Slugs high and left

[dwestfall]

I see from the archives that I'm not the only one experiencing this.

Vang Comp 18" barrel on my 870, Scattergun Tech Ghost Ring sights.

Rear sight is adjusted almost all the way to the right.

Federal Tactical 00 Buck patterns into 10" out to about 35 yds, nicely centered with this sight setting.

Federal Tactical slug goes 4" high and 4" left at 50 with this setting (cloverleaf, too!) Remington RR shoots 4" high as well.

Anybody found a slug that seems to shoot more to the right? I'd love to be able to have the slug shoot to POA at 75 yds.

I suppose I'd do better to sight in for slug and then check my buck pattern for acceptable alignment, but due to range configuration and timing I had to do it the other way around.

[DML]

Unfortunately, Scattergun Tech. rear sights lack a lot of adjustment. Most of the time they work fine, but if you have a shotgun that doesn't shoot to point of aim, you are pretty much out of luck.

The problem really is not the sights or the barrel, it's the way the magazine tube is lined up with the receiver. Some old timers will adjust point of impact by tweaking the magazine tube, but I don't recommend that unless you really know what you are doing.

You said that your rear sight is adjusted all the way to the right. Did you also have it at the lowest setting?

[Dave McC]

DML is a gunsmith, and knows his stuff. A coupla things...

Is the bbl clamped tightly to the receiver?

Is there a mag extension?

4" high at 50 yards should give you a Point Blank range of 90-105 yards, SWEG.IOW, elevation's acceptable but windage is not.

I suggest trying different slugs. A great group really doesn't hack it if it's over in left field somewhere. Chances are, there's a slug that will shoot closer to POA, you just have to find it.

HTH....

[dwestfall]

DML wrote -- ...Scattergun Tech. rear sights lack a lot of adjustment... You said that your rear sight is adjusted all the way to the right. Did you also have it at the lowest setting?

Actually it's at almost the highest setting. The elevation doesn't bother me, it's the windage. Would the MMC sight bolt right on using the holes tapped for the Scattergun sight?

Dave McC wrote --
Is the bbl clamped tightly to the receiver?

Is there a mag extension?

There is a mag extension that was just hand tight. Since my last trip I loosened the extension, twisted the barrel as much as it will go to the left (there seems to be about 1/8" of rotation available at least when the extension is loose), and then tightened past hand-tight with some channel locks per your advice in another thread. I'm going to try to get back out today and see if it made a difference. Maybe I'll pick up a couple other brands of slugs on the way if time allows.

[C.R.Sam]

Please make the first test with the original slug batch.
Gives an accurate accounting of the front sight tweek effectiveness.

Then different ammo for furthur testing, definately.

Please keep us informed.

Sam

[DML]

dwestfall:

Does your shotgum have the Remington factory extension? If so, are you using the barrel clamp? If you are, you might try shooting it without the clamp.

[dwestfall]

It is a Scattergun Tech extension, no clamp.

[dwestfall]

Update:

After removing and retightening the mag extension after my last trip, the elevation problem was reversed -- rounds were low at first. I moved the rear sight up one notch and the vertical was perfect.

Making sure the barrel was rotated to the left that 1/8" helped some. It was printing just outside the black at 50. I moved the rear sight all the way right and put three in the X ring firing the Federal Tactical slug. Then I started flinching and dropped two at the bottom of the paper. The next group seemed a little more to the left. Maybe it's a barrel heat issue, or maybe it's a flinching issue.

FWIW the Remington Reduced Recoil slug printed slightly more to the right. About 2" to the right of the X at 50.

I also tried the Remington Slugger (full power) and found it was pretty erratic compared to the two reduced recoil loads.

I tried shooting at 100 but couldn't really hit much. I was rushing a little but I think my limitation at 100 is more the width of the front sight compared to the small dot, combined with uncertain elevation correction and a fairly heavy trigger. I don't think I could be effective on a man-sized target at that range.

I then went back and shot at 25yds and kept all except one round in the 10 ring.

I was unable to pattern with buckshot after the sight change due to the range not having any facilities for that.

I think the slugs are shooting "well enough" now and I'll just get one of those Bore Snakes to clean the barrel from the chamber side.

A SFPD guy stopped by to chat about my Vanged barrel. He uses the Benelli and said that they were using some new buckshot from Choat (sp? - a division of Federal?) that would pattern 4" at 40 yds, as I understood it WITHOUT a Vang barrel. The guy seemed to know his stuff -- that the Benelli barrels had to be sent out, etc etc. So what's the scoop on that new ammo?

[DML]

The name of the company is Choke. I wasn't aware that they had anything to do with Federal, but you need a program to keep up with the players these days.

Choke uses a very heavy, thick walled shot cup that holds the shot together at long range. I talked to them a few years ago at the SHOT show and they had a shell that worked like the Glaser ammo. It didn't release the shot until it actually hit an object. They had an automobile windshield that had a 12 gauge hole in it and a nicely spread buckshot pattern behind it. They told me that the shot was taken at 80 yards. It might make a good LE shell, but I'm not sure what use it would be to the average person.