Shotgun Slugs

[Covey Ridge]

remington slugger foster slugs are slightly oversized so i personally wouldnt go tighter than an IC for those, but the accuracy of most other foster slugs benefits from the slightly tighter choke. same goes for brenneke style since they are hardened.

you have to shell out (no pun intended) for a variety of different boxes of commercial slugs and hit the range and see which works best in YOUR shotgun though.

Most slugs other than sabots are oversized to accomodate the variety of bore diameters. Some are hollow on the rear end to allow conformation to size of the bore and make a seal so they will not just bloop down and out of the bore. Some have some sort of wad attached to the bore to accomplish the seal.

Which choke? Much like trying several commercial slugs to see which work best, one should try their slugs with a variety of chokes to determine best.

 

[manbearpig]

i meant that remington fosters were oversized in relation to other foster slugs
all foster slugs are slightly oversize, but sluggers significantly more so. i would hesitate to shoot a 3" magnum slugger through a full choke, for example, heh... but i am sure many people still do.

 

[Hi-Standard]

Foster slugs kill things very well, the properties that make them unsuitable for very large animal like grizzly makes them great for thinner skinned light game.

Deer shot are usually through and through with quick incapacitation as the slugs deforms quickly and when you start with something .729 that equals alot of energy transfer.
Work within the limitations (range mainly) and you shouldn't have any problems.

I guess you would get over expansion and poor penatration in moose, even 50 yrds or less then?

 

[Covey Ridge]

I guess you would get over expansion and poor penatration in moose, even 50 yrds or less then?

I think you would have one dead moose shot clear through!!

 

[B]

I guess you would get over expansion and poor penatration in moose, even 50 yrds or less then?

Pretty much any broadside shot will most likely end up as a through and through. I have never shot a moose but I haven't seen anything short of trees stop a slug.

 

[Covey Ridge]

Pretty much any broadside shot will most likely end up as a through and through. I have never shot a moose but I haven't seen anything short of trees stop a slug.

I think that the only limitation to one of those big slugs is accuracy. It is designed for penetration and with such a large frontal area, expansion is not an issue. It has a larger frontal area than nearly all fully expaned rifle bullets.

I have seen hundreds of bullets recovered from game, but never a slug. If anyone has one recovered and obviously stoped by an anminal, I would love to see a pic.

 

[B]

I think that the only limitation to one of those big slugs is accuracy. It is designed for penetration and with such a large frontal area, expansion is not an issue. It has a larger frontal area than nearly all fully expaned rifle bullets.

I have seen hundreds of bullets recovered from game, but never a slug. If anyone has one recovered and obviously stoped by an anminal, I would love to see a pic.

Same here, which really makes me wonder about it's supposed ineffectiveness for very large game like a grizzly. I imagine the slugs wouldn't reliably reach doown deep, but it should get damn close and the damage caused on the way should be massive.

 

[Covey Ridge]

Same here, which really makes me wonder about it's supposed ineffectiveness for very large game like a grizzly. I imagine the slugs wouldn't reliably reach doown deep, but it should get damn close and the damage caused on the way should be massive.

Til this thread I have never heard one described as ineffective unless it is in the ability to deliver the payload on the right spot. Faced with a point blank griz encounter I would want to be loaded with a 12 bore slugs and and a very sharpe knife! I would use the knife to slice my throat if a couple slugs didn't do the trick.

 

[Hi-Standard]

This is all very interesting. I have heard several stories from friends that have downed moose with rifles, only to discover after quartering and skinning, old shotgun slugs(foster type) just beneath the skin. Maybe these were long shots then? Past 100 yards?

 

[B]

This is all very interesting. I have heard several stories from friends that have downed moose with rifles, only to discover after quartering and skinning, old shotgun slugs(foster type) just beneath the skin. Maybe these were long shots then? Past 100 yards?

If they aren't BSing I would say that those were indeed poorly thought out "long" range shots.

 

[B]

If your friends aren't BSing I would say they are indeed poorly though out "long" range shots.

 

[Covey Ridge]

This is all very interesting. I have heard several stories from friends that have downed moose with rifles, only to discover after quartering and skinning, old shotgun slugs(foster type) just beneath the skin. Maybe these were long shots then? Past 100 yards?

Maybe they were long shots? Who knows how far? Maybe they were just stories? I have seen birdshot, buckshot, bb cap balls, musket balls, .17 jacket fragments, .22 solids, .22 hollow points and many jacketed rifle bullets of many different calibers and in many states of retention, but I have never seen a shot gun slug of any kind that was recovered from a game animal? Now there might be many reasons why I have never seen one? Maybe…just because… after all I haven’t seen everything yet….. but maybe penetration wasn’t an issue and very few have been recovered? On the other hand, I have heard many bullet failure stories and read many on this forum, but never one slug failure where failure was due to lack of penetration? Leads me to conclude…..well it does not lead me to conclude anything, but I would sure like to see a recovered slug!

 

[manbearpig]

i dont think that the cheap 2 3/4" foster style slugs should be used on moose, any more than i think than something like cheap $10 centrefire ammo should. thats not to say that i dont think they can kill it, but why not spend a little more money and get a better bullet designed for the job? youll most likely only be taking one shot, why not stack the odds in your favor?

for anything larger than deer get brenneke slugs, they have been proven to be far superior to foster slugs in terms of penetration and accuracy - all important to ensure a clean kill. they have a slight controlled expansion around the nose, but otherwise they retain their shape.

the only way i can see one being recovered from an animal is if it 'pinballs' inside it and doesnt exit.
there was a case of a man shot with a brenneke sabot slug in a drive-by shooting, the slug actually entered and exited him six times, deflecting out and back through his jeans, shoe, etc. eventually being found inside his clothing, with no fragmentation and very little deformation. a second slug was also recovered from him that had passed through the tailgate of a truck.

 

[redleg]

Bison could be considered big game. They were dispatched in large numbers by relatively slow, but heavy, lead bullets. There is no reason to believe that this type of projectile has become less effective with time. For use at 100 yds or so shotgun slugs are quite effective. As pointed out, get quality slugs just as you would choose quality rifle ammo.

 

[B]

Does TSE happen to sell Brenneke slugs by any chance? I have never seen them in AB. I haven't really been looking though @ $3 a shot.

 

[Covey Ridge]

Does TSE happen to sell Brenneke slugs by any chance? I have never seen them in AB. I haven't really been looking though @ $3 a shot.

I saw a bunch at WS in Calgary a while back. I think they sold them in boxes of 10. Next time there I'll check on them!

 

[B]

I saw a bunch at WS in Calgary a while back. I think they sold them in boxes of 10. Next time there I'll check on them!

Awesome, some of the 1 1\4 OZ bad boys would be nice to have.

 

[gonecountry]

Rebel3.0 and I went to the range on sunday and he brought some Winchester Super X, 3inch 1oz slugs that are 1760fps. He was using a remington 870 with 28inch barrel and a regular modified choke. We were extremely impressed by the accuracy of these, as we have read on here that if you dont have a rifled barrel or rifled choke tube with sabot slugs or the most expensive regular type slugs that, you are just wasting your time.

These slugs hit point of aim at 50yds and were within 9 inches of point of aim at 100yds. Although the 3 inchers do have ALOT of recoil and after 5 or 6 rds accuracy suffered, mostly from possible flinching. I think that we could try out some 2 3/4 inchers to see how close they hit compared to the 3's and how much easier they are on the shoulder. With some more practice I dont think either of us would hesitate to try one on a deer out to 100yds.

As for the energy at or past 100yds they are throwing a 1oz. or 437.5 grain slug at a claimed 1760fps. Thats just as good as a 45-70 and no one on here says that a 45-70 isnt any good past that distance.

 

[Covey Ridge]

As for the energy at or past 100yds they are throwing a 1oz. or 437.5 grain slug at a claimed 1760fps. Thats just as good as a 45-70 and no one on here says that a 45-70 isnt any good past that distance.

Good Point!


1 oz. slug!
1760 f.p.s!

Just because said slug has done one hell of a lot of damage going through, does not mean it acted anything like an explosive vermen pellets at ultra high velocity, and therefore lacks penetration. Without expanding one iota a one oz. slug will displace a lot of flesh and bone! It's like comparing a smart car to a freight train! Freight train might be going slower, but sure is tough to stop.
amen eh!

 

[Brutus]

Tis' do-able fellas...just takes a good gun and acceptable ammo up to the task, and add that all important ingrediant: Practice Practice Practice!