Bush Gun - Slug Choice

I just use the federal 2 3/4 1oz rifled slugs, and go slug/00 buck/slug/00 buck
It's cheap and will certainly do the trick. I had some buck hammer slugs that worked well also
 
I shot a 350 pound hog in Sask this spring with a Hornady, SST, 12 guage sabot slug. If if can drop that in its tracks, its got my vote. That, and some 00 Buckshot, your set. I'd bet my life on em..
 
All things being equal, my first choice Brenneke, second choice Challenger, and any shells loaded with fosters is my third choice.

Recovered Brennekes with a foster for comparison:
Slugs.jpg


Challenger:
Challenger.jpg


As a word to the wise, confirm your zero each time you try a new load, don't assume Federals, Brennekes, Challengers, Winchesters, or anything else, all shoot to the same point of aim in your gun. Don't assume that a shot pattern will center on your slug's point of impact, it might, but confirm that it does. Choose one slug load for serious work, zero the gun to it, and use Kentucky windage rather than adjusting the sights if shooting anything else. Anything you do with a protection load in your gun must be proven for POA/POI and reliability in feeding and firing. Any hiccups you discover must be addressed prior to going into the field. If for example, Federal slug loads cycle more reliably in your gun than Brennekes, that makes Federal the better choice for that gun despite any advantage the Brenneke might have in terminal performance. I've had a few guns that had firing pins that were too short to reliably fire the deep seated Federal primers, so I found Winchester slugs were better in those guns. But shoot that load in that gun enough to prove that the combination will protect you if it needs to.
 
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Boomer said:
All things being equal, my first choice Brenneke, second choice Challenger, and any shells loaded with fosters is my third choice.

Recovered Brennekes with a foster for comparison:
Slugs.jpg


Challenger:
Challenger.jpg


Wow... didn't think the recovered ones would be that different. I have been walking the bush with 3" Foster Win. slugs for a long time, although I have two boxes of 3" Rottweil Exacts in my safe. well, no more.
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Cabelas is carrying the Challenger slugs and they seem to be great.

I have stopped using 00 buck on things such as bears and hogs after a hog incident a number of years ago. I was called to get rid of some wild boars that had been destroying a certain farmers yard and had killed one of their dogs. I pulled up and found the herd just leaving and I grabbed my 870 out of the rack. I had slugs in my pocket, but the gun was loaded with 00 buck (low recoil).

I emptied the gun into the first large boar which was approx. a 350 pounder, and all it did was make it squeel and start turning in circles. I reloaded with an Imperial 7/8 oz slug and touched it off right behind the shoulder of the pig and he went straight down as though hit by a hammer.

By the time the shooting stopped there was in excess of a dozen pigs on the ground - most of which fell to 12 gauge slugs. When skinning out that first 350 pounder, most of the pellets were found just under the hide embedded in a thick layer of fat and cartilage. Non that I could see made it past ribs. I was convinced that the low recoil buck was only good for shooting people in t-shirts and pyjamas after that and have no confidence in the stuff for putting down animals.

What was confirmed in my mind was the power of a shotgun slug as the one that hit the pig passed completely through and left a hole the size of a baseball on the far side.
 
luke s said:
what good is low recoil buck for hunting?? isnt it intentionally downloaded with less powder for less power?
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The low recoil makes faster more accurate follow-up shots possible (especially for the less experienced) and makes practice much less painful compared to the full power rounds. The low recoil stuff will most times pattern better at longer ranges and it penetrates damned near as deep as the full power loads. It became popular stuff after it was marketed for Law Enforcement...
 
VLT79 said:
The low recoil makes faster more accurate follow-up shots possible (especially for the less experienced) and makes practice much less painful compared to the full power rounds. The low recoil stuff will most times pattern better at longer ranges and it penetrates damned near as deep as the full power loads. It became popular stuff after it was marketed for Law Enforcement...
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That just suggests to me that full power buckshot is only good on people and doesn't belong in the game field anymore than the reduced velocity stuff. If it ain't got feathers (with the exception of crowded camp grounds or populated areas) use slugs.
 
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