Slug gun finally sighted in

cantgetright

cantgetright

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Ontario
2 days and $200 in slugs later, my SX3 slug gun is finally shooting good. Couldn't get 6" groups at 50yds the first day, get 2 that were within 2-3" then the 3rd would miss the paper(12x12)
Checked the barrel and the scope and everything was tight. Had to call it quits for the day as I was getting frustrated. New day and new slugs and the Remington accutips, the last ones I had to try, shot terrific with no flyers after 10 shots. The others I tried were Winchester gold partition, federal trophy copper and Hornady SST, all 20ga 2 3/4" and 260gr or 275gr slug. I couldn't believe how much difference there was just by using different slugs. The gun was close to going up for sale.
 
Glad you got it sighted in and found a load that it likes. I gave up on the rifled barrels for my 870s. Never could seem to get it right with either the 12 or 20 gauges. I was at the range this am with my smoothbore rifled sighted slug gun. Sighted in at 50 yards and getting 2 to 3 " groups with Challenger slugs. Won't be shooting past 50 yards and generally a lot closer. Guess we are both good to go for the controlled hunt next week. Best of luck next week. Cheers Bac4
 
cantgetright said:
2 days and $200 in slugs later, my SX3 slug gun is finally shooting good. Couldn't get 6" groups at 50yds the first day, get 2 that were within 2-3" then the 3rd would miss the paper(12x12)
Checked the barrel and the scope and everything was tight. Had to call it quits for the day as I was getting frustrated. New day and new slugs and the Remington accutips, the last ones I had to try, shot terrific with no flyers after 10 shots. The others I tried were Winchester gold partition, federal trophy copper and Hornady SST, all 20ga 2 3/4" and 260gr or 275gr slug. I couldn't believe how much difference there was just by using different slugs. The gun was close to going up for sale.
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Accutips my 20ga likes. Gold partitions, it is friendly with (ie, the groups aren’t as good as accutips, but more than adequate for deer). Hornady, it does not like.

I swapped my dusk till dawn for a trs-25 red dot this season. The dusk till dawn will likely be going back on unless I get another red dot. Out to 50yds, no problems. Nice and tight. As soon as the target went to 100yds I couldn’t hit the 2x3 board that the paper was on. This was shooting from a sled.

We dickered around a little, but i had stupidly waited until the day before season open to get around to putting the red dot on. The dusk till dawn was already off, as earlier in the year I had to get new rings. The day was drawing to a close, and it had been an expensive day of ammo, so I just verified at 50 yds and called it a day.
Of course second last day I am presented with perfect broadside shots on two does, but they were at 80yds. I told myself going in, nothing much farther than 50, and I stuck to it. The only consolation was that a buddy had at least dropped the third one, which is what had sent them back my way.
 
I have come to the same findings with Challenger slugs, I shoot with iron sights at suitable ranges and have found that if I do my part that I can usually get 3 rounds to nearly touch each other at 50yds with both 12 and 20ga. I also shoot the same Gaulandi (?) style slug in Rottweil Exact guise out of a 16ga with the same results. All Auto 5’s, all open sights. I’ve shot 7 deer between the 3 gauges with Gaulandi style slugs, all were pass thru’s. I spent horrific money one year trying to find a load that would shoot well out of a Hastings Paradox barrel eventually to find 3” 12ga 385gr Partition Golds shot the best. I shot my best deer last year with that rig but honestly, after dressing out the deer, it didn’t do any better than the Challengers. Until I go back to a Savage 220/3” Accutip set up when I get too old to see irons, reasonably priced, commonly available, Canadian Challenger slugs are for me!
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Maybe the heat was effecting groups? Shotguns have thin barrels that heat up rather quickly which can have a significant impact on groups.

I grew tired of having a multi purpose shotgun and dropped the cash for a dedicated slug gun, a savage 220.
 
I have heard that theory. If the barrel is Luke warm it’s too hot. I’ve also heard that shotgun Ammo, slugs in particular, are much more lot sensitive than rifle Ammo and if you find a load that prints well buy up a bunch of the same lot. In any event, I had a Savage 220, had good accuracy with the 3” Accutips, but as it goes I grew bored and went back to my roots. I zero’d my 16ga slug barrel recently with 3 x 3 rd groups and shot the deer with shot number 10 shown in the pic that I dug out of the hill after it passed thru. I wouldn’t have been able to zero that satisfactorily and quickly with sabots with a rifled barrel. I stand hunt so shots range from 10-75yrds so I don’t need the advantages of range offered by sabots, I can also choose my shot ordinarily on an animal that doesn’t know what’s coming.
 
canadian hunter312 said:
Maybe the heat was effecting groups? Shotguns have thin barrels that heat up rather quickly which can have a significant impact on groups.

I grew tired of having a multi purpose shotgun and dropped the cash for a dedicated slug gun, a savage 220.
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I shot over 2 days, did not let the barrel get warm at all, checked it after every couple shots. This is my dedicated slug gun, no extra barrels, as is my dedicated turkey gun, dedicated trap gun and dedicated bird gun. Myself and a buddy looked into the savages as they are known to be such good shooters but after trying 3 different ones at the store they all had trouble cycling the 2nd round into the chamber and I didn't want a single shot.
 
cantgetright said:
I shot over 2 days, did not let the barrel get warm at all, checked it after every couple shots. This is my dedicated slug gun, no extra barrels, as is my dedicated turkey gun, dedicated trap gun and dedicated bird gun. Myself and a buddy looked into the savages as they are known to be such good shooters but after trying 3 different ones at the store they all had trouble cycling the 2nd round into the chamber and I didn't want a single shot.
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Why a semi for a dedicated slug gun?
 
Winchested said:
Why a semi for a dedicated slug gun?
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Was moving from a 12ga Remington pump slug gun to a 20ga slug gun and they had a great price on them because shop was sent twice as many as they ordered. I've looked at savage as I stated earlier, buddy had 20ga Remington combo where the smooth bore shot slugs better than the slug barrel. Gunsmith said the Remington 20ga didn't shoot as well because of the short barrel. Wasn't even looking for another one but the price was too good to pass up. I am quite happy with it now, had it out for the controlled hunt this week and it shoots minute of pigeon at 50yds.
 
re sighted my fully rifled chiappa lever 12 gauge yesterday. 5 boxes of sabots and my shoulder looks like ground meat . has those skinner sights and took a while to figure out elevation,had a red dot on her and scope did not hold up to recoil. even the front sight works itself loose with blue locktite.100 bucks for 25 shells and it shoots still low at 50 yards. going to look for a rail and strong scope that can take recoil any suggestions
 
I thought that I needed a Browning A Bolt 12ga once with a fully rifled barrel. I thought that it just had to be accurate given that it’s a bolt gun manufactured by a reputable company. I shot exactly 2 boxes of slugs out of it before I traded it. The recoil was so fierce that I literally saw stars and the accuracy wasn’t satisfactory to endure any more punishment. I’ve owned and fired some pretty heavy recoiling rifles such as 375 H&H’s and 338 Win mags but nothing prepared me for that thing. After that I started looking at 20ga options, at the time the Savage 220F was gaining serious traction and some of the 20ga saboted slugs would out run a 12 after 100yds owing to better BC. So.....I bought a 220, actually experienced excellent accuracy with 3” Accutips and shot a small 6pt buck and it passed thru. Recoil seemed a fraction to that of a 12, so from then on I sort of gave up the thought of needing a 12. Auto 5’s are different, if set up properly, and considering their weight (my mag 12 is 9# with a Hastings Paradox bbl), they are soft shooting guns. It’s not at all unusual to finish a shooting session because I’m out of slugs or turkey loads as opposed to ‘I should really stop shooting because I’m flinching too badly and wasting ammo’. The auto 5 thing is a recognized sickness and certainly not many folk’s taste.

Unless you are stuck on a 12, I would suggest going the 20ga route. If you are stuck on the 12 that you have look into either 2 3/4” or reduced recoil loads. Lighter scope (you don’t need a lot of magnification anyway), heavier mounting system, proper torque, should help with the scope. The fore sight working loose doesn’t sound right. Good luck!!
 
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