Rifled shotguns vs. Smoothbore
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Armored farmer
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You CAN shoot shot from a rifled barrel, but the spin that the riflings impart on the wad and shot will result in a poor, very open pattern.
Some open (choke) smoothbore tubes will shoot a rifled slug pretty well out to 100yds or so.
Rifled barrels with premium sabots are good to 150-200yds.
Some open (choke) smoothbore tubes will shoot a rifled slug pretty well out to 100yds or so.
Rifled barrels with premium sabots are good to 150-200yds.
I am aware of a Remington 1100 equipped with a Hastings rifled barrel and Leupold scope firing 50 cal./12 ga. sabots killing killing whitetails out to 150 yds. in Delaware and New Jersey over open cropland.
A rifled shotgun barrel has no other use that I am aware of.
FYI I tried a paradox (rifled) invector tube several years ago with poor results.
A hollow based rifled slug drops about 10 inches or so at 100 yds.
A rifled shotgun barrel has no other use that I am aware of.
FYI I tried a paradox (rifled) invector tube several years ago with poor results.
A hollow based rifled slug drops about 10 inches or so at 100 yds.
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oneounceload
member
You could always use a smoothbore barrel and a rifled choke for sabot slugs while having the smoothbore for birds/targets
Shooting shot out of a rifled barrel is a waste of money, as is shooting sabot slugs out of a smoothbore.
In reality you can shoot rifled slugs out of any shotgun choke, in fact some guns are more accurate with some choke, even full. All of the GI Ithacas in VN were full choked barrels and in many of them slugs shot quite well. In a full choke the soft lead "skirt" of the slug merely swages down with almost no increase in pressure-I can squeeze the skirts to deform with my fingers so the choke will pose no problem. If you shoot sabot rounds out of a choked smoothbore, all that will happen is that the sabot will rattle down the bore and through the choke as they are substantially smaller than a smoothbore 12gauge.
The trick is to find what slugs your smoothbore "likes", usually involving shooting a few different brands.
I have a Winchester 97 with the 30" "Goose" barrel, choked full that will deliver rifled slugs as accurately as my Browning A-Bolt rifled barrel will shoot sabots, and the Browning A-Bolt is pretty much the benchmark in rifled shotgun bore accuracy.
Each gun will have a "preference" you just have to figure out that it is..........
In reality you can shoot rifled slugs out of any shotgun choke, in fact some guns are more accurate with some choke, even full. All of the GI Ithacas in VN were full choked barrels and in many of them slugs shot quite well. In a full choke the soft lead "skirt" of the slug merely swages down with almost no increase in pressure-I can squeeze the skirts to deform with my fingers so the choke will pose no problem. If you shoot sabot rounds out of a choked smoothbore, all that will happen is that the sabot will rattle down the bore and through the choke as they are substantially smaller than a smoothbore 12gauge.
The trick is to find what slugs your smoothbore "likes", usually involving shooting a few different brands.
I have a Winchester 97 with the 30" "Goose" barrel, choked full that will deliver rifled slugs as accurately as my Browning A-Bolt rifled barrel will shoot sabots, and the Browning A-Bolt is pretty much the benchmark in rifled shotgun bore accuracy.
Each gun will have a "preference" you just have to figure out that it is..........
Armored farmer
Member
There was the guy at deer camp who was shooting slugs through his Browning auto-5. "Yea they shoot great through my full choke, " he said.
.....Then someone noticed the 9 inch long crack in the barrel near the muzzle.
.....Then someone noticed the 9 inch long crack in the barrel near the muzzle.
redneck2
Member
A few years ago I killed a coyote at a measure 140 yards with a scoped 870, Remington Copper solids. It was sighted at 125 so it wasn't exceptionally difficult. One shot, one kill.
With high speed sabots, a 12 gauge is about equivalent to a .45-70.
With high speed sabots, a 12 gauge is about equivalent to a .45-70.
FLNT4EVR
Member
That crack in the barrel was caused by something other than shooting rifled slugs. The Foster type rifled slugs are made from very soft lead,that will squeez down to pass thru any standard size bore from cilinder to full and still retain reasonable accuracy.They have been around for many many years ,and if they were damaging to shotgun barrels believe me everyone would know about it.
Kingcreek
Member
Pull a slug from an unfired shell and drop it thru a full-choked smooth bore barrel and I'll bet it goes thru. I've done it, and any slug I've tried will not damage a choked barrel.
Armored farmer
Member
FLNT4EVR,
I know you are right about the slug squeezing down. That is what they are designed to do.
Not so sure that a thin wall shotgun barrel is designed to swage lead @ 1300-1500fps repeatedly???
Please consider:.....
teenage boy, lots of slugs, sighting in (you get the picture).
I know you are right about the slug squeezing down. That is what they are designed to do.
Not so sure that a thin wall shotgun barrel is designed to swage lead @ 1300-1500fps repeatedly???
Please consider:.....
teenage boy, lots of slugs, sighting in (you get the picture).
King,
Outside diameter on any Foster type slug as loaded is irrelevant when unfired, the hollow slug expands (sometimes surprisingly so) on firing & then swages back down on encountering a choke.
Other types show similar expansion on firing.
Denis
Outside diameter on any Foster type slug as loaded is irrelevant when unfired, the hollow slug expands (sometimes surprisingly so) on firing & then swages back down on encountering a choke.
Other types show similar expansion on firing.
Denis
mbopp
Member
Foster slugs are hollow base and made of soft lead, cut one apart and see. If you recover a Foster slug from a dirt backstop at long range you'll see it's set back and compressed to 70 caliber (12 ga.) And somewhere I saw a high speed x-ray of a slug in a barrel, it too was compressed to full barrel diameter.
I've got a '70-ish Ithaca M37 that came with the 20" slug barrel. The barrel itself measured at .715" instead of the nominal .730" for a field barrel. It never did shoot Foster slugs worth a darn.
I took a 28" vent rib modified barrel and cut 2" off the end, effectively removing the choke. For sights I used some aluminum ones made on a milling machine (this was before Williams made them.) A few years back I had the receiver D&T'd for scope mounts and put a tube red dot on it.
And the short story is that it'll shoot Foster slugs into 5" at 75 yards, and that's all I ask of it.
I've got a '70-ish Ithaca M37 that came with the 20" slug barrel. The barrel itself measured at .715" instead of the nominal .730" for a field barrel. It never did shoot Foster slugs worth a darn.
I took a 28" vent rib modified barrel and cut 2" off the end, effectively removing the choke. For sights I used some aluminum ones made on a milling machine (this was before Williams made them.) A few years back I had the receiver D&T'd for scope mounts and put a tube red dot on it.
And the short story is that it'll shoot Foster slugs into 5" at 75 yards, and that's all I ask of it.
eskimojoe201
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With high speed sabots, a 20 gauge is about equivalent to a?
Hunterdad
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I would guess, pretty close to a 50cal muzzleloader,
Pete D.
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Comparison
A 20 gauge saboted round is commonly a 260 grain slug at 1900 or so fps.
A traditional .50 cal mler shooting a patched round ball of 173 grains will not equal that. Modern inline 50s or 54s - some of them - can produce more energy than the 20 gauge sabot. A 54 cal with a 350 grainer at 1800 fps is a handful. Inlines only.
Pete
A 20 gauge saboted round is commonly a 260 grain slug at 1900 or so fps.
A traditional .50 cal mler shooting a patched round ball of 173 grains will not equal that. Modern inline 50s or 54s - some of them - can produce more energy than the 20 gauge sabot. A 54 cal with a 350 grainer at 1800 fps is a handful. Inlines only.
Pete
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