4 inch Remington "Sluggers" are accurate out to about 50 yards. I've never fired a slug in anything but a 12 gauge gun though, and I use 2 3/4 inch slugs only, so I cannot speak for their performance in any other configuration.

I don't claim that Remington Sluggers are any better than the other rifled slugs, but they do have the advantage of being tried and true, they are readily availiable, they hit hard, and they are very reliable and consistent. Works for me.
 
"Rifling" on the slugs is there to swage down through tight chokes & not to make the slug spin. It doesn't.
Denis
 
My comment in the recent thread, remington accutips in smooth bore?, is appropriate here:
Many slugs (conventional and sabot-type) claim they "will work" or are "safe to use" in all shotgun barrels. IMHO, they figure the experienced shooter will know which is which, and select the slug appropriate to his gun. The less experienced shooter, who's not sure of the difference, is just a another sucker -- he might buy sabots for a smooth barrel thinking the costlier sabots must be better.​
 
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