Slugs for hunting Whitetail

R

ReadyOnTheRight

New member
I just discovered a shotgun only public hunting area I might explore for some whitetail deer. I've seen deer there before while grouse hunting.

I've never shot a slug before and I'm looking for some recommendations to go and site in. I have a Benelli Nova with a 26" smooth barrel. Which choke tube should I use? I'll probably just go with 2.75" or 3". Please let me know any commercial slugs or sabots you've shot successfully.

Thanks!
 
Yhere's a few gigs of stuff in the Archives about this, but I'll reprise...

There's no ineffective 12 gauge slugs for deer. All will do the job when inserted correctly.

And bench testing is the ONLY way to find out which one will be the most accurate in YOUR shotgun, with the exception that sabots work best in rifled bbls and Forsters and Brenekkes in smoothbores MOST of the time.

As for chokes, oft the more open ones are best, but there's no rule here either. I'd try IC first

Since you've a smooth bbl and not that much time,
buy some 5 packs of varied brands. Fire off some groups and then buy more of the tightest grouping.

HYH....
 
Excellent weapon and great barrel-------------made by Benelli's owner, Beretta. Go with the IC choke no doubt. Make sure you do not get a sabot slug as these are meant for rifled barrels.

I like the 2 3/4 Winchester Super X but that's just me. I agree about shooting alot to find out what your shotgun does with slugs.
 
While I will always prefer a rifle to a shotgun for deer, I have been succesful hunting deer with slugs. If you find a brand and style that works well for your shotgun, you will have no trouble taking a deer at reasonable ranges. I don't think I would try a shot with my Browning A-5 past 50 yards.
 
Dave and Mannlicher right...
Find a load that works for YOUR gun and shoot enough to learn where your clean kill range will be.

Every shotgun has different tastes in ammo.

And NONE of the rules are cast in stone.

Sam
 
my $.02 in addition to the great advice above - be aware of the trajectory with your slugs. According to Winchester, a 50 yard zero with the 2 3/4" Super-X leaves you about a foot low at 125 yards.

Suckers drop like they're made of lead :D
 
Good advice, above. To really find out what shoots best out of your shotgun, get thee to the range with your gun, several boxes of several brands of slugs, and a sissy bag. (trust me on the last.)

I'm now quite fond of the Brenneke K.O. slugs. They're very similar to the standard old Rottweil slugs, but actually are usually less expensive, and often give better groups. (YMMV) One thing I really like about the Brenneke slugs is that they will cut a sharp-edged, wadcutter-style .70-sumpin' caliber hole in your target, and are stablized by an attatched wad.

That said, the last time I matched slugs to a shotgun, I ended up using Remington Slugsters (Hollow Points! Tee hee! You should have seen the bitty little hollowed out spot on the front of the lead slug, which wouldn't hold half a dried pea.), because they most closely were regulated to the sights on my shotgun, which wouldn't go down any lower.
 
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