Smooth Bore - 100 Meters ??

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0faustus0

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Ok, I just got back from the range ... giving it a try with my 870 Police at 100 meters. And with Federal TruBalls ...

18.5 inch barrel .... smooth bore ... and ghost ring sights.

870_Police_Ghost_Rings_100_Meters_TruBalls_LowRes.jpg


870_Police_Ghost_Ring_Sights.jpg


So, now I am wondering ... what kind of groups do people get with smooth bores at 100 meters?

  • 2 inch groups?
  • 3 inch groups?
  • 4 inch groups?
  • 5 inch groups?
  • 10 inch groups?

And with what setup .... gun ... caliber ... sighting system .... ammo??

Please chime in ...

(again smooth bore ... not rifled barrels)
 
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Please take in mind that this is coming from a rookie....Last fall, i “impromtu” sighted in my Beretta A390, 12 gage with a 22” smooth barrel that shoots both 2-3/4” and 3” rifled slugs, topped with Nikon Prostaff Shotgun Hunter 2x7. First, I tried the 2-3/4” Federal slugs (1600fps) and they were all over the place, plus I thought they kicked like hell. At approximately 50m, I had trouble getting them within 8”. Next we’re the 2-3/4” Remington Sluggers (1300fps), i had them down to 3”. In the end, i carried the softer shooting Sluggers for my hunt, because they built my confidence a bit, but not enough to attempt a “sniper shot” way past +100 yards and beyond.
 
It's been much too long ago, but in my example I used an M37 Ithaca Deerslayer Police Special. 20 inch barrel and its issue iron front sight and LAPD wedge type rear sight. I tried Winchester 2 3/4 foster slugs and RWS Brennekes at 25-50 and 100 meters.
IIRC there was 8-9 inches drop at 100. But for the life of me I cannot remember which slug delivered this drop. Three shot groups hovered around 4-5 inches and got worse with a dirtier barrel at 100. Brennekes had about one inch more drop at 50 with less recoil than the fosters. I lost those targets many moves ago.

Edit: I neglected to mention this LAPD wedge patirige style rearsight was supposed to be bang on at 25 with fosters. It is a fixed rear sight meant to be sturdy for street engagements and mimics a revolver sight. So even at 50 you had to compensate a little bit.
 
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An old timer in our hunting group brought out his Mossberg 500 bantam in 20g when we were sighting in our rifles. I tried it out with some Hornady sabots and I'll be damned if it didn't make a nice 4" group at 100 yards with the iron sights.
 
5" with my 870. Smooth bore rifle sights shooting Winchester Rackmasters

I wouldnt shoot it that far at a deer though, too much variance when field conditions are in play. It does a pretty clover leaf at 50m though
 
blasted_saber said:
5" with my 870. Smooth bore rifle sights shooting Winchester Rackmasters

I wouldnt shoot it that far at a deer though, too much variance when field conditions are in play. It does a pretty clover leaf at 50m though
Click to expand...

Same gun. I get 7 inch groups with foster slugs and 6 inch with Brennecke sabot slugs. Longest shot I would take while hunting would be 50 yrds, so that is plenty accurate.
 
Personally I am having a hard time with slugs at 50 yard, let alone 100 but I don't use them much, if at all.

That was with a ATA Venza 26'' long barrel and iron sights.
 
blasted_saber said:
5" with my 870. Smooth bore rifle sights shooting Winchester Rackmasters

I wouldnt shoot it that far at a deer though, too much variance when field conditions are in play. It does a pretty clover leaf at 50m though
Click to expand...

Blasted_saber, I am with you there ... with my gun the sighting picture is just ... don't know how to word it ... maybe just too "crude". My front bead was covering nearly all of the paper target ... I would need to be very very desperate and starving to take a shot at a deer at 100 meters with that setup.

And I have tried the Winchester Rackmasters in the past ... and they seem to be accurate.

And yes, clover leaves at 50 meters!

Federal_TruBall_Slug_500px.jpg
 
You know ...you can get MOA with that same rig ...at any distance...if you only take one shot (yuk, yuk, yuk).

Just kidding.

I tried the same amo at 50 yds and found it grouped better than the other brands. I had a Fast Fire III and that helped immensely.
I decided then and there, though, that slug hunting wasn’t for me. Tooooo much kick.
 
Years ago, I did an experiment using various slugs in my Rem 870 - 20 in cylinder barrel with iron sights. Performance amongst the various brands varied wildly, from very poor to so-so. A buddy of mine suggested I try the cheapo 2 3/4 in Winchester fodder, and wow, it was the best by a long shot. I recall it was clover-leafing at 50 y, and 3-4 in groups at 100y.(probably limited by my eyes and the short sight radius)
So don't be fooled by the marketing hype, try all types.
 
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I like rio star slugs myself. Other than brenneke gold slugs theyre about all i ever use. I shoot alot of home cast lee drive slugs but the best i can get with my home casts are 4 to 5" groups at 50 yards. With my factory loads i can rip mostly ragged holes at 50 yards over a bench with a scope. 3 to 4" groups off hand and a bead
 
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