slugs

Deerslayer12 · September 10, 2009, 11:13 AM

i use a slug gun for deer hunting but havent killed one with it yet (i just bought it this summer) i was wonderin how deadly are these things i dont want to track anything and im an overkill fanatic!

Pahoo · September 10, 2009, 11:42 AM

Kind of depends on the type of slug and how good of a shot you are. Slugs can be very lethal. I will say that there is hardly a time that you will never have to track a deer. I've put them down on the spot and have had to track them as well. My Midwest shots are usually under let's say 60 yards. I can recall a running 40 yd. shot at a large doe with a standard rifled slug. It penetrated well and mushroomed on the inside of her shoulder blade. There have been other shots where I found the slug just under the skin on the opposite side of the entrance.

Be Safe !!!

Doyle · September 10, 2009, 01:00 PM

ANY 12 Ga slug that hits a deer in the vital area is going to be deadly. Weight, shape, type of point, etc doesn't matter in the slightest when you have that much diameter and weight going into his vitals.

The big difference in slugs is how they perform in YOUR particluar shotgun. Shotguns can be very picky about which slug they like to shoot. The only way to know for sure is to hit the range with a box of each and watch the group size.

BillCA · September 10, 2009, 01:05 PM

Like Pahoo said, if you make good shots, it's unlikely you'll have to track down a deer. From a 12-gauge, that nominal 1 oz slug (437 grains) is moving around 1600 fps which gives you nearly 2490 ft-lbs of force. That deer won't know if he was hit by a truck or had an anvil dropped on him. At 50 yards it's still carrying 1300 ft-lbs. That's enough to do the job.

Just remember, all that energy will never make up for poor shot placement.

Brian Pfleuger · September 10, 2009, 01:10 PM

A shotgun in the vitals will kill as fast or faster than a rifle. Especially 12ga, regardless of brand of slug.

Deer slugs are actually kind of crazy on the overkill side. I'm always looking for the smaller faster slug. The big, slower ones just blow a whole through one side and out the other. Not much energy dissipated in the target.... but still plenty enough to kill.

hardluk1 · September 11, 2009, 08:58 AM

Is your slug gun a rifled bore or smooth bore gun. A rifled bore can shoot at longer distances with better accuracy. Some saboted rounds can shoot out to 175 yards + in a rifled bore and a smooth bore with regular old type slugs, maybe half that at best. You might also have to shoot many of brands and types to find what yours likes best. I shoot remington buck hammers out of a rifled mossberg and it shoots well to around 150yards and was the last ammo i tried. Shoulder was junk for a couple days.

Deerslayer12 · September 11, 2009, 09:32 AM

sorry i wasnt clear guys, its a fully rifled barrel and i use remington accutip slugs their 385 grains i think and their pinpoint accurate out to 100yrds (thats how far ive ever shot em) its a 12 gauge and i only shoot 3" mags

hogdogs · September 11, 2009, 12:07 PM

Best o' luck to ya' I ain't no rich feller like yerself. I just shoot junk slugs out of smoothbore. I limit my self to 65 yards sure thing and 80 yards if I am real hungry.

I also never really tried them 3 inch mini mags nor the 3 1/2 inch big brother.

Brent

zombieslayer · September 11, 2009, 12:33 PM

Deerslayer, with those slugs, you could kill anything in north or south america within a hundred yards or so. hell, you got me thinkin bout a rifled barrel for my zombie gun moss 500!

.284 · September 11, 2009, 01:13 PM

Most of my deer hunting has been done in Southern Michigan, so shotguns are the norm. 12 gauge rifled slugs are accurate as well as deadly. I have also used a 20 guage H&R ultra slugger with Win partition gold slugs. Taken 7 deer with it and none have gone more than 30 yards.

teraplanez · September 11, 2009, 04:14 PM

Hardluk1, I was thinking like you, about the barrels being rifled or not. I've heard guys talking about getting Bulls-Eyes on targets at 200+ yards with a certain brand of SABOT slugs. They said these slugs had rifle accuracy. I don't rmember the exact brand but it made me start pricing rifled barrels for my 870 and my Benelli Nova. The sabot slugs sound like a lot of fun.
I haven't shot slugs in either of my shotguns but I have been wondering if it was ok or it it was not a good idea. I've heard a couple of opinions but I'm not sure which one is ok or if it's not.

hardluk1 · September 12, 2009, 07:35 PM

teraplanez Have not found that 200yard slug but do see that some have . I hoped that i would find that sabot that would shoot like a T/C encore blackpowder gun but nooot quite so my cutoff is 150 . Two hunting buddies have also tried many of the sabots a couple years back and had no better luck than me ,one gun is a binelli super eagle something and the other a 11-87 remington mine is a mossy 500 all are rifled barrels and as it turns out atleast till we try some of the newest batch of sabots will stay with the way to flat and fat remington buck slamer. Mine will shoot about a 3" 100yard group. Ugly but does seem to work in most all rifled slug guns. Atleast till i find one of those new sabots that does better. I never shot slugs till a couple years ago.

ed3toe · September 22, 2009, 10:25 AM

super x gets the nod out of my smooth bore 12 model 37 icthca

Old Grump · September 22, 2009, 12:54 PM

You have the right slug for that barrel, if you have a scope or rifle sights you are easily good to 200 yards with that slug. Zero your gun 3 1/2" high at 100 yards and hold for that sweetspot all the way from 50 to 200. You will be zeroed at 0" drop at 150 yards so don't be worrying about holdover.

bwheasler · September 23, 2009, 09:16 PM

I killed 6 animal in Africa this past May. From the big Kudu to a Blesbok @ 172 steps. All one shot kills, New Remington Accutips, But I weaned myself on a 1960 Wingmaster, 18" smoothbore , with 1oz Remington slugger. Deadly. You just need to shoot and shoot alot. The problem with most slugsters is a lack of practice. Nothing like seat time.

vanman1 · September 24, 2009, 07:54 AM

I have a Remington 870 Mag. It has a smooth bore and rifled choke tube. I shoot federal 3" sabot and they fly very straight out to 175 yards. Last season I got a big doe at 160 yds and she droped right there.She didn't even flinch. My shoulder didn't work well for a few days. Oh well, the price we pay.

Brian Pfleuger · September 24, 2009, 08:34 AM

I just tested the Remington Accu-tips last weekend. Simply put, they are far and away the most accurate slug I have ever used. One hole groups at 100. Some guns may be able to go beyond 100 but the two we used, an 11-87 and a Browning Gold, get very erratic somewhere between 100 and 150. This is not a problem with the accu-tips, every slug we've tried has been the same.

I'm sure there are certain combinations that will shoot beyond 125-150 yards but I would NEVER assume such without shooting paper at that distance.

skydiver3346 · September 24, 2009, 08:36 AM

You gotta be kidding me! A .12 GA slug is devastating to any animal, especially a deer. I use a mode 870 shotgun with Haistings rifled barrel and scope. It likes the Lightfield slugs (Hybrid Elite) and is extremely accurate out to 100 yards. Have taken only two deer with my slug gun (both less than 50 yrds) and both of them dropped. Slugs properly placed are bad to the bone my friend. Good luck.

Willie Lowman · September 24, 2009, 08:37 AM

Any 12 gauge slug will kill a deer inside 100 yards
If you do your part!

Shoot 'em in the guts and you are in for a treat.

rpmx · September 24, 2009, 10:00 AM

I have a Marlin 3 shot bolt action slug rifle, scoped with a leupold 2X7 shotgun scope.

I shoot Winchester Supremes 385s thru it and it shoots fantastic.

Ive taken many deer with this gun, and performance of the slugs has been very good, unless the deer is extremely close, like 25-30 yds. I think the velocity at that range is to great at impact, and the slug fragments, much like a high speed varmint bullet. This has happened on 2 deer, and both required a 2nd shot to dispatch it. Upon cutting up the meat, there was very little signs of anything holding together, only small fragments and a small piece of base. It was more like shooting with BBs, rather than a slug. Long range performance of the slug, was very good.

I am going to give the accutips a try and see how my rifle likes them.

dabigguns357 · September 24, 2009, 10:34 AM

I have a Mossberg rifled slug barrel gun and use Federal tactical full power h/p 2 3/4 slugs which put me on target at 125 yards every time.I also use a bsa red dot sight which is all i need to kill anything i want.The only ammo my won't shoot strait is Winchester super X 3inch mags.They work ok but are only good for abour a 4 to 5 inch group at 100 yards,which i don't care for.

September 10, 2009, 11:13 AM	#1
Deerslayer12 Junior Member Join Date: September 10, 2009 Posts: 14	slugs i use a slug gun for deer hunting but havent killed one with it yet (i just bought it this summer) i was wonderin how deadly are these things i dont want to track anything and im an overkill fanatic!

September 10, 2009, 01:05 PM	#4
BillCA Senior Member Join Date: November 28, 2004 Location: Silicon Valley, Ca Posts: 7,117	Like Pahoo said, if you make good shots, it's unlikely you'll have to track down a deer. From a 12-gauge, that nominal 1 oz slug (437 grains) is moving around 1600 fps which gives you nearly 2490 ft-lbs of force. That deer won't know if he was hit by a truck or had an anvil dropped on him. At 50 yards it's still carrying 1300 ft-lbs. That's enough to do the job. Just remember, all that energy will never make up for poor shot placement. __________________ BillCA in CA (Unfortunately)

September 10, 2009, 01:10 PM	#5
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	A shotgun in the vitals will kill as fast or faster than a rifle. Especially 12ga, regardless of brand of slug. Deer slugs are actually kind of crazy on the overkill side. I'm always looking for the smaller faster slug. The big, slower ones just blow a whole through one side and out the other. Not much energy dissipated in the target.... but still plenty enough to kill. __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley

September 11, 2009, 09:32 AM	#7
Deerslayer12 Junior Member Join Date: September 10, 2009 Posts: 14	slugs sorry i wasnt clear guys, its a fully rifled barrel and i use remington accutip slugs their 385 grains i think and their pinpoint accurate out to 100yrds (thats how far ive ever shot em) its a 12 gauge and i only shoot 3" mags

September 11, 2009, 01:13 PM	#10
.284 Senior Member Join Date: July 8, 2009 Location: davison, michigan Posts: 665	Most of my deer hunting has been done in Southern Michigan, so shotguns are the norm. 12 gauge rifled slugs are accurate as well as deadly. I have also used a 20 guage H&R ultra slugger with Win partition gold slugs. Taken 7 deer with it and none have gone more than 30 yards. __________________ Guns have only two enemies, rust and politicians! Deer are amazing creatures....so please don't burn the sauteed onions and I'll pass on the steak sauce, thank you.

September 10, 2009, 11:42 AM	#2
Pahoo Senior Member Join Date: February 16, 2006 Location: IOWA Posts: 8,783	Kind of depends on the type of slug and how good of a shot you are. Slugs can be very lethal. I will say that there is hardly a time that you will never have to track a deer. I've put them down on the spot and have had to track them as well. My Midwest shots are usually under let's say 60 yards. I can recall a running 40 yd. shot at a large doe with a standard rifled slug. It penetrated well and mushroomed on the inside of her shoulder blade. There have been other shots where I found the slug just under the skin on the opposite side of the entrance. Be Safe !!!

September 10, 2009, 01:00 PM	#3
Doyle Senior Member Join Date: June 20, 2007 Location: Rainbow City, Alabama Posts: 7,167	ANY 12 Ga slug that hits a deer in the vital area is going to be deadly. Weight, shape, type of point, etc doesn't matter in the slightest when you have that much diameter and weight going into his vitals. The big difference in slugs is how they perform in YOUR particluar shotgun. Shotguns can be very picky about which slug they like to shoot. The only way to know for sure is to hit the range with a box of each and watch the group size.

September 11, 2009, 08:58 AM	#6
hardluk1 Junior member Join Date: March 27, 2009 Posts: 600	Is your slug gun a rifled bore or smooth bore gun. A rifled bore can shoot at longer distances with better accuracy. Some saboted rounds can shoot out to 175 yards + in a rifled bore and a smooth bore with regular old type slugs, maybe half that at best. You might also have to shoot many of brands and types to find what yours likes best. I shoot remington buck hammers out of a rifled mossberg and it shoots well to around 150yards and was the last ammo i tried. Shoulder was junk for a couple days.

September 11, 2009, 12:07 PM	#8
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	Best o' luck to ya' I ain't no rich feller like yerself. I just shoot junk slugs out of smoothbore. I limit my self to 65 yards sure thing and 80 yards if I am real hungry. I also never really tried them 3 inch mini mags nor the 3 1/2 inch big brother. Brent

September 11, 2009, 12:33 PM	#9
zombieslayer Senior Member Join Date: September 11, 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 3,198	Deerslayer, with those slugs, you could kill anything in north or south america within a hundred yards or so. hell, you got me thinkin bout a rifled barrel for my zombie gun moss 500!

September 11, 2009, 04:14 PM	#11
teraplanez Member Join Date: August 23, 2006 Location: Louisiana Posts: 18	slugs Hardluk1, I was thinking like you, about the barrels being rifled or not. I've heard guys talking about getting Bulls-Eyes on targets at 200+ yards with a certain brand of SABOT slugs. They said these slugs had rifle accuracy. I don't rmember the exact brand but it made me start pricing rifled barrels for my 870 and my Benelli Nova. The sabot slugs sound like a lot of fun. I haven't shot slugs in either of my shotguns but I have been wondering if it was ok or it it was not a good idea. I've heard a couple of opinions but I'm not sure which one is ok or if it's not.

September 12, 2009, 07:35 PM	#12
hardluk1 Junior member Join Date: March 27, 2009 Posts: 600	teraplanez Have not found that 200yard slug but do see that some have . I hoped that i would find that sabot that would shoot like a T/C encore blackpowder gun but nooot quite so my cutoff is 150 . Two hunting buddies have also tried many of the sabots a couple years back and had no better luck than me ,one gun is a binelli super eagle something and the other a 11-87 remington mine is a mossy 500 all are rifled barrels and as it turns out atleast till we try some of the newest batch of sabots will stay with the way to flat and fat remington buck slamer. Mine will shoot about a 3" 100yard group. Ugly but does seem to work in most all rifled slug guns. Atleast till i find one of those new sabots that does better. I never shot slugs till a couple years ago.

September 22, 2009, 10:25 AM	#13
ed3toe Junior Member Join Date: September 20, 2009 Location: lancaster new york Posts: 1	12 feraderal super x super x gets the nod out of my smooth bore 12 model 37 icthca

September 22, 2009, 12:54 PM	#14
Old Grump Member in memoriam Join Date: April 9, 2009 Location: Blue River Wisconsin, in Posts: 3,144	You have the right slug for that barrel, if you have a scope or rifle sights you are easily good to 200 yards with that slug. Zero your gun 3 1/2" high at 100 yards and hold for that sweetspot all the way from 50 to 200. You will be zeroed at 0" drop at 150 yards so don't be worrying about holdover. __________________ Good intentions will always be pleaded for any assumption of power. The Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern will, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters. --Daniel Webster--

September 23, 2009, 09:16 PM	#15
bwheasler Senior Member Join Date: January 22, 2009 Location: Indianapolis In Posts: 108	They work I killed 6 animal in Africa this past May. From the big Kudu to a Blesbok @ 172 steps. All one shot kills, New Remington Accutips, But I weaned myself on a 1960 Wingmaster, 18" smoothbore , with 1oz Remington slugger. Deadly. You just need to shoot and shoot alot. The problem with most slugsters is a lack of practice. Nothing like seat time.

September 24, 2009, 07:54 AM	#16
vanman1 Member Join Date: June 3, 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 28	I have a Remington 870 Mag. It has a smooth bore and rifled choke tube. I shoot federal 3" sabot and they fly very straight out to 175 yards. Last season I got a big doe at 160 yds and she droped right there.She didn't even flinch. My shoulder didn't work well for a few days. Oh well, the price we pay.

September 24, 2009, 08:34 AM	#17
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	I just tested the Remington Accu-tips last weekend. Simply put, they are far and away the most accurate slug I have ever used. One hole groups at 100. Some guns may be able to go beyond 100 but the two we used, an 11-87 and a Browning Gold, get very erratic somewhere between 100 and 150. This is not a problem with the accu-tips, every slug we've tried has been the same. I'm sure there are certain combinations that will shoot beyond 125-150 yards but I would NEVER assume such without shooting paper at that distance. __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley

September 24, 2009, 08:36 AM	#18
skydiver3346 Senior Member Join Date: December 22, 2007 Location: Florida Posts: 1,222	Are slugs deadly? You gotta be kidding me! A .12 GA slug is devastating to any animal, especially a deer. I use a mode 870 shotgun with Haistings rifled barrel and scope. It likes the Lightfield slugs (Hybrid Elite) and is extremely accurate out to 100 yards. Have taken only two deer with my slug gun (both less than 50 yrds) and both of them dropped. Slugs properly placed are bad to the bone my friend. Good luck.

September 24, 2009, 08:37 AM	#19
Willie Lowman Senior Member Join Date: March 5, 2009 Location: Uh-Hi-O Posts: 3,006	Any 12 gauge slug will kill a deer inside 100 yards If you do your part! Shoot 'em in the guts and you are in for a treat.

September 24, 2009, 10:00 AM	#20
rpmx Junior Member Join Date: September 23, 2009 Posts: 4	I have a Marlin 3 shot bolt action slug rifle, scoped with a leupold 2X7 shotgun scope. I shoot Winchester Supremes 385s thru it and it shoots fantastic. Ive taken many deer with this gun, and performance of the slugs has been very good, unless the deer is extremely close, like 25-30 yds. I think the velocity at that range is to great at impact, and the slug fragments, much like a high speed varmint bullet. This has happened on 2 deer, and both required a 2nd shot to dispatch it. Upon cutting up the meat, there was very little signs of anything holding together, only small fragments and a small piece of base. It was more like shooting with BBs, rather than a slug. Long range performance of the slug, was very good. I am going to give the accutips a try and see how my rifle likes them.

September 24, 2009, 10:34 AM	#21
dabigguns357 Senior Member Join Date: May 3, 2008 Location: Ona,West Virginia Posts: 1,215	I have a Mossberg rifled slug barrel gun and use Federal tactical full power h/p 2 3/4 slugs which put me on target at 125 yards every time.I also use a bsa red dot sight which is all i need to kill anything i want.The only ammo my won't shoot strait is Winchester super X 3inch mags.They work ok but are only good for abour a 4 to 5 inch group at 100 yards,which i don't care for.