Best slug for smooth bore

Crazytrout

Crazytrout

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
149   0   0
Getting ready for bear season and have decided to use my 12 gauge shotgun with a smothbore. The range between my post and the bait is well within effective range.

Get good groups with the el' cheapo Winchester rifled slugs, 2 3/4 hollow point, 1 ounce, but want to make sure with my next visit to the range I try other brands/options.

What say you?

Regards

CT
 
ok, I have a Winchestet 1300 shotgun with Winchokes and i tried shooting a slug out of a full choke and it was terrible, at 50 yards it was like 9" away from my point of aim so i said this is rediculas and put in the rifle choke tube that i have and it was perfect... I shot 2 different types of slugs from it the first one was a 3" remington rifled slug, the second was a 2 3/4" wichester rifled slug.. the remington one shot better from the rifled choke tube!
 
7.62mm said:
Challenger slugs work the best out of my 870 smoothbore.:D

7.62mm
Click to expand...
Same here, so far. I still want to try the brenneke, as previously stated as well as I have a red dot on top, to see what patterns the best. Although I dont expect the same results as a sabot/rifled barrel combo!
 
Every shotgun is different.

Just buy a box of everything and test.

There was a thread, last year, on the in-effectiveness of Challenger slugs for hunting. I believe it was started by BiggRed.
 
Challenger slugs are not efficient at delivering energy on large game.
There are a couple of problems that I can identify... The wads have a tendency to seperate causing flyers and can also cause the slug to Yaw or turn inside the animal. And the lead/alloy is very hard (poor energy) compared to other better slugs like Brennekes and Federal.
I am not the only one that has witnessed a disproportionate number of wounded and lost deer with Challenger Slugs compared to other slugs... ask Doug.
 
I personally have tried several brands out of my shotguns, and in the standard loads (2-3/4 inch) have had the best luck with Winchester and in the magnums the best performers were either Federal or Remington. With either of these loads, my 11-87 smooth bore with rifle sights and IC choke could cloverleaf these loads at 50 yards.
 
If you are using foster slugs or attached wad slugs through a smoothbore for big game your minimum weight for the slug should be 1 1/8th ounce... one ounce slugs are accurate on paper but crap on big game. Especially Big deer and Bears....
 
When I am on stand, and have 75 -125 yds of clear space, I use my fully rifled cantelivered barrel 870, with a 2x7x33 bushnell elite 3200. Remington Premier Copper Solids round out this combo, and I get fantastic groups with these.

When I push, I use the smoothbore barrel, with the Challengers, as I have stated earlier. I get great groups with these, and my last 3 deer that I took, were no more than 20 yds. I would be willing to switch slugs, but the challengers were bang flop, for me, and I tried many different brands of the Foster style Slugs, with different chokes ie. mod, imp, imp cyl, full, but I just could not get any of them to group worth a s#$t. I know the country that we hunt in is very dense, and a 50 yd shot is unlikely.

Bigredd, I appreciate your experience, as I have read that you have personnally tested most slugs out there, but why would I switch slugs? I know that all shotguns will give different results with the same slugs, and same choke combinations, but my suggestion is, to buy as may different brands that you can afford, and test them with as many different choke combo's that you have. Use the one that gives you the most confidence, for me that means the ones that give me the best groups at 50 yds, for my smoothbore.

7.62mm
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom