Basic questions about slug rounds.

[Molon Labe]

For deer hunting this year I plan on using a Mossberg 500 12-gauge shotgun w/ rifled barrel.

I have some questions about ammo.

What slug loads can I (or should I) use? I am a bit confused on this issue. Some slugs have rifled grooves on them; some don't. I have also seen "sabot" slug loads for sale.

What's the best slug load to use, in your opinion? Can I safely use slugs w/ rifled grooves in my rifled barrel? Or should I stick to smooth slugs? What are the advantages & disadvantages to using a sabot round?

 

[USSR]

With a rifled barrel, use a sabotted slug. Use of slugs with rifled grooves on them (Foster type) will quickly deposit tons of lead in the grooves of your barrel, and accuracy will go south in no time.

Don

 

[Bix]

Your barrel was designed for sabot slugs.

The bad news is that these rounds are significantly more expensive than their nonsaboted counterparts. The good news is that the combination of a rifled barrel and sabot slug will yield about as much accuracy as one can get out of a shotgun.

As far as which slug to choose, the standard advice is to pick up a handful of the 5-packs of sabot slugs and head off to the range. Pick whichever one prints the nicest groups

 

[cordex]

Use of slugs with rifled grooves on them (Foster type) will quickly deposit tons of lead in the grooves of your barrel, and accuracy will go south in no time.

I haven't found that to be the case and Foster style slugs are all I use in my rifled 870.

You can pay $8-20 per box of sabot slugs or $1.50-$5 per box of the cheap Foster fodder. Within the range that I will personally use a shotgun on a deer (within 75 yards) I have found no difference in accuracy.

I've not noticed that leading is a problem and it certainly hasn't affected the way it shoots. If anything, I'm more proficient because I can afford to shoot far more rounds in practice than if I used even the cheapest Sabot slugs.

My suggestion is to do what I did: Go out and buy five or ten different types of slugs and take them all out to see how they perform in your gun.

 

[USSR]

cordex,

The source of my info concerning the use of Foster type slugs in a fully rifled barrel is an American Rifleman article in which the author tried both sabot slugs and Foster slugs in smooth bores, fully rifled bores, and rifled choke tube shotguns. Their analysis: the Foster type slugs work fine in smooth bores and rifled choke tube guns, but quickly "lead up" the fully rifled bores. If yours continues to shoot well despite the lead in the bore, that's great.

Don

 

[MNgoldenbear]

I hadn't found that the Foster slugs cause excessive leading either, but I'm sure that varies with the individual barrel, slug, velocity, phase of the moon, etc. Whatever works, works!

I switched to a rifled barrel, red dot, and sabots last year. The year before I was shooting Win SuperX rifled slugs (basic, cheapie load) in a rifle-sighted Rem barrel -- which I'd neglected to put a rifled choke tube into, andas shooting IC the whole time. I had more trouble at the range and in the field out to 100 yards with the new rig than the old. I was good for a paper plate at 100, and was stacking the slugs as 50 wi the old set up. Need to experiment more with the sabots ($$$$) or go back to my old setup. Fired a few leftover Fosters after the season with the rifled barrel. Didn't seem to be a problem.