[goon]

Does the spin of the rifling cause the shot to spread out faster? Is there any place where the shot spreading out faster would be a good thing? I am just wondering because I thought that maybe a rifled barrel might be OK for HD use with buck and still be useful as a slug gun for hunting.
Or would you be better off to set it up as the HD gun with a smoothbore and use it like that for hunting as well?
Sorry for all the amateur posts but I am planning to get pump before too long. I want to use it mostly for shooting aluminum cans and paper targets but I would also like to be able to use it for close range deer hunting and it would be kept close at hand for HD use as well. I am thinking that most of the used shotguns I see are sporting 28" or so barrels so I am just going to get another barrel for slugs and HD use when I get one.
Thanks.

[444]

"Does the spin of the rifling cause the shot to spread out faster?"
Yes, many times faster.

"Is there any place where the shot spreading out faster would be a good thing?"
No. In fact many people pay a lot of money to get barrels that hold the pattern together longer such as the Vang Comp barrels.

"Or would you be better off to set it up as the HD gun with a smoothbore and use it like that for hunting as well?"
That is what I would do unless you want to buy two more barrels, one rifled and one smoothbore. With my Remington factory smooth bore short barrel with factory sights I can easily achieve the accuracy nessessary for deer hunting in close eastern cover. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot at a deer at 100 yards with my barrel and garden variety Winchester 1 oz slugs.

[Dave McCracken]

Not a good idea. Check the Archives for lots of input.

[Mannlicher]

And then there is the Hastings WadLock II barrels, with their straight rifling. They say it keeps the wad and shot from spinning, and I think they are right. My old Browning A5 shoots better than ever with its Hastings barrel.