Beginner question slug vs. rifle

[LB181]

Hey everyone, I just found your site a couple weeks ago, and I have been addicted to it, reading everything I can, every night. I went on my first pheasant hunt in Montana a month ago (awesome fun), and now I am really interested in hunting in california. I have my mind set on learning how to pig hunt, and I have been searching, and reading for any information I can find. You all are a wealth of knowledge. So here is my first of many questions. I have a couple WWII guns, and handguns, but my only hunting firearm is a Remington 870 Express. I realize there are tons of opinions, and my question kind of comes down to personal preference. I will most likely be hunting FHL, Camp Roberts, maybe Bryson. Hunting at those locations, would buying a rifled slug barrel for my 870, or a used deer rifle like a Marlin 336 be a better choice? I know both can do the job with enough range time, but what's everyones opinion. Beginner needs help.
Corey Long Beach, CA

[spectr17]

Hey Corey, welcome to the forum. Is your 336 the older models or the newer model with the cross bolt safety? I have both guns and my answer depends on which model you have.

[LB181]

I don't own a Marlin anymore. Dad had an older one when I was a kid. I used to enjoy shooting it a lot. What I was considering was purchasing a used one. They seem to be pretty popular for deer, and a good quality gun. What's your take regarding the different models?

[weekender21]

If you're a beginner and plan on rifle hunting out west, I strongly recommend a bolt action rifle for your first rifle.

A rifled barreled shotgun will work great if you work on it but any center fire rifle will greatly extend your range and will provide much more consistent accuracy with fewer headaches.

Almost any caliber will work on pigs but most guys, including me, will recommend at least a .270. Bullet construction is the important part, it sounds like you will be hunting in the condor range so copper will be your only choice anyway. Again, just about any caliber will work with the right bullet, these are a few I would recommend: .270, 270WSM, 7MM WM, 300 WM, 300 WSM 7MM-08, .308

Don't skimp on the scope! Optics are an important part of your hunting setup, especially out west.

Good luck and welcome.

[spectr17]

The older Marlin 336Cs don't have a safety on them and I've looked down several times after crawling through nasty brush to see the hammer cocked back. Not a real good rifle to keep one in the pipe. The newer models have a cross bolt safety which helps prevent the hammer from getting cocked and tripped by brush.

Slug guns on the other hand beat you to death, they are worse to pattern and shoot then heavy turkey loads. Something to think about. They also are allowed in primitive weapon areas in a lot of locations when the 336 isn't.

You want a gun that is fast handling as pigs will bust out of just about anywhere. Leaving the 336 empty chamber and racking one as the pigs bust out will probably take too long. If you're sneaking up on a pig and rack one the pig is going to haul azz most times.

I'd get a different rifle than the 336 or the newer model 336.

[DirtyDave]

I am new too and only have a shotgun for now. I am trying to hunt on a tight budget so I just bought a rifled slug barrel/scope combo from cabelas.com for $199! It was cheaper than buying a new rifle. Until now I have been shooting lead slugs out of my smoothbore, but there are no non-lead slugs other than sabots, so I had no choice but to buy a rifled barrel to hunt in "condor zones".
I know my shoulder will pay the price when I take it to the range to zero it in, but when you are hunting you will only be taking 1 or 2 shots, not 5-10 in a row.
I plan on using it for all my big game hunting, Deer, Pig, and Bear.
As for ammo, the Remingtom Copper Solid Sabots and Winchester XP3's are what I bought to start.

[spectr17]

I know my shoulder will pay the price when I take it to the range to zero it in, but when you are hunting you will only be taking 1 or 2 shots, not 5-10 in a row.

It only takes one mule kick to wound ya. Just make sure you're tucked in good and watch where your thumb is across the rear of the shotgun. I've taken a few thumbs to the bridge of my nose. Also if you mount a scope on the shotgun make darn sure you have clearance for your head. I've seen some nasty scope kisses on some guy's faces.

[LB181]

Thanks for all of the good info everyone. That is good to know about the crossbolt safety issues. I will probably look around for a used bolt action if I go the rifle route. The marlin was kind of a nostalgia, just like them kind of deal. Probably not ideal for pigs. With the shotgun, being that I am in this awesome state of california, I have to deal with the lead ban. I was wondering if the extra areas a shotgun gets you into is worth the extra effort. There is a lot to think about.

[gtimo98]

I've only used shotgun for hogs and 've taken six ofthem over the last two years. I have a Winchester 1300 with a 22" barrel and rifled choke tube also a Remington 870 20ga with fully rifled barrel. They both shoot well and I use them often. There's tons of 870 barrels on Gunbroker for very good prices. I get good groups out of the copper solids for condor country so they're tolerable. I haven't tried the Winchesters yet.

[weekender21]

Having a shotgun to hunt shotgun only areas is a big plus. I wouldn't let that stop you from buying a good bolt action rifle.

As a side note, I'd like to take this opportunity to plant the archery seed. In a few years after you've killed a few pigs with a gun, you might want to consider archery. I shot 15 or so pigs in a few years with a rifle before going the archery route and have never looked back! Wild hogs were made for bowhunting. Anyway, just a thought. Happy hunting!

BTW, my avatar was killed with two Barnes 3/4 oz 12 gauge slugs in 2004. Over 300 lbs live weight!

[LB181]

Archery does sound like fun, but I need to keep it simple for now. After I get good at hunting, then I can challenge myself. It looks like it will be hard enough getting an opportunity to take a shot. I am going to look into used bolt action prices, and weigh them against the slug barrel. DirtyDave, which slug barrel did you get? What range can you acurately shoot a rifled slug shotgun and not just injure the pig?

[DirtyDave]

Here is a link to the barrel I bought for my Mossberg, they have them for the 870 too. I have not taken a pig with it yet, but I have no doubt in my mind that it will get the job done at 100-200yds depending on the shooters ability.
The Remington is a 1oz slug and claims 1208fps @ 100yds
The Winchester is a 300 grain slug and claims 1620fps @ 100yds and 1305fps @ 200yds
I think Winchester offers a low-recoil load too

Cabela's -- Mossberg Replacement Shotgun Barrels

[socalgobblerhunter]

If you are in need of a great rifle at a sweet price, look into the Remington Model 770. It comes with a bushnell scope thats factory zero'd (I would recommend BZ'n the gun). Many diferent calibers and at a decent price of less then $400.00. I dont think you can really beat that price. I bought one for my brother who just got into hunting and I ended up paying $385.00 for a 770 in 30-06.

[GDarcey]

you say you have some WW2 guns. If a M1 Garrand is one of them it would a nice pig gun. I'd hunt with one for sure.

[LB181]

My WWII guns are a M1 carbine, and a Mosin Nagant 91/30. Unfortunately my M1 is too small, and my mosin is probably not the best idea either. Honestly it was the Mosin that got me even considering a pig hunt. I heard of people hunting with such a cheap rifle and got to thinking, I live in California, pig hunting is year round. I should look into this. After looking into what soft point/lead free ammo in 7.62x54 would cost, I thought I better look into a better option. Thanks for the Remington suggestion, I will look into it. I also read that a savage 110 is a good budget rifle. I defintately need something cheaper than 400. We will see what happens.

[jryeo]

Originally Posted by DirtyDave

Here is a link to the barrel I bought for my Mossberg, they have them for the 870 too. I have not taken a pig with it yet, but I have no doubt in my mind that it will get the job done at 100-200yds depending on the shooters ability.
The Remington is a 1oz slug and claims 1208fps @ 100yds
The Winchester is a 300 grain slug and claims 1620fps @ 100yds and 1305fps @ 200yds
I think Winchester offers a low-recoil load too

Cabela's -- Mossberg Replacement Shotgun Barrels

Dave, Have you sighted in with this barrel? I was thinking about buying one and I'm wondering what kind of groups you get out of it.

My only experience with slugs was with Remington Slugger Rifled Slugs, shot out of my 870 express smoothbore with the factory modified choke. I had 4" groups at 25 yds, but could barely hit a piece of 8.5x11" paper at 50 yds.

[tpuig]

Considering you would need to spend somewhere between $100-250 for a rifled barrel for your 870, you might consider looking for a decent used rifle instead. A slug is an excellent pig taker, but you'll need to keep the range to under 100 yards in a perfect world.

There are tons of rifles sitting in pawn shops and closets that are just gathering dust. Besides the want ads here, check out Calguns.net, Gunbroker, Gunsamerica, Shotgun News, etc for used rifles. And don't forget the bulletin boards at the shops and ranges. Unfortunately, folks are always getting laid off, divorced, moving, etc. and need to sell. Look for an older bolt action in .30-06 or other good pig/deer caliber and you'll be set for life. Somebody's old rifle that used to belong to grandpa might be the best one out there.
With all the great new rifles coming out, a lot of the older ones are going to hit the market... Good luck with this.
TP

[DirtyDave]

Originally Posted by jryeo

Dave, Have you sighted in with this barrel? I was thinking about buying one and I'm wondering what kind of groups you get out of it.

My only experience with slugs was with Remington Slugger Rifled Slugs, shot out of my 870 express smoothbore with the factory modified choke. I had 4" groups at 25 yds, but could barely hit a piece of 8.5x11" paper at 50 yds.

I have not sighted it in yet, I am going to do it this weekend. I'll post up my results.
As for Rifled slugs in a smooth bore, I had no problem holding a 5" pattern at 50yds with Wolf 1oz Lead Rifled Slugs out of my Mossberg 500 with 20" Barrel and Cyl choke. The Modified choke may be your problem. I know the Wolf slugs wont "fit" through a mod choke. I took one of the slugs out of the shell and it physically wont fit throgh a mod choke by hand.

[larrysogla]

With used high powered rifles.............if the accuracy is very poor, consider my experience with a .308 Remington 742 semi-auto rifle I bought used at a gunstore. Even with a riflescope and a steady rest at the range.......I could not do better than a 6"-8" group at 100 yds. I could not figure out what was wrong until I looked down the bore and saw streaks of copper shining brightly between the rifling. The used rifle was in excellent shape but was severley copper fouled. I treated the copper fouled bore with lots of overnight decoppering bore treatment and afterwards the 100 yd. groups shrank to 2.5". I am sure the groups would have shrank some more as I suspect it still needed further decoppering treatments.............but I was getting lazy with the overnight treatments and decided 2.5" is enough to whack a hog. So.... consider decoppering a used gun when you get one.
'Nuff said
larrysogla