Smooth bore slug suggestions to try and pattern for deer

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banditt007

New member
I need some suggestions on which slugs you would suggest i try to get decent groupings from, that would work ideal for white tail deer.

I know each shotgun is particular about what it shoots however if there are some that in general arent worth a dam to even try thats what i want to know. Or ones that Consitantly seem to do decent in most guns.

its a 12 gauge 3" chamber

Thanks a lot i cannot wait to enjoy my soon-to-be tenderized shoulder after trying all these diff slugs. :D
 
In the smooth obre stay away from the sabot rounds, IMO they're a waste of time and money.

THe Berk's would be my first pick , and then the newer Federal with the Poly ball in the base of the slug,, helps blow out the skirt and seems to have improved accuracy in some guns
 
I have had very good luck with the Lightfields and then the Brenneke's followed by all the rest in various degrees. You just have to pop for the shells and try them, as you already know. The Sabots are a waste of money in a smooth bore, they are made ONLY for rifled barrels and usually tumble or are terribly inaccurate.
 
+1 on the lightfields and brenneke's also see if you can get hold of the old BRI sabots I wish I can get some I have the originals in the BRI box,about 3 boxes left I wish I can find some more.
 
I did extensive shooting with slugs using 6 different brands from my smooth bore remington slug barrel (choked IC). At 50 yds the tightest group was produced by Brenneke's , but at 100 yds the Brenneke's came in next to last place. At 100 yds the Remington brand slugs gave best results in my gun.

About the only way to know for sure what your guns likes is to do the testing.
 
I've always found the Brennike slugs to be much more accurate than the standard slugs and killed deer with them.

Dick's sporting goods has the 12ga ones on sale for $1.99 a box, which is a real bargain, about half the cost of Remington slugs. That's a real bargain! I used to pay about twice as much for them over the Rem and Win slugs because they performed so well.

Picher
 
I didn't see that you specified smoothbore or rifled. I had an amazing (to me) experience this year taking out my old 870 smoothbore 20" IC "deer" barrel shotgun after retiring it when rifled barrels came on the scene. I tried the new Federal Tru-Ball slugs (plastic ball in the slug and cushion wad) and started shooting 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inch groups at 50 yards. I remember this gun being a 5 incher at 50 in the old days when I got it. At 100 it now stays inside 5 inches and usually much better. I never expected this accruacy from a smoothbore and so thought I'd share my experiece with you. If you have a rifled barrel, it's a whole nother question.
 
Federal Truball

I have an Ithaca Deerslayer 18" barrel. I think it might be Improved Cylinder, not sure, but it is a Smooth bore slug gun. From 50 yards I put up a group of 10 shots that you could cover with a dollar bill. This is with open sights too. I had one out of the ten go a couple inches high, or else it would be "half a dollar bill". I tried 4 shots at 75 yards and hit 3 times on an 8-inch target, but it was getting dark and I was having trouble seeing the front sight (it was a non-glowing replacement front). Also, my front sight, being a non-Ithaca part was all wobbly, so this might even tighten up. I got an actual Ithaca front sight to replace. Going to re-try the groupings this Saturday.
 
I've owned several different "slug guns" with smooth bore and rifled. (Rem. 870, Rem 1187, Moss. 500, H & R all in 12ga.)
I've tried a lot of different slugs, from the Win. 1oz rifled slug ($8.00 for 15) to the Coppersolids and Hornady's SST ($9.00 - $12.00 for 5).

The good ole Win. 1oz rifled slug, gave me better, consistent groups at 50 yds than all the above. It didn't matter if the barrel was rifled or smooth.

At 100 yds, the only gun and slugs that gave me a good enough group ( 3 in.), was the Hornady SST through the H & R.

Bottom line for me..... I love to shoot... whether it be at game or targets. The cheaper slugs shot just as good if not better than the expensive ones. The Win. 1oz's have been responsible for 60% of the deer I've killed and have won me quite a few 5 dollar bills at the range.
 
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GmcGy76

Thanks for the detailed info. When I used to shoot the Win rifled slug it was the best for me too. Still if I shot 5 to ten shot groups it would go out to 5 inches at 50 yards. Now the Fed TruBall is staying always in 1 3/4. Havent tried the Win load for many years so it's probably better.

You said you shoot in your rifled barrels. How many shots before you clean the lead out? My son does the same thing, but after several shots the barrel is so leaded that accuracy drops off badly. Cleaning out all that lead is a real chore, or I would shoot them too.
 
To CPTMCLARK

Normally, when I shoot them through my rifled barrel, I am in my deer stand and I am only taking one or maybe two shots back to back. I always clean whatever gun I use before I go back out. So I don't give the lead a chance to build up.

Now if I am plicking away at targets or tuning in a scope, I always clean the barrel after every shot anyway. (Grandfather habit I picked up) My granddad taught me, when sighting in any gun that you want to duplicate the first shot everytime. I always shoot once, walk to the target, mark shot hole, walk back, brush and swab barrel, and let the barrel cool down before I take my next shot. So again, I really never let the lead build up, that is probably why I don't have any issues with these rounds. Makes for a drawn out sighting in time, but my Mossberg 500 w/ cantilever barrel and 3x9x40 Bushnell...... at 50 yds or less Iam comfortable taking only upper neck and head shots on whitetails.

I have a 870 Rem. w/ 20 smoothy that is deadly ( 3 in ) accurate at 75yds w/ open sights using the Win. 1oz.

At .50 cents a shot compared two $2+, Ill shoot these all day. I will definitly try the Trueball rounds just out of couriosity.

GmcGy76
 
Heres a weird one. I got the best results from the cheep fiochi rifled slugs when comparing rem. win. etc. to see which shot best in my shotgun.
 
I do all my testing at 100 yards and the best smooth bore slug I found is the Remington slugger. It shoots a softball sized group off the bench with my 18.5 in. Barreled Benelli M2 with a IC choke. Throw in a Briley rifled Choke tube and it puts Lightfields in a quarter sized group :) The Lightfields also shoot really flat.
 
nssa

Those are definately the best accuracy I've ever heard of from slugs. That is three minutes of angle with a smoothbore to 100 yards and 1 MOA from your smoothbore with rifled tube. Whatever you're doing, keep it up.

Which Lightfields are giving you quarter size groups at 100 yards?
 
I use the standard 2 3/4 in ones.
I put a buddy on to Lightfields a few years back and noticed that today he was using a different brand. I asked why and he said the lightfields didn't shoot as well in his Fully Rifled Winchester as they did in his Fully Rifled 1187. I don't recall what he was using but he did comment that they cost about twice as much.
 
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