Rifled slug shotgun

ThisIsMyBoomstick

ThisIsMyBoomstick

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Morning,

I've been wanting a Benelli shotgun ever since I had a chance to fire one. With my mortgage nearing its end, I started window shopping. Some of the shotgun descriptions describe a "rifled slug shotgun". Does this mean the barrel is rifled or its a smoothbore designed for rifled slugs? Or can it be either?

I have no real need of one, but the idea of an accurate at range 12 gauge is very intriguing. My shoulder might disagree after a box or two though.

Thanks for the help.
 
Most likely a rifled barrel, designed for slugs, specifically sabot slugs.

They're a bit of a niche thing. If you don't live somewhere that requires a shotgun for hunting then they don't do anything a big game rifle caliber wouldn't. A rifled barrel shotgun is basically a big ass rifle for places where actual rifles are restricted.

They also don't work with shot - they spin the shot cup which destroys your pattern. If you want to shoot birds or clays then you DO NOT want a rifled barrel.
 
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roadglide1 said:
I would recommend a smooth bore barrelled shotgun, and use rifled slugs… as opposed to a rifled barrel shotgun using sabot slugs.
More selection and availability of ammunition with rifled slugs…
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Good point. Sabot, as I just discovered, isn't cheap. And Canada has domestic shotgun shell manufacturers which keeps the money here.
 
Butcherbill said:
Not only are they pricey but the rifled shotgun barrels tend to be very ammo picky, I’ve yet to find a stand of 12g sabot slugs that shoot accurately out of my rifled 870 barrel.
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But when you find the right one, they can get some pretty impressive accuracy!

ThisIsMyBoomstick said:
That explains that then. And, yeah, pretty niche. I just looked at the pricing on sabot rounds. $6/shot. Thanks.
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They're really a hunting-only sort of thing, unless you've got deep pockets thats for sure. Not the sort of thing most people are taking to the range and blowing 50-100 rounds through in a sitting.

If you live in a place where you cannot hunt with a rifle they're fantastic, you can get pretty damn impressive accuracy out of them if you can find a load your gun likes. I've seen a handful of videos and pictures of game taken with rifled barrel slug guns, including moose at over 200yds, so they get the job done... I just have no use for one because I live in a place where rifles of all sorts are legal.
 
I used to own a rifled barrel with a cantalever scope mount for my 870. I tested it with Hornady saboted ammo and it was very accurate at 100 yards, like 2" groups, and the packaging suggested it was effective at 150 yards, without a ton of drop. We have some select areas in Manitoba where there is a second season (December and possibley January) , shotgun only, and those hunters often use that sort of setup. But its all private land I believe. No public lands with that season. 3rd and 4th deer tags were available.
 
As others said, it really depends on what you are doing with it. Holes in paper or ringing steel at 50 yards or less? Smoothbore barrel with rifled slugs is fairly cheap and fun. Maybe push that to 75 yard with Federal TruBall. Deer hunting in an area that only allows shotguns? My deer group uses the Savage 220 bolt action rifled barreled shotgun with Remington Accutips. Good accuracy to over 100 yards with a scope. To me, this "shotgun" is a "rifle" but what do I know?

I agree with Butcherbill that finding a $6 sabot slug that works well with a rifled shotgun barrel can be tricky. My Mossberg 835 is only good to 50 yards with Hornady SST slugs. I would NEVER recommend this gun for 100 yards (at least with the 5 different sabot ammo I have tried - I'm sure I have spent more money on slugs over the years than buying a new shotgun!)

YMMV
 
My smoothbore slug barrel (has adjustable rifle-type sight) on my Wingmaster will group surprisingly well at 50m with the "Foster" type slugs. They are designed like a badminton birdie so as not to tumble with zero rotation. Molds are available to cast them as well.

milsurpo
 
Suther said:
But when you find the right one, they can get some pretty impressive accuracy!
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None of the 5 brands had acceptable accuracy past 50m, the 100m groups were horrible, It’s unfortunate as a 12g sabot would be a great 100-150m black bear caliber for my area. They intrest me, I should probably just start casting and loading sabots and do some experiments.

wasa said:
I agree with Butcherbill that finding a $6 sabot slug that works well with a rifled shotgun barrel can be tricky. My Mossberg 835 is only good to 50 yards with Hornady SST slugs. I would NEVER recommend this gun for 100 yards (at least with the 5 different sabot ammo I have tried - I'm sure I have spent more money on slugs over the years than buying a new shotgun!)

YMMV
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Same here, had something like 3-4” groups at 50m and 10-12” 100m groups. Nothing I’d want to hunt with, nor am I in a shotgun only zone. I just like hunting with a shotgun and I thought a 12g sabot would make a good bear load if I could find one it shot well, tried two different Hornady, two Winchester and a Federal offering. 2.75” and 3”, the Hornady was the best but not great. I’d like to find some Rem Accutips to try, but hard to find the last 4 years.
 
Butcherbill said:
None of the 5 brands had acceptable accuracy past 50m, the 100m groups were horrible, It’s unfortunate as a 12g sabot would be a great 100-150m black bear caliber for my area. They intrest me, I should probably just start casting and loading sabots and do some experiments.


Same here, had something like 3-4” groups at 50m and 10-12” 100m groups
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Thats too bad. Those group sizes are more like what I'd expect from foster slugs in a smoothbore.
 
Absolutely agree. When I traded my 12ga 870 for something less kicky, that first day sighting in the scope stressed me out a bit. $200 worth of sabots and none shot worth a damn. After a trip to the shop for another $150 worth, the 2nd day went better as the accutips(last ones to try) tightened the groups up nicely. Every fall when checking the scope I'll send one downrange at the 10" 200yd gong and no issue smacking it either.
 
Yes, my experience as well .... had a shotgun with a rifled barrel .... and spent over $300.- to try to find a sabot that shot well out of that gun. Only ever got a 5 inch group at 100 meters out of that gun. I get better accuracy out of my 870 smoothbores and Foster slugs.

Rifled barrels can be finnicky .....
 
Personnally, and after trying dozens of different combinations with rifles shotguns and sabot slugs, it is my experience that the most accurate combo is the Savage 220 and 212 models with Remington Accutip slugs, followed by Hornady SST's. I can usually get near-rifle accuracy at 100 yards with Accutips out of the 220, and slightly larger groups with a 212.

The other rifled shotgun that is popular in my neck of the woods is the Mossberg 500, that one is reliably accurate up to 50 yards only. I find that a waste of $6 cartridges when I can duplicate those results by using $2 rifled slugs in a Rem 870 smoothbored slugger with rifle sights. As for some of the Chinese and Turkish sluggers, forget it, you're lucky to hit a pie plate at 50 yards, with any brand of ammo. I haven’t been impressed either with Winchester and Federal sabots in terms of accuracy. And as for those less expensive Challenger rifled slugs, despite the company's claim on the box that they are recommended for use in smoothbore and rifled barrels, they were completely useless in the rifled shotguns i've tried them in.
 
Find a shotgun with two barrels and you can swap them out. I have a Mossy 535 that I reload my own slugs for. Took a bit of testing but I found a load that works. Normally 3 shots at the 100 with 2 touching and the 3rd under 1/2” away. 200 slug reloads during testing wasn’t easy on the shoulder. Glad I had a shoulder pad. I believe I have 5 deer down with that load and gun. Closest was 40 and farthest was 130. Slug guns are ammo sensitive and heat up fast. If I fire 5 shots my group opens up to 6 or 8”‘s.
 
I've tried "the best of both worlds" Brenneke KO slugs and these are good for both rifled and smooth bores (yes, the manufacturer says so, not me mcgyvering it). I tested these up to 100yds with very similar results, shooting off hand (and considering my ability) through either type of barrel.
These are hard to find in Canada - used to be $2/slug last time they were available a couple years back, but can be sourced from US through IRG for a bit less if you order in quantity large enough to offset fees and shipping... I found these to be the most cost effective alternative to ridiculously expensive sabots for when you "just must" (or "just wanna") shoot the rifled barrel... If it weren't for these I would not shoot my rifled barrel.... like ever...
 
I have a browning maxus II with the rifled barrel and it's quite accurate with hornady sst. That said I'd rather use a rifle, but MNRF says otherwise.
 
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