hunting with rifled shotguns - can someone point me to any good articles on how-to?

[Mr. Friendly]

I'm looking into getting the 20ga and 12ga rifled barrels from T/C for my Pro Hunter frame. I will use my Google-Fu, but wonder if anyone can point out any good articles to read about this type of hunting vs. a rifle?

tyvm!

 

[rifleman762]

Consider using these slugs: https://www.remington.com/ammunition/shotshell/slugs/premier-accutip-sabot-slugs. Pricey as heck at almost $5 a shot but they are a true 200 yard slug. I've seen it in person on a deer. Other than that, it's just a matter of not being able to snipe them from far away. For a lot of hunting, a 200 yard distance limit is not an issue.

 

[Mr. Friendly]

I'll be hunting the itty bitsy black tails on Haida Gwaii most likely, so range won't be extreme.

I'm curious though, what kind of difference in ballistics will there be between the 12ga and 20ga? are there more options than just 1oz, as that's all I've ever seen for 12ga, 20ga and .410, which I had/used when I had a Handi Rifle.

 

[0faustus0]

Here is my experience ....

Slug shotguns with rifled barrels are very ammo sensitive. Meaning the ammo from one manufacturer will give you a 10 inch circle at 100 meters .... some other type will not even hit paper at that distance .... and then you might find some that will give you a sub 2 inch group at 100 meters. I had to test lots of different ammo in order to find one that will shoot 2 inch groups out of my 870 with Hastings barrel. And sabot slugs are quite expensive ... so I spent a little fortune just to find the ammo that my gun likes and to sight it in.

Also, after 100 meters the projectile will drop dramatically. I consider my setup a 120 meter setup ... because it will hit 2 inches low at 120 meters .... and at 50 meters I will hit 2 inches high. So, nothing really to worry about for deer hunting .... But at 200 meters my setup shoots 23 inches low .... and that is too much for my tastes.

I use the Nikon Spot On calculator to compare the drop of different commercial slug loads ....

http://spoton.nikonsportoptics.com

My Hastings barrel likes Federal PowerShok 12ga, 2 3/4", 1oz sabot loads.

One more thing ... in general shotguns are not really designed to be shot with a scopes ... and for myself I need a proper cheek weld in order to be able to shoot a gun accurately. So, I had to find a stock where I could adjust the cheek rest height and in order to find a height that is comfortable for me .... I ended up with a Magpul stock for my 870 ....

For reading ....

Shotgun Slug Accuracy Tips from the American Slug Shooting Association

 

[blasted_saber]

I'd go with the 20g. Better ballistics and half the recoil of the 12g.

Effective range should quite easily be 150m or better. Will kill a lot of things dead, including deer.

 

[Mr. Friendly]

thanks Saber, 20ga it is.

reading that article now Faustus, gratzi!

 

[brybenn]

My slug guns shoot full bore slugs very well. I dont use sabots. Basically the same as rifle hunting only at a shorter range.

 

[LawrenceN]

I use a Remington Mod.870 in 20 ga. I've used sabots almost from the git-go in my rifled barrel and they shoot very well up to 100 m. Anything over that where I hunt, and it's rifle time. I can attest that the recoil is considerably less than a 12 ga. and the results are just as dramatic if you place your shot correctly.

 

[Mr. Friendly]

has anyone shot with different barrel lengths? any report of how much length varies velocity and/or accuracy? and for the gits n shiggles of asking, anyone have a ported barrel for shooting slugs?

 

[brybenn]

For smooth bores with slugs anything laonger than 18.5" doesnt really effect velocity. Ive chronographed my cast slugs in 18.5" 20" 22" 23" 24" 26.5" 27.75" 28" 30" and 32" there was about 80fps spread over the entire spectrum. More probable a result of dumping powder by volume than barrel length
I only have 2 rifled slug barrels in which ive only used 1. I wont mention the velocities ive gotten from it in my experimentations as you wont find them listed in a manual

Needless to say my homemade lee drive slugs are effective to 40 yards on deer where as factory brenneke or rio star or challanger full bore slugs im good untill my front blade obscures to much of the target. Which is about 100 yards for me. When scoped ive lobbed challanger slugs in all the way to 225 yards. They make a hell of a whack on ar500 plate way out there

 

[pbonura]

20 ga savage 220 is a great long range slug gun. when I mean long range I mean less than 150 yards max. If you are cheap mossberg has 12 ga or 20 ga combo with field and slug barrels.

 

[Bushbasher]

I used Hornady SST in my rifled 870 300 grain sabots and they would put 3 into a cigarette pack at 100 meters easily.

 

[Winchested]

A rifled barrel on a shotgun makes it a rifle, treat it no different other than its way more expensive to shoot. Try different ammo until you find one that shoots 2" groups at 50. Then you're good.

 

[rem74283]

20 ga savage 220 is a great long range slug gun. when I mean long range I mean less than 150 yards max. If you are cheap mossberg has 12 ga or 20 ga combo with field and slug barrels.

The savage 220 will go much farther than 150yrds. I've personally seen a hunting buddy shoot his 212 175 yards and drop a deer. We both bought 220's this year. There is a video on YouTube showing four guys drop four deer four nights in a row at 300yrds using a savage 220 on a bipod with 3" Rem accutip sabots.