bead sights, slugs?

[12GA00buck]

I have two questions

1. How far are slug’s practical with bead sights, assuming you’re a decent shot and you’ve found the best 25 yard slugs for your gun.
2. What purpose does the second bead (1/3 down from muzzle) on some shotgun barrels serve? Does it offset having to aim low with a single bead?
Thanks

 

[Dave McCracken]

Since I've two fine shooters set up with peep sights little testing has been done here with a bead lately, but I can use one 21" barrel and an IC choke to keep them in 2.5" at 50 yards from the bench. Call it good to 100 with a good rest.

The mid bead is mostly for premounted games like to trap to check alignment but I have used a figure 8 configuration in the past as a crude sighting tool. Try it out at the bench and see if it works for you...

 

[Fred Fuller]

More depends on the shooter than the gun in this as in most cases. Lots of shotguns with only bead sights have served their owners well shooting slugs for lots of years. Only way to know is to try yours out at a safe shooting range- slugs are shotgun Energizer bunnies, they keep going and going if not stopped with a solid backstop. You might be more comfortable shooting slugs from a standing position with a rest than benching your shotgun like a rifle though. Try it out at 50 yards, then back off to 100 and see how it works. You might be surprised how well it- and you- can do.

Safe shooting,

lpl/nc

 

[12GA00buck]

Thank you Gentlemen for your information. I’m saving for a rifle, but I may have the opportunity to make my freezer a little less empty before then. I’ll pattern some groups at 50 ,75, 100 yards. If I can keep a 6 inch group from offhand, it should be plenty adequate for brush hunting Sitka black tails.

Thanks again,
Josh

 

[Imaginos]

Extra Barrel?

If you are using a repeater instead of a double barrel, you can usually buy rifled slug barrles for about $200. They come with scope mounts and/or rifle style sights. These are drop in parts so no gunsmith is required.

 

[Hawk]

2. What purpose does the second bead (1/3 down from muzzle) on some shotgun barrels serve?

It's there to separate you from your money.

If you mount a gun "blind", open your eyes and see a perfect figure 8, you'll buy the gun. Doesn't even matter if it has way more fru-fru than you wanted.