Rifled slug or not?
- Thread starter boxjeff
- Start date
Splitear_Leland
New member
Rifled. Simple as that. I accidentally shot a few saboted slugs through my Rem. 1100, I couldn't hit anything with them.
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
Some sabot slugs don't like smooth bores, some do. You'd have to try them and see. Frankly, I've never been able to get acceptable accuracy past 75 yards with sabot slugs and a rifled barrel. My smooth bore 870 shot some of them just as well as my rifled 11-87.
I don't see an advantage that outweighs the triple sized price differential.
I don't see an advantage that outweighs the triple sized price differential.
saboted slugs only work correctly in rifled shotguns.
the sabots are designed to grab the rifling in a rifled barrel. unless the bullet in a saboted slug is spinning, it will not be stable.
rifled slugs, on the other hand, are formed to be nose-heavy, meaning that they maintain ballistic stability without having to spin (like a dart).
the boxotruth guys tested this. its pretty informative and should answer your question.
the sabots are designed to grab the rifling in a rifled barrel. unless the bullet in a saboted slug is spinning, it will not be stable.
rifled slugs, on the other hand, are formed to be nose-heavy, meaning that they maintain ballistic stability without having to spin (like a dart).
the boxotruth guys tested this. its pretty informative and should answer your question.
Doc Intrepid
New member
I fired quite a few rifled slugs, mostly Remington and Federal, through a Mossberg 500 Pursuader pump gun at man-sized silhouettes at 100 yards. This shotgun came with rifle sights for firing slugs.
They were surprisingly accurate for me. But I was firing mostly from a prone position with the shotgun laid over a duffle bag.
It was just my experiment to see what the slugs would do out of my Mossberg, and I could generally keep them all on a small paper plate at 100 yards. Not very good in terms of MOA precision, but adequate for hunting. I suspect the slugs would start dropping off as you went out to 150 yards, but I only had a 100 yard range to work with. Perhaps someone who is a better shot than I am could achieve tighter groups.
They were surprisingly accurate for me. But I was firing mostly from a prone position with the shotgun laid over a duffle bag.
It was just my experiment to see what the slugs would do out of my Mossberg, and I could generally keep them all on a small paper plate at 100 yards. Not very good in terms of MOA precision, but adequate for hunting. I suspect the slugs would start dropping off as you went out to 150 yards, but I only had a 100 yard range to work with. Perhaps someone who is a better shot than I am could achieve tighter groups.
Slugs
Rifled slugs (not sabots) - yep, should work just fine with your smooth bore. Some years ago, I watched my son shoot a six inch group at 100 yards using an old H&R single barrel break-open gun.
I have a Savage 220 O/U that i use with rifled slugs exclusively - both barrels are Cylinder choked. I use it at 50 yards and it puts them all on the pie plate shooting from a standing position (trying to duplicate hunting).
Pete
Rifled slugs (not sabots) - yep, should work just fine with your smooth bore. Some years ago, I watched my son shoot a six inch group at 100 yards using an old H&R single barrel break-open gun.
I have a Savage 220 O/U that i use with rifled slugs exclusively - both barrels are Cylinder choked. I use it at 50 yards and it puts them all on the pie plate shooting from a standing position (trying to duplicate hunting).
Pete