What slug for accuracy?

[7MMGUY]

Ready to sight in a Remington 870 20ga. rifled barrel. Would you expect better accuracy from 3 inch slugs or 2 3/4 inch. I know testing them is the only way to be sure but I would like to hear what you think.

[Deerhunter]

Just and FYI........You might not get a lot of responses on this. If you do a search you will see that this whole slug thing has been beat to death this season already. I am guessing it has been beat every hunting season.

I shoot 12 gauge but would be willing to bet it is the same deal. There is really no need to shoot 3 inch shells, unless you want to punish your shoulder more. 2 3/4 will do all you need for deer.

Otherwise it is a good reason to buy a new gun and get one in 12 gauge and you can shoot 2 3/4 out of that also.

I would try the Hornady SSTs. They are accurate out of my 12 gauge and out of my buddy's.

If you do a search you will see where people talked about it. What shoots good out of your 870 might not shoot good out of mine. Mostly they are talking about 12 gauges but it is the same for 20s.

Good luck and have fun trying out different stuff

[markj]

2 3/4 inch

Get a box or two of different brands then go t oa range and see what shoots best. Adds a bit of fun to the thing.

Then sst's are a hot item here I also use a remington sabot if I cant get sst or brennekes.

[birdshot]

since your barrel is rifled you should get better accuracy with the sabot slugs. i have only used unrifled barrels and shot foster slugs 2 3/4. have always got good accuracy from sighted barrels. i kept part of a target once for bragging rights after shooting a group at the scoring legend from 50 yard line, in which 4 of the 5 shots were touching and all of them were in the tiny silloutte.

[zippy13]

Although, your selection of 20-ga sabots isn't as vast as with 12-ga loadings, you still have plenty of choices in the yellow shells. You've probably heard this before; but, there's no short cut to finding the most accurate sabot for your gun. You've got to spend some bench time evaluating various loads. Something basic that's often overlooked: With shooting in general, as recoil increases so does the size of your group. You might consider starting with some 2 3/4-inch sabots like Hornady's SST 250 gr instead of the likes of Remington's Buckhammer 3-inch 1-oz (438 gr) sabots.

[jbaham]

I agree you need to spend some time finding the right slug for your shotgun. I use lightfields in my bolt action 12 ga slug gun as well as in my brothers 870 they do the job. Hornady makes good ammo as well. Just spend a lot of time at the range and see what your gun likes and get used to shooting it. And yes 2 3/4" is all you need for a deer.

good luck

[Sphawley]

What kind of gun and barrel?

[zippy13]

Good question, Sphawley, I know some folks are probably tired of hearing me ask them to be specific when talking about the Remington Model 870 pump. With our OP: We know he has a rifled barrel with a cantilever scope mount. What we don't know, is it a Wingmaster barrel or an Express barrel -- Remington makes both. We've all heard stories of how folks consider the standard Express model barrels to have rough cambers. What about their rifled sabot barrels? Has anyone ever done a side by side comparison of the two Remington slug barrels -- are the Wingmaster sabot barrels more accurate than the similar Express ones?

[BfloBill]

Slug guns are picky about what they shoot. There are no shortcuts, you are going to have to try several brands and see what shoots best out of your gun.
My dad used to hunt with a Single shot Ithaca 12 ga. smoothbore. He found the exact same gun at a show and decided to buy it as a backup. His first one was accurate with Winchester Slugs, when sighting in the new one he went through all his slugs and still couldn't dial it in. A friend had a box of Remington sluggers with him so he tried those. It was sighted in with one box!
No rhyme or reason, it just liked a different brand.

[7MMGUY]

The gun is an 870 express. I know the Wingmaster barrels are more expensive due the high polish bluing but I doubt much more care is spent on the bore and rifling.

[zippy13]

Originally Posted by 7mmGUY

I doubt much more care is spent on the bore and rifling.

Why do you assume that, or are you an optimist? We've read many reports that Remington spends more time with the chambers of the Wingmasters. Why wouldn't the same hold true for some aspects of the rifled slug barrels? I really have no idea, but I'm curious. Like most folks, I've never had both barrels in my hands as the same time for a comparison. More than one buyer has been disappointed to learn that his new Express differs from a Wingmaster in more than just the exterior finishes.

[7MMGUY]

I am not optimistic about much when it comes to the purchase of less expensive models of guns or anything else. If you read Wingmaster barrels have better chambers than Express barrels that may be true. If we were talking about rifles instead of shotguns i wouldn't consider using one with a rough or sloppy chamber. I never read or heard that Express shotguns did not function well or shoot good due to shoddy workmanship. I have owned several of these guns without a problem, this is my first slug barrel.

[zippy13]

7mmGUY,
I don't think it's a case of shoddy workmanship, nor of either model not functioning properly. As I've speculated in previous threads, Remington may have different production standards for the various 870 models. The reported "rougher" chambers in the Expresses may be will within its specifications.

What are Remington's standards for "barrel straightness" and are they stricter of the Wingmasters? -- they don't advertise such things. If there are different standards, might not the Wingmaster slug barrels be more accurate? We expect the higher grade rifle to be more accurate, why not the same thing with slug guns?

With shotguns, "accuracy" is not as obvious as with rifles. Many people don't pattern their smooth bores. And, with the price of sabots, often a rifled bore is taken to the range for just enough shooting to verify zero. How many shooters know exactly how their favorite deer rifle will perform, but don't have a clue about their shotgun?

[7MMGUY]

Well Zippy,
Those questions are tough to answer and only Remington has that information. If you are right they would probably never admit it. When Remington introduced the lower cost Express model it was easy to see they saved production cost with the matte finish and hardwood or synthetic stock. If they chose to cheapen the internal workings of these guns it would be a mistake. They are in the business to make money and poor accuracy or bad function of any firearm hurts their reputation. Buying an Express instead of a Wingmaster does not justify poor function. You can get by without walnut and high polish bluing but not performance.

[zippy13]

Originally Posted by 7mmGUY

Buying an Express instead of a Wingmaster does not justify poor function. You can get by without walnut and high polish bluing but not performance.

+1
We are in lock-step total agreement.