Slugs for deer hunting

coyote1664

coyote1664

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So i am looking for opinions on which slug to shoot for deer. I shoot a mossberg 500, rifled barrel and a red dot. My yardages would be max 100 yds. I have shot a few different ones and have found the Hornady sst 300gr ftx and Lightfield Hybred Exp 546gr shoot best. I have only tested them at 25 yds, but if I do my part I expect the same if not slightly larger groups at 100yds. I like the speed of the hornady but I like the heavier solid lead slug in the lightfield. What are your thoughts.

 
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Personally I wouldn't base my choice, accuracy wise, on 25 yd groups. If you plan on a 100 yd max, I'd try to shoot to at least 75, if not 100, as 25 yd groups can be very deceptive. Beyond that, my choice has always been to use the heaviest slug that shoots best. Good luck with your choice.
 
OP. You do know, most sluts, they have difficulty flying straight for very long/far.
Last one I test rode, she booted me in the shoulder 'n emptied me wallet.

I'd go with the lightfields, test 'em out to 100yds.
Nice groups.
 
So hot and fast, twisted ribbed barrel for the best wad control....though I hear a smooth pipe with a twisted choke works for some.(Though this is not my style) And the tightest 5 shot group gets the thumbs up.....
And you want to shoot your loads at 75 to 100 because you never know what you are going to get at 25. Pick up what ever one you feel the most comfotable with.
I hear Hornady sluts are good but stay away from chedite ones. And if you make a 3/4" hole going in try to use ones that leaves as big a hole as possible coming out.
 
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I went back to a 20 1300 xtr last year (i know you said 12) rifled barrel, tested several brands and found the sst 2 3/4 to group better then anything else even the 3 inchers. as far as effectiveness i hit a nice buck opening morning through the vitals at approx 40 yards and man did that sst ever pack a punch, entry had some seriouse hydrashock to it the back end was up over his head when it hit, none the less he didnt make it too far from there leaving a nice blood trail with relatively little spoilage. even for hunting a controlled rifle area i think ill stick with my 20 and sst's. good luck whichever you go with.
 
I know they're not cheap, but you really should buy a box of several different types and try them all at 75 or 100 yards. Slugs are like rimfires...each gun has its likes and dislikes. Then, when you find the one you and your gun like, buy a few boxes, use up enough to sight-in and check your trajectory out to shooting range...easily 150+ with good slugs...and then hoard the rest like gold.

I had good luck in several guns with Winchester Partition Gold sabot slugs. I also had amazingly good results with Challengers...not sabots, but shot extremely well for me, out of several smoothbores and rifled barrels...and they're way cheaper than premium sabot loads.

My limited experiments with rifled choke tubes in smoothbores all yielded terrible results.

Now that I live in a rifle zone, life is good...but I kept my most accurate slug shotgun (H&R Ultra) and still enjoy shooting it once in awhile. :)
 
Try rackmaster slugs if you are cheap or remington copper solids or they lightfield. Mossberg makes their slug barrels with a 1 in 35 twist so a slower slug at 100 yards should group better.
 
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