Deer hunter88
New member
Can sabot slugs be shot through a smoothbore shotgun barrel effectively? They will be used for whitetail deer.
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Sabot slugs
- Thread starter Deer hunter88
- Start date
50 shooter
New member
No, you need the rifling to stabilize the round. For smooth bore shotgun barrels, you need rifled slugs.
Yes, and they will work ok. You do not NEED rifling, but it is more accurate.
Sabot slugs (such as the Brenneke) were developed before rifled shotgun barrels were common. They are made to work in a smooth bore. Like "rifled slugs (Forster type) they fly "true" because like a dart, the majority of the weight is in the nose.
Fired out of a rifled barrel the spin lets them work BETTER.
FYI, the "rifling" on a rifled slug does about nothing to impart spin. It LOOKS like the rifling marks on a fired bullet but its not for spin, its there so that the slug can safely compress and pass through a choke without losing all its accuracy. The "grooves" give the lead someplace to go when it has to squeeze through a choke, and why they can be safely fired even through full choke guns. Squeezing through a choke often does cost some accuracy though. Generally a cylinder bore will shoot a better group with slugs than a choked bore.
minute of deer to 70yds or so either way. Some guns a little better, some not quite so good. Always test your gun and the slugs you plan to use. Sometimes the accuracy will surprise you. Sometimes not....
Sabot slugs (such as the Brenneke) were developed before rifled shotgun barrels were common. They are made to work in a smooth bore. Like "rifled slugs (Forster type) they fly "true" because like a dart, the majority of the weight is in the nose.
Fired out of a rifled barrel the spin lets them work BETTER.
FYI, the "rifling" on a rifled slug does about nothing to impart spin. It LOOKS like the rifling marks on a fired bullet but its not for spin, its there so that the slug can safely compress and pass through a choke without losing all its accuracy. The "grooves" give the lead someplace to go when it has to squeeze through a choke, and why they can be safely fired even through full choke guns. Squeezing through a choke often does cost some accuracy though. Generally a cylinder bore will shoot a better group with slugs than a choked bore.
minute of deer to 70yds or so either way. Some guns a little better, some not quite so good. Always test your gun and the slugs you plan to use. Sometimes the accuracy will surprise you. Sometimes not....
50 shooter
New member
Well, your answer was better as I should've said yes but the accuracy will suck! I've fired them through my shotgun and they went through the target sideways!
To me you're just wasting your money shooting sabot slugs in a smooth bore shotgun. Set a target up and shoot it with some, that way you can see what they're doing when they leave the barrel.
To me you're just wasting your money shooting sabot slugs in a smooth bore shotgun. Set a target up and shoot it with some, that way you can see what they're doing when they leave the barrel.
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
I tried sabot slugs in my smooth-bore Rem 870 many years ago and they shot just fine. I mean, for a shotgun. They weren't "accurate"... but they were just as accurate as rifled slugs.
A smooth-bore shotgun is a 50 yard weapon anyway.
I rarely saw a rifled slug gun firing sabot slugs that was trustworthy beyond 100 yards. I can only recall 1.
I shot Hornady SST and Federal somethings, the ones they had before the Accu-Tips, in that 870. They were equally, um, "accurate", if you want to call it that.
A smooth-bore shotgun is a 50 yard weapon anyway.
I rarely saw a rifled slug gun firing sabot slugs that was trustworthy beyond 100 yards. I can only recall 1.
I shot Hornady SST and Federal somethings, the ones they had before the Accu-Tips, in that 870. They were equally, um, "accurate", if you want to call it that.
buck460XVR
New member
Even the experts can't agree.....
https://ammo.com/bullet-type/sabot-slug
https://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-46-shotgun-slugs-sabots-and-smooth-bore-barrels/
https://ammo.com/bullet-type/sabot-slug
https://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-46-shotgun-slugs-sabots-and-smooth-bore-barrels/