any one using slugs here?

[andrew]

I didnt know excatly what forum to put this in so I will put it here. I need to know if anyone uses rifled slugs for hunting balck bear or deer. How do they preform?

[Kickaha]

I thought about using slugs for a walking around defense weapon while hunting pigs (and let my brother take the long shots). ###

I was warned.

So I got a few boxes to try out. ###My shoulder still hasn't forgiven me. ###I still have two boxes (10 rounds) left that will never be used. ###

I must be getting old....

[sven]

Slugs from a shotgun would be very effective on deer, and probably bear too on shorter range shots.

We're limited to shotguns or smokepoles in IL for deer season, and over 99,000 deer were had at the hands of slugs in our state alone.

A rifled slug on an open site gun is effective out to about 50 yards. ###Put a low powered scope on and you can probably go to 100 yards. ###You can also go with a rifled shotgun barrel and send 45-50 caliber soboted rounds at over 2000fps at em.

[Art338]

One of the few things that I am rather well informed about is shot gun slugs, both fosters and sabots. My personal favorite Foster styile slug is manufactered by Active/Lightfield and is a 2.75" magnum, 1oz, attatched wad foster slug design. Out of my scoped 21" improved cylinder, with a rifled choked 870, I consistantly get 2.5" to 3.5" three shot 100yrd groups. Honest to goodness, no kidding. Actives out preform all other foster style slugs that I have ever shot, hands down. My freinds and I have lost track of the No# of deer we have taken at btwn 90 to 100yrds with these slugs. I have even taken three deer at 125yrds.
My present favorite Sabot style slug is Winchesters' new Supream Partition Gold Sabot. It propels a 385grn, .50cal projectile at an honest 1955fps @the muzzle and is dead on at 150yrds, and makes for a ligitamate, leathal 200yrd slug gun. My range testing showed it only droped btwn 6" to 7" @200yrds. This slug is serious besiness, and out preforms the 45/70 at equal ranges. It would be suitable for ANY game animal in North America, save for the largest of bears. Out of my scoped Savage 210 I average 1.5" to 2" three shot 100yrd groups, and can easly keep all my shots in a paper plate at 200yrds while firing from various hunting stances at the range. This slug presently represents the state of the art in Sabot slug technology. Remington and Lightfield are also producing sabots with similar praformance envelopes.
The second best sabot on the market and the best FOR THE MONEY at present IMHO, is the Lightfield Hybread Sabot. It is a 1.25oz attatched wad Sabot that has a solid effective range of 125yrds. Thay can be had on sale at $6.00 per box of five.
I truely beleive that Sabots have reached the pinnical of their performance envelopes, because of range limmitations in the name of safety, if for no other reason.
One last thing. If anyone has a Browning fully rifled A-Bolt slug hunter for sale, please email me at arthurjr@prodigy.net. If its in VG shape i will buy it.

(Edited by Art338 at 4:24 pm on Feb. 25, 2002)

[goatman]

I'm from IL also. I shoot a Remington 1100 20ga. rifled barrel. I know I'm not in the brotherhood of 12ga. but you can only kill a deer so dead. I shoot the remington sabots and of the 8 deer I've taken since getting this gun there is one side effect I didn't count on. Only one traveled 70yds. the rest dropped. I would like to try the Federal sabots because I'm a MZBarnes fan. But I bet the Winchester's are also very capable.

[THBailey]

I filled one of my tags last season with a shotgun. ###I used a Remington 1100 with a Remington fully rifled barrel and a cantalever mounted Tasco shotgun scope. ###I bought the barrel with the scope off of Ebay. ###I tried foster style slugs and they would not group under two feet at 100 yards. ###I was thinking I had found out why the unit was for sale on Ebay. ###On advise from some others who would know such things, I tried some sabot ammo. ###What a difference!!! ### The gun groups under two inches at 100 yards with the Federal 1 ounce lead sabots. ###I shot the buck at about 75 yards, a broadside standing still shot. ###The slug went right where I held, behind the shoulders in the lungs. ###The slug went clean through the animal leaving a large wound channel. ###The buck ran full speed for 50 yards or so and fell over dead as a door nail.

[shaginator]

Good info, Art338.

Gets me thinking about selling my Ruger .44 carbine and using the money to buy slug gear for my new 870. From what little I know about slug equipmentit sounds like there will be plenty of cash left over.

On a good day with the .44, I can get 1.5" groups with a scope at 100yds using 240gr JSPs going 1400fps at the muzzle.

A big hunk of lead from just a rifled choke getting the same groups is amazing. Especially when you factor in almost 150gr more lead at an additional 550fps. :surprised-purple:

I agree about safety: Getting any more powerful would threaten those shotgun-only zones.

[Whoadog]

###I shot a buck last year at Gray Lodge with a slug out of my Beretta Pintail at 85 yards. ###I shot it through the back and dropped it dead. ###It was a very clean wound and wasted very little meat. ###I had a great pattern at the 100 yard range using a 4 power scope.

Brian

[foulshot]

Art welcome to the board. ###Sounds like you have some good info there. ###Out here in California you don't get to many people hunting with slug guns, so any info is great. ###Sounds like I may have to some research on a slug shot for my 11-87.

[ADC]

I have hunted with slugs for the past 16 years and the performance of them has greatly improved due to advanced design and fully rifled barrels available either from the manufacturer or aftermarket.

I have used slugs in Browning Auto-5's in 12 and 20 ga, and Remington 11-87 12 ga. and Remington 1100 20 Ga. I hunted for 15 years with open sigts and a variety of combinations from plain barrel with rifled slugs to sabot slugs from fully rifled barrels...all with open sights.

With open sights I consistently got groups of 2 inches or less (mostly less) at 50 yards and 4-6 inch groups ar 100 yards. Two years ago I put a 4x scope on my 11-87 12 ga and groups at 100 yards were in the 1 to 3 inch range.

Depending on your gun, you will have to determine what combination works best, but I
recommend Remington copper solids in the 12 ga. I have a fully firled Remington slug barrel, and I use them with the utmost confidence. In my Remington 1100 20 Ga I have a fully rifled Hastings barrel which I only shoot Winchester Sabot Slugs from...2 reasons, Hastings recommends NOT using Copper Solid slugs in their barrels, and I grew up using BRI (now Winchester Sabot slugs) and they have worked extremely well for me in the 20 ga.

The longest shot I've had for a deer with slugs was 3 years ago with my 11-87 at ###just under 100 yards. With open sights a 21 inch rifled slug barrel and Remington Copper Solids, that deer was in the freezer.

I took a deer the year I put the scope on the gun as well, and again Copper Solids did the trick.

I have gotten deer with all of the above combinations...all with 2 3/4" slugs. I hunted bear with my shotgun when I lived in Alaska , but passed on a few bears and when I did pull the trigger it was with my rifle, so I can't give you any help but I do know for a fact slugs WILL take a bear black, or a grizzly...however slugs and a shotgun are not not combination of choice for Grizzly, Kodiak, or Brown, but that is your call...

One last thing...there are many people out there who will tell you to use 3 inch magnum shells for this, that, and the other...2 3/4" shell are plenty for deer up to and even past 100 yards, if you are comfortable shooting that far and have a good rest or hold, and
2 3/4" shells give less recoil. If you have good shot placement, you don't need any more than that.

Good luck.
ADC


(Edited by ADC at 10:17 pm on Mar. 23, 2002)

[Bill in SD]

Art338, where can I buy the Activ/lightfield foster slugs? ###
Thanks
Bill