rifled slugs or rifled barrel

76Too

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i've decided to use my jm930 pro for this upcoming hunting season. i put some rifled slugs downrange, and they seem to hit right on target with my red dot out to 50 yards.

is there any disadvantage to this over using a rifled slug barrel with (smooth?) slugs?

i'm very new to hunting (i've actually never been except one time i sat in the snow waiting for a coyote to come along last year)...my dad never hunted when i was a kid, so i'm figuring this all out on my own as I go.

thanks for the help.

Mike
 
What I've read says the rifling on slugs is a marketing gimmick and that they don't spin coming out of a smooth barrel. Only a rifled barrel will get you the accuracy improvement of a spinning slug. That said, if your accuracy is good enough to hit the proverbial 8" paper plate every time, it's good enough. If you're an accuracy nut (like me) a rifled barrel is what you want.
 
slugs out of a rifles barrel be more accurate and afford you better range. shooting rifled slugs out of a smooth bore will let you mix slugs & buck shot.

personally I only run slugs for deer. My father and both of my brothers set up their guns with a mix, their pattern is: slug, buck, buck, slug, buck.

When we are out hunting I'll pass on more shots than them and as a result shoot less and have taken less deer. They line up their 1st shot as best they can and follow up with 2 quick rounds of buck.

each of the 3 of them have taken more deer than me, but their animals often have to be finished off with a knife after their legs have been broken by the buck shot instead of a well placed slug.

Here is a video that shows shots from both:
 
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I shoot rifled slugs out of a smooth bore slug barrel and have been killing deer with it for many years. It is plenty accurate out to 100 yards.

The advantages of this setup is that the shotgun is lighter, rifled barrels are much heavier, and the rifled slugs are much cheaper.

To me a rifled barrel and sabot slugs are best for long shots like food plot hunting.

Bob
 
I shoot rifled slugs out of a smooth bore slug barrel and have been killing deer with it for many years. It is plenty accurate out to 100 yards.

The advantages of this setup is that the shotgun is lighter, rifled barrels are much heavier, and the rifled slugs are much cheaper.

To me a rifled barrel and sabot slugs are best for long shots like food plot hunting.

Bob

Most shots at deer around here are under 100 yards, unless like Bob said, your on a big field or food plot. I'll also add, unless you have a scope setup, you might as well forget much about anything over 75 -100 yards.


I've used both sabots with rifled barrels and smoothbore with rifled slugs. If I had to do it all again, I'd stick to the cheap rifled slugs and the smoothbore barrel. If you want to get some distance, use the muzzleloader with a rifled barrel it seems more accurate than any shotgun round.

Also the price of sabot rounds are stupid. 15 dollars a box of 5 stupid. To me it's a gimmick to sell overly priced ammo.
 
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If you're grouping really well, why bother?
On a side note what would i use for a choke, i have a mossberg 20ga 28" vr i do have the 24" rifled but just out of curiosity.

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Mark, what do you suggest for lower priced ammo?
I bought some remington 1oz slugs like $1 a piece
 
Last year took two deer with a 20 gauge rifled barrel using remington slugger rifled slugs. Not ideal according most hunters but the gun grouped well. It did lead up the rifling a bit when sighting it in at the range but cleaned up with a little x40 bore cleaner.
 
I have a mix of both. I am more than comfortable with sluggers out to 50 and even 100yds with some of my shotguns. With my rifled 935 I can use sluggers to 100yds. 2 3/4" sabots.for 75-150 and 3" sabots to over 200. Ballistically the 3" are as flat or flatter than a 45-70.
 
I use a rifled barrel myself. The 8 in pie plate was never good enough for me. It's likely good enough to kill a deer. No doubt. But I would rather have the point of impact be right where I want it as opposed to in the ballpark. I'm always worried about hitting too far back or hitting the shoulder and destroying a bunch of meat.
 
get a rifled choke, I got rid of my fully rifled barrel because sabots are expensive. at the ranges I shoot deer I can keep it tight enough
 
I use a rifled barrel myself. The 8 in pie plate was never good enough for me. It's likely good enough to kill a deer. No doubt. But I would rather have the point of impact be right where I want it as opposed to in the ballpark. I'm always worried about hitting too far back or hitting the shoulder and destroying a bunch of meat.

I agree. A pie plate doesn't cut it for me either.

I shot this buck in 2011 at 75 yards +/- a few yards with a rifled slug out of a smoothbore barrel. It hits where I aim.

QuabbinBuck1212011001.jpg


I will say that I know my weapons well and shoot quite a bit pre-season to ensure that I know where they will hit when I pull the trigger
 
I meant using slug with a smooth barrel and rifled vs smooth barrel with rifled slug


Sent from my mobile phone from behind enemy lines.
 
I agree. A pie plate doesn't cut it for me either.

I shot this buck in 2011 at 75 yards +/- a few yards with a rifled slug out of a smoothbore barrel. It hits where I aim.

I will say that I know my weapons well and shoot quite a bit pre-season to ensure that I know where they will hit when I pull the trigger


I wish that was my experience. My 11-87 wouldn't group tight enough for me without a rifled barrel. I wish it did because I could have saved some loot on the barrel. But my 26" smooth bore just wasn't cutting it. The slugs that I get satisfactory groups from (Remington AccuTips) aren't cheap either... They're like 3 bucks a piece. Makes practice expensive for sure..
 
I dropped a deer over 100 yards with rifled barrel on my 870 with a sabot last year. Used to used ruffled slugs out of my bird barrel and take down deer to. What ever you use, practice.
 
I have a spot that i hunt that will occasionally have a 100+ yd shot Its the only reason i use a rifled shotgun .I use a H&R Ultra Slug Hunter using sabots the thing is deadly out to 150 yds.I had a kill a few years back at 135yds hit him in the heart and he dropped after running about 20 yds.If your shots are less than 75 yds go with the smoothbore and leave the buckshot at home is SUCKS. Buckshot should be banned its horrible at any range over 25 yds. Hope this helps.
 
For about the same money of buying a rifled barrel, you could get a low end muzzle loader and get better accuracy and you can use it through the entire season in MA. It doesn't have a follow up shot, but then again, if you have a well placed, accurate first shot you don't need follow up.
 
For about the same money of buying a rifled barrel, you could get a low end muzzle loader and get better accuracy and you can use it through the entire season in MA. It doesn't have a follow up shot, but then again, if you have a well placed, accurate first shot you don't need follow up.

A good point for sure. Especially if you don't have one.
 
It doesn't have a follow up shot, but then again, if you have a well placed, accurate first shot you don't need follow up.

there is a follow up shot with a muzzle loader....it just doesn't come nearly as quickly as a pump, or a break barrel.
 
The rifled slug is BS.
The "rifle" marks are from the swage press when they are made. Also read long time ago the grooves in the slug give the slug some relief so it can squeeze through tight chokes.

My experience. 870 express smooth bore "slug" barrel, field barrel modified choke.
Slug barrel with rifled sights:
Remington Slugsters shot well enough out to 50 yards although consistency was lacking.
Berneke style slugs....they got the "wing" glued to the back of the slug.
These slugs operate on the same principle of a dart. Nose heavy...that's the only thing keeping them stable. On average I would say this set up was minute of dear out to 70 yards.
28" field barrel modified choke
Slugs.... much better for me. From minute of dear to about 5" groups @ 50 yards.
Ok so I tried some sabot shells through my shotty.
Slug barrel, waste of time and ammo very unpredictable( remington 1oz copper solids)
Field barrel marginally better
Field barrel with rifled choke ....huge improvement over smooth bore but not at the added cost.
Still only 5" or so at 50 yards.
Found a 870 rifled barrel.
Sabot remington solid copper 1oz now where into 3" or less at 50 yards. Very nice indeed.
Although the cost of sabot is a turn off for some.

Now fast forward few years....I don't hunt or shoot shotgun much. When my friends son asked me to bring him to the range to zero his 20g savage rifled shotgun I am sold.
Savage 20g rifled bolt action and leupold VX1 ..... we zeroed it at 50 yards nice little 2" groups.
Gave him some pointers and off he went.
Soon after he started sending me pictures.....groups at 100 yards under 2" and some 3 shot groups closing in on 1".....

As for standard slugs in a rifled barrel , wast of time. The slugs are to small to effectively engage the rifling....also there are already grooves in the slug....they can't possible help any slamming into the grooves of the shotgun......all I got when I tested slugs in my rifled barrel was leading in the forcing cone area of the chamber....and lots of it.
 
there is a follow up shot with a muzzle loader....it just doesn't come nearly as quickly as a pump, or a break barrel.
True.

Personally, in my 30 plus years of hunting, I have never seen a deer killed with a second shot other than a finishing shot (deer already on the ground). I've seen plenty of hunters that fire three or four times every time they shoot at a deer, but I've never seen them take one on any follow up shot. Yes, there are exceptions and I'm sure people will come out of the woodwork to tell me about the deer they shot with a fifth shot in their mag, but for the most part, deer are killed with the first shot or not at all.
 
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