16 Gauge Slug Ballistics

wyleekyotee

wyleekyotee

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Hi Guys. A little target practice with federal powershok 16 gauge slugs today. Good 2" group at 25 yards - but whole group 7" below the bullseye, and that was with the the full bead showing. I'll admit I've never used slugs before - any idea what's going on? Do they always shoot ridiculously low at 25 yards?
 
Just your sight set up. I shot a few deer with 16 bore slugs and they hold out well to 80 to 90 yards. My dad used my 16 to kill a doe at over 100 yards. That was a scoped Ithaca 37 sighted 3" high @ 50 yards.

Darryl
 
So what do you suggest I do? The sight setup is a bead, and I'm pretty sure it can't be lowered. At 25 yds I shouldn't have to aim 7" high - even with a shot gun. Suggestions?


madtrapper143 said:
Just your sight set up. I shot a few deer with 16 bore slugs and they hold out well to 80 to 90 yards. My dad used my 16 to kill a doe at over 100 yards. That was a scoped Ithaca 37 sighted 3" high @ 50 yards.

Darryl
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wyleekyotee said:
Hi Guys. A little target practice with federal powershok 16 gauge slugs today. Good 2" group at 25 yards - but whole group 7" below the bullseye, and that was with the the full bead showing. I'll admit I've never used slugs before - any idea what's going on? Do they always shoot ridiculously low at 25 yards?
Click to expand...

If you always use the same gun, same load, just aim for the bottom of the chest cavity.
 
Sounds like the shotgun does not fit you well. As you said no rear sight your eye is the rear sight so it depends on how you hold it.
 
I had a Poly Choke put on my Mossberg 500 16 gauge. With the higher bead put on by Poly Choke the gun shot about 10" low at most ranges. I researched barrel bending and found some techniques used by trap shooters. Sure enough I was able to impart a slight bend (not visible to the eye) and corrected the point of impact. The idea I used was to remove the barrel (holding the chamber end) and then strike it against a full bag of lead shot hung over a deck railing or tail gate. To bend yours upwards you would hold the chamber end and strike the bottom of the barrel. I did mine at my shooting area and corrected it in no time. Just a suggestion. Mine printed slugs and shotloads low until I fixed it. Do a I net search for shotgun barrel bending lots of techniques and it is not as scary as it sounds.

Darryl
 
madtrapper143 said:
I had a Poly Choke put on my Mossberg 500 16 gauge. With the higher bead put on by Poly Choke the gun shot about 10" low at most ranges. I researched barrel bending and found some techniques used by trap shooters. Sure enough I was able to impart a slight bend (not visible to the eye) and corrected the point of impact. The idea I used was to remove the barrel (holding the chamber end) and then strike it against a full bag of lead shot hung over a deck railing or tail gate. To bend yours upwards you would hold the chamber end and strike the bottom of the barrel. I did mine at my shooting area and corrected it in no time. Just a suggestion. Mine printed slugs and shotloads low until I fixed it. Do a I net search for shotgun barrel bending lots of techniques and it is not as scary as it sounds.

Darryl
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Sounds like a workable idea. Also, if your bead is screwed in, you could replace it with a lower bead for slug season. You can make one with a piece of brazing or brass rod and a die in a few minutes.
 
Gunsmith said that this is most likely the problem. I will investigate doing this myself, but might chicken out and get the gunsmith to do it.

madtrapper143 said:
I had a Poly Choke put on my Mossberg 500 16 gauge. With the higher bead put on by Poly Choke the gun shot about 10" low at most ranges. I researched barrel bending and found some techniques used by trap shooters. Sure enough I was able to impart a slight bend (not visible to the eye) and corrected the point of impact. The idea I used was to remove the barrel (holding the chamber end) and then strike it against a full bag of lead shot hung over a deck railing or tail gate. To bend yours upwards you would hold the chamber end and strike the bottom of the barrel. I did mine at my shooting area and corrected it in no time. Just a suggestion. Mine printed slugs and shotloads low until I fixed it. Do a I net search for shotgun barrel bending lots of techniques and it is not as scary as it sounds.

Darryl
Click to expand...
 
So you are saying to get it to shoot higher, I need to bend the muzzle downwards?

madtrapper143 said:
I had a Poly Choke put on my Mossberg 500 16 gauge. With the higher bead put on by Poly Choke the gun shot about 10" low at most ranges. I researched barrel bending and found some techniques used by trap shooters. Sure enough I was able to impart a slight bend (not visible to the eye) and corrected the point of impact. The idea I used was to remove the barrel (holding the chamber end) and then strike it against a full bag of lead shot hung over a deck railing or tail gate. To bend yours upwards you would hold the chamber end and strike the bottom of the barrel. I did mine at my shooting area and corrected it in no time. Just a suggestion. Mine printed slugs and shotloads low until I fixed it. Do a I net search for shotgun barrel bending lots of techniques and it is not as scary as it sounds.

Darryl
Click to expand...
 
No to get the POI to raise you actually bend the barrel upwards. That's why I said strike the bottom of the barrel on the lead shot bag it will impart a VERY slight bend upwards. Bend is actually a poor word as the barrel bend is invisible to the naked eye.

Darryl
 
I'm, confused madtrapper. Based on my understanding of how things bend - if I grab the barrel by the chamber, and strike the middle of the barrel by swinging the barrel downward and hitting it against a bag of lead balls with the bottom of the barrel facing down, then it will be bent such that the the muzzle and chamber are bent down, and the middle is bent up - basically this shape: ∩ . Is this the shape I need to raise the POI?

madtrapper143 said:
No to get the POI to raise you actually bend the barrel upwards. That's why I said strike the bottom of the barrel on the lead shot bag it will impart a VERY slight bend upwards. Bend is actually a poor word as the barrel bend is invisible to the naked eye.

Darryl
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Lets try this again. The last 3" of barrel/muzzle will strike the bag of lead SHOT not lead balls. By striking the bottom (side opposite of the top bead) the barrel will slightly bend up raising your point of impact. If you hit it in the centre of the barrel it will bend down as you stated. The portion of the barrel striking the lead shot will be the muzzle and about 3 to 4" behind it.

Darryl
 
A whole lot easier to add some padding to the comb it will achieve the same purpose with out the chance of permanent damage to the gun .
 
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