12GA Rifles Slugs (Brenneke in particular)

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WrongHanded

WrongHanded

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I have previously only had Federal magnum 3", and tactical 2-3/4" slugs, which as I understand it, are Foster slugs. Never shot anything but paper, melons, and 2 litre soda bottles with them. I had them mainly as a just in case sort of thing. But as I understand, they're not quite the hard hitting penetrators Brenneke slugs are.

So I recently ordered a few boxes of 2-3/4" Green Lightnings, partly out of curiosity. But also for camp defense at more remote dispersed campsite. Whether or not I'd take a shotgun for such purposes, I still don't know. But I'd like the option.

Does anyone have experience with these, or any of the other Brenneke slugs? Any comments or thoughts besides "Do not use them for home defense!"
 
Not with the Lightnings, however, I have about 100 of the KO Brennekw slugs in 12 and 20 ga, still have some, maybe 25, Black Magic Magnum 12 ga, and have quite a few Rio Star Slugs which are Brenneke style slugs. I like them a lot and have found them all accurate out of multiple shotguns. The Black Magic Magnum are a little too potent perhaps - very stout recoil indeed. Definitely harder alloy than ye olde Foster Slug, harder hitting, and less deformation.
 
The most effective and accurate slugs in my 11-87 have been Winchester premium sobot slugs. I don't see any advantage in Brenneke or foster slugs. That's for deer hunting.
 
I have shot a hundred or more of various Brenneke slugs from smoothbore, rifled, and smoothbore with rifled choke tubes. It is hit or miss (oops) as far as which works and which does not. A Hastings Paradox rifled 870 barrel was quite accurate while an old Ithaca smoothbore "Deerslayer" was horrible. I have a hundred or so of the Nobel Strike Sport slugs which look like Brenneke slugs but have straight ribs. They shoot well out of my 870 rifled barrel. Again, you have to try them to find out.
 
I never used the Brenneke style personally on game, but did use them on paper a little bit with some random ones I was gifted. Accuracy was reasonable at 50 yards from an IC smooth bore. An uncle used them back in the 80s and complained that they passed through deer without expanding. I have killed several deer and a large black bear with conventional Foster slugs. They do the job. IMHO, magnums are unnecessary and detrimental to good shooting. With the old 1 oz 2.75 load, you're basically shooting a 70ish caliber Minie ball. This has been buffalo and grizzly medicine for going on 2 centuries.
 
Brenneke classic magnum was our go to slug for deer prior to using a rifled barrel shotgun with sabots.

still have 5 boxes that’ll be used for SD but I haven’t bought any in years.
 
I have hot shot anything alive with them yet, but out of my smoothbore I was shooting 1/2in groups at 25yds with a red dot with my smooth bore. They paint the exact same slug red for the barrier penetrator for the 'special forces magnum", these are hard nonexpanding slugs. I have not seen them in stock but I always buy them when they are available.
 
WrongHanded said:
I have previously only had Federal magnum 3", and tactical 2-3/4" slugs, which as I understand it, are Foster slugs. Never shot anything but paper, melons, and 2 litre soda bottles with them. I had them mainly as a just in case sort of thing. But as I understand, they're not quite the hard hitting penetrators Brenneke slugs are.

So I recently ordered a few boxes of 2-3/4" Green Lightnings, partly out of curiosity. But also for camp defense at more remote dispersed campsite. Whether or not I'd take a shotgun for such purposes, I still don't know. But I'd like the option.

Does anyone have experience with these, or any of the other Brenneke slugs? Any comments or thoughts besides "Do not use them for home defense!"
Click to expand...
 
Recently bought some Brenneke 12 ga. 3” Black Magic slugs- tried them out in my EAA 18 1/2 Pump gun- wanted to check functionality and accuracy, shot 4-5 thru it, that was enough! That gun only weighs 5-6 lbs and that is the hardest kicking round I’ve ever fired- told my wife the only time I’ll ever use those slugs again is for a charging bear- I’m convinced they will kill anything on this planet!
 
When I first started deer hunting on a shotgun only zone, rifled barrels were not the norm yet. As such, I had a smooth bore and so did my dad.

He had used Winchester 1 oz slugs for years but after a few misses he decided to try Brennekes. They were the old Rottweil. They seemed to shoot the same for me but the ol man decided they were better and proceeded to use them.

I can say with utter certainty the Brennekes were better than the Winchester fosters. They penetrated further, expanded better, and just plain put game down faster.

The Winchesters would often not get a pass through though they were still pretty effective on deer. The Brennekes would penetrate to the rear end on a frontal shot and always exited on a broadside shot.

These were the old original Brennekes though. Back then, that was the only option. No Green Lightning or Black Magic or KOs. Just the Rottweil in 12 and 20 ga. The projectile is still the same shape.

For foster slugs, Brennekes may be one of the better choices out there as long as they will group. If they won’t, find something that will and there won’t be a ton of difference on deer. If you want something for dangerous critters then I suppose they would be a better choice than the standard fosters from Win, Fed, Rem.
 
https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?4340-12-gauge-shotgun-loads-for-LE-duty-use

While this article is somewhat dated, I'd sometimes carry Brenneke slugs (personal carry/use as I had to use Winchester or Federal Foster-slugs for work).

The article's author, "DocGKR" informally advised me the Brenneke, due to its harder alloy and shape, would be better able to penetrate things like automobile/vehicles better than a softer-lead-Foster-type-slug. I only have experience with rifled slugs (not sabots). Penetration of a barrier (like a car door/body) to get to a bad-guy would be my main interest as I'm not a hunter or concerned much with an animal threat (like a bear).

I did notice there could/would be a difference in point-of-impact (POI) between slug brands/models. I'd recommend being aware of where one's slugs might hit depending on gun and distance (kind of basic).

https://www.brennekeusa.com/
I'd also recommend reading up on what BrennekeUSA offers product-wise as there are various slug weights, hunting vs. LE products, but there might be some overlap in products. I just generally find Brenneke's products difficult to find for sale. Some of the products on the BrennekeUSA website may not have been in existence when the referenced article was written. I think I was only able to find the "KO" model (don't remember what weight/specs) I'd bought. They hit ~6" lower at 50 yards than my regular Winchester or Federal 1 oz. 2.75" rifled slugs. I should get more Brenneke slugs should I ever find them for sale again at an affordable price.
 
You don't mention what you'll be shooting them from. That's probably the biggest factor, next to you, how they'll perform. Try some out and let us know. I've shot a couple boxes of Remington magnums just for fun. That was all it took to convince me I could do better with standard 2 3/4" loads. I was shooting them from a Winchester 1300. It can put 1 ounce Winchester slugs on a piece of notebook paper at 100 yards.
 
Most of the Brenneke slugs I have shot and tested have been cast from a much harder lead than the more traditional foster slugs from the big three (Rem, Win, Fed). Most foster slugs are cast from nearly pure lead and are pretty soft. I grew up in slug only state and mostly used Remington Sluggers in my 12 gauge. Against deer they are more than enough. When I switch to a 410 for deer I did upgrade to the Brenneke as they were heavier, harder, and faster than anything from the big three in 410. As with many things and especially slugs, you got to buy a variety and find what you guns likes best. If you have choke tubes start with your most open but don't be afraid to add some constriction. My Remington 1100 shoots Sluggers best with a modified choke despite the general guidance that foster slugs like cylinder bore best.
 
mokin said:
You don't mention what you'll be shooting them from. That's probably the biggest factor, next to you, how they'll perform. Try some out and let us know.
Click to expand...

It'll be from a Mossberg 500/590 with 18.5" barrel and a standard bead. And yes, I do really need to get it out and do some testing. I've piled a bunch of ammo related testing on my plate recently, and haven't found the opportunity to deal with most of it yet. Though as far as "to-do" lists go, it's not a bad one to have.
 
WrongHanded said:
It'll be from a Mossberg 500/590 with 18.5" barrel and a standard bead. And yes, I do really need to get it out and do some testing. I've piled a bunch of ammo related testing on my plate recently, and haven't found the opportunity to deal with most of it yet. Though as far as "to-do" lists go, it's not a bad one to have.
Click to expand...

Have fun with that!

I've got a bead on the barrel of my 1300. Learning the hold over is kind of tricky. I've sort of shopped around for a slug barrel just to see what I might be able to do with "real" slug sights. On the other hand, I probably shouldn't press my luck.
 
I found fosters expanded into a flat looking donut .Some stopped in hogs, some plowed through. I used to have the 3" Rottwel brennekes as well, with the 1 3/8 oz slug or 600 grains including the integral basewad. Cant recall the velocity, could google it, but I do remember muzzle energy was about 3000ftlbs. These were a harder slug than the fosters, I never recovered any. They killed about the same as the fosters on hogs at 40 yards but I imagine if the game was larger they would come into their own.
 
Gree magic is the same as what they used to call short field magnum I have shot them in twelve gauge out of a couple modified choke 870's and a rifled 12 gauge and the gun described below . They shoot good in every gun I have tried them in. In 20 gauge they are the best slugs out of my H&R tamer 20
Right out of highschool I worked on a cattle ranch in Oklahoma. A big Charolais steer put the other ranch hand in the hospital . I went hunting him . Old lefty Wingmaster with rifled sight and improved cylinder loaded with Brenekke short field magnum slugs . First why is it the 299 cattle that aren't a problem are out in the open Mr problem is holed up in the thickest stuff on the property? He came out of the brush at about 20 yards with bad intentions the slug caught him towards the right eye butcher recovered it at that base of the neck where it busted a vertebra through the scull through most of the neck and stopping just shy of the body cavity around 2 foot through bone and muscle
When all was done he was laying about 15 foot from my feet
I trust them
 
The deer (2) that my son and I shot (one each) only made it as far as their momentum carried them after being hit through the front quarter with the Rottweill Brenneke original slugs. Full pass through and blood trails (short) that a blind man could follow. Meat damage not nearly as bad as the Hornady SST.
 
L-2 said:
https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?4340-12-gauge-shotgun-loads-for-LE-duty-use

While this article is somewhat dated, I'd sometimes carry Brenneke slugs (personal carry/use as I had to use Winchester or Federal Foster-slugs for work).

The article's author, "DocGKR" informally advised me the Brenneke, due to its harder alloy and shape, would be better able to penetrate things like automobile/vehicles better than a softer-lead-Foster-type-slug. I only have experience with rifled slugs (not sabots). Penetration of a barrier (like a car door/body) to get to a bad-guy would be my main interest as I'm not a hunter or concerned much with an animal threat (like a bear).

I did notice there could/would be a difference in point-of-impact (POI) between slug brands/models. I'd recommend being aware of where one's slugs might hit depending on gun and distance (kind of basic).

https://www.brennekeusa.com/
I'd also recommend reading up on what BrennekeUSA offers product-wise as there are various slug weights, hunting vs. LE products, but there might be some overlap in products. I just generally find Brenneke's products difficult to find for sale. Some of the products on the BrennekeUSA website may not have been in existence when the referenced article was written. I think I was only able to find the "KO" model (don't remember what weight/specs) I'd bought. They hit ~6" lower at 50 yards than my regular Winchester or Federal 1 oz. 2.75" rifled slugs. I should get more Brenneke slugs should I ever find them for sale again at an affordable price.
Click to expand...
Yea, it took me over a year to find the Black Magic slugs, Midway had them briefly, don’t know if they still do.
 
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