Bear with a shotgun slug?

Oh yeah all the time. I bring my 12 gage and rifle with me while I hunt black bear. I keep the shogun by me in the vehicle (only cause lately I have wanted to get one with a slug) but most the time I just use my lever action 45-70 marlin. You can easily go after black bears with a 12 gage slug, as for deer OH YES most certainly. As for the effectiveness range I would consider 150 yards max with a slug gun for deer, and 100 yards for a black bear (foster slugs). If your thinking brown/griz stick with a guide gun lol I wouldn’t go after those with a shotgun. Now that all depends too if your using foster slugs, or sabbot slugs, or trophy slugs. Cause apparently the new slug guns work wonders with sabbot slugs at up to 250-300 yards. You have to remember these are pretty much .50cal chunk of lead. Also foster are ment to be used in FULLY rifled barrels, will it harm your mc,ic, most likely after pr-longed use. What I’m curious about is why slug gun, foster slugs in my area cost 20 bucks for a box of 5. 30-30, 308 are more expensive by a dollar or two while providing 15 more cartridges. Are you hunting in a shotgun only zone?
 
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I agree depending on the slug type, as well as the animal and gun. If I had a savage slug warrior shooting sabbott slugs at a deer Iv talked to a lot of guys who have taken them down at 200 yards easy. Are these trophy deer most likely not. Here on the island (Vancouver Island b.c. deer IF you’re lucky to bag big ones will be slightly over 200 pounds, IF you got the cream of the crop..your average deer on the island is very small in comparison to that of the mainland)

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j239/seaan_2006/045.jpg this is as big as they come. (rougly) I have seen alberta and sask deer pictures from friends hunting and those suckers look well over 300 pounds. I hear it all the time, how nice it is to pack one of our deer out of the bush oppose to those mainlanders. (hell I had a hard time packing that thing out took me all evening to get home and be able to get my picture taken with it!)

So if you think my yard's seems to be alittle far for the slug capabilities keep in mind the deer here are the size of a big dog with antlers. ALSO alot of experience with shoot slugs to be able to shoot distances I have said. Practice makes perfect.
 
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Slugs and buckshot are the only way you can hunt with a firearm in many southern areas of Ontario. Many deer and bear have been taken with slugs. Slugs work, and work well, within their limitations, if you do your part.
 
All slug designs including the original Foster styles ones will work for hunting black bear if you stay with in the limits of the round.

Black bears contrary to common belief are not hard to kill.

Put the slug thru the heart/lungs of a black bear and it will be dead very quickly.
 
Full choke Mossberg broadside at 30 yards - run 30 yards, then dead and fell in the freezer. Large hole torn where he snagged the entry hole with his hind claws - large exit hole. Better than venison.
 
The retained energys and poor accuracy of slugs yes even the sabot ones are such that you should limit your shots to 125 yards.
 
rodngun said:
Also foster are ment to be used in FULLY rifled barrels, will it harm your mc,ic, most likely after pr-longed use.
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I think you've got that wrong, the Foster style slug is meant for use in a smooth bore shotgun. I agree that its probably best to shoot them through cylinder or skeet chokes. I don't use slugs much but from what I understand using Foster or Brenneke slugs in a rifled barrel can cause a lot of leading. I don't have a rifled barrel so can't attest to that.

Sabotted slugs are meant for rifled barrels.
 
I wouldnt hesitate shooting a blackie (under 300 pounds) from 150 yards with my shotgun. I'd even take a 200 yard shot under the right circumstanizes ( wind, angle, rest)

Mossberg 535 24" fully rifled barrel shooting Hornady SST. I can hit a 3" circle at 150 yards all day with my gun so im pretty confident.

if it was a normal smooth bore shotgun I'd keep it within 75 yards.
 
rodngun said:
What I’m curious about why slug gun, foster slugs in my area cost 20 bucks for a box of 5. 30-30, 308 are more expensive by a dollar or two while providing 15 more cartridges. Are you hunting in a shotgun only zone?
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that little bit of $ savings is nothing really when ur hunting tagged big game.

were going bear hunting next weekend. I would like to use my shotgun. just enjoy it alot. I always find it pretty cool having the power in your shoulder of a 3" slug shell. kinda like a pour mans .50cal. great for putting holes in pretty much anything. Never hunted bear or anything with a slug b4. I think for the first time on both its would be a good match up.

First bear hunt so i find that pretty exciting. using the shotgun with a slug just makes it that much more neat. mix's stuff up a little 2.


always entertaining to read some of your guys stories.
 
By far the most important thing for range is what you and your shotgun can do, and the only way to find out is to shoot it a bunch. Put out an 8'' circle and try to hit it. The range at which you can hit it with whatever sights you do or don't have and whatever ammo you plan to use is the only range that matters.

I mostly hunt in rifle areas, and have not worked that much with slugs, but my performance with no sights (or rather just the bead) and plain rifled slugs is somewhere around 50 yards. I'm sure there are folks who can do much better, but I'd be very impressed if you found you could do better right off the bat -- but only way to find out is to take 4 or 5 boxes to the range and figure it out.

RG

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new to bear and hunting with slugs. far from new to shooting slugs. there more accurate than I think alot of people think. Hitting a vidal size target at 100m with a beed is not that hard and thats with winchester ammo from canadian tire. the $5 for 5 round stuff.
 
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AKD - sorry, no insult intended - sorry I assumed you were new to this. And that's why I wrote that I suspect some people can do much better.

RG

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All my deers have been bang flops with slugs except for one. That would be Buckey. It was first light and he was on the move and I took a shot at him. He was also over 300 lbs. After half an hour or so I called for back up to go find him. Found him about 80 yards away bedded down. When we approached him he got up. I let my buddy shoot him again since he had buckshot and I didn't want to ruin more meat then neccessary. MISTAKE. He just stopped and looked at us......

I then put another slug into him at about 30 yards. When he got hit it looked like he spun in mid air. From standing to landing on his back in the same spot. I was totally awed at the power of the slugs.

I'd have no issues using them on bear....

I use Winchester platinum or gold
 
When bear hunting from a stand or over bait, a slug gun is hard to beat. Shots are close and the slug makes a massive hole. One guy in our Haliburton gun club guides for bears and advises slug guns over bait. Apparently when a rifle bullet exits a fat bear, the fat "plugs" the exit wound. leaving little or no blood trail. The one bear (280 pounds) I shot with my Remington 870 fully rifled using a Lightfied full diameter sabot at 15 paces when he was facing me dropped like a stone. At really short range, a rifle is almost a disadvantage due to over prenatation. One bear does not rule make, but I would use my slug gun again over my 338 or 458 when hunting over bait. Thanks.
 
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