Shotgun and red dot?

[VeT|Us]

Need your advice!

I just purchased what is to become my main smallgame-gun, a Huglu 870 knockoff. I'm not discussing the gun, but how I should set it up.
It has a 65cm barrel, and imp cyl.

I know for a fact that I'll go duckhunting with my father in law, and the season opens mid august. And I'll use it for sure for dove and quail at my mother in laws farm. Later in the fall I may go hunting rabbit/beaver/fowl-hunting a ways away, and right before the deer-season ends, I'd really like to go deerhunting in the wintersnow, to test my trackingskills.

So I was thinking, what kind of optic/sight should I mount?
Im thinking that a scope is good for deer, but useless for shooting birds in flight. Bead is great for birds, but I dont wanna take a 50 yard shot at a deer with a slug using bead sight. Just isnt comfortable for me.

What I'm asking is; What kind of optic should I mount on my shotgun?
I want it to be usefull for most purposes of hunting (esp those above),
and I dont wanna have to take it off/on and sight it in everytime I change the species I hunt.

Was thinking about the Bushnell Trophy Red Dot with a 6moa dot.



Any advice will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

 

[sumpnz]

If you're going to use that gun for deer hunting with slugs, be advised that you cannot use that barrel. Slugs and chokes don't like each other very much. If your state will let you use buckshot, that barrel would be OK so long as it patterned appropriatly. However, buckshot is not considered to be a good round to use for deer, in spite of its name. Penetration is just not good enough except at fairly close range.

Is the barrel on that shotgun as easy to change as on the 870? If so, get yourself a slug barrel, and set it up with a 1.5-5x or fixed 2x, or that red-dot scope and leave the bead sight on the existing barrel.

 

[birddog]

I agree with Sumpnz. Get yourself two barrels. I've had great luck with the red dot on my Mossberg Trophy Slugster for deer hunting (my success with that gun prompted me to scope my .44 mag revolver and my Encore 30-06 also with red-dots), but no way whatsoever would I recommend leaving that red-dot on while bird hunting. Most shotgun instructors will tell you that you don't want to be AIMing at flying birds, you wanted to be *swinging*. That red-dot will make you focus far too hard on your target to make the snap shooting usually involved in upland and waterfowling, when you should be thinking about swinging, and following through.

Go with the two barrels, and leave the red-dot on your slug barrel.

 

[1911user]

Sumpnz, you are wrong about not being able to use choked barrels with the traditional (forster) type, hollow-base, lead slugs. They are made to squeeze down, if required, to fit through even a full choke. IC choking is/was kind of a standard for buckshot/slug barrels. A rifled slug barrel is better because, well, it's rifled and can really make sabot slugs accurate. The downside to a rifled slug barrel is that's all it's good for.

I do not know about sabot slugs and choked barrels but I can't imagine it being dangerous due to US liability laws. Anybody know the truth?

 

[Twycross]

A slug will shoot through a tight choke (in a stupid moment, I once fired a slug through a turkey choke . No problems since.). However, from all that I have seen and heard, accuracy will be reduced in proportion to the tightness of the choke.

 

[Bix]

If you stop in at the shotgun forum, you'll see that a lot of us regularly shoot rifled slugs through choked, smoothbore barrels.

It will certainly not be an issue with a (fixed?) IC choke.

How about reconfigruing your gun, depending on the task at hand? Use the bead for your wingshooting, and when deer season comes around, slip the mount/optic on and dial it in.

 

[VeT|Us]

I would like to, problem is deerseason and fowlseason is at the same time here. Actually deerseason starts first, on monday, and ends on jan 1.
Guess I'm just gonna have to go with the standard bead for now, and some hevishot buckshot if I go for deer.

Cant wait for the deerseason, today one ran right past me on the sidewalk

 

[birddog]

problem is deerseason and fowlseason is at the same time here.

If you get two barrels, it should only take you about two minutes (if you take your time) to change barrels depending on what you want to hunt.

 

[scout26]

A more open choke on smooth bore shooting forster slugs makes for a tight group as the slugs don't deform(go out of round) when going through the say an IC choke as they do going through say a full choke.

Two barrels is the way to go. A cantilevered scope barrel that you can leave the scope/Red Dot mounted on for Bambi and a regular field barrel for the birdies.

I've got a Mossberg 500 that I got a couple of barrels for: 18.5" for HD, 24" Cantilevered rifled barrel with scope mounted for Bambi and 28" Field Barrel with a bunch of screw-in chokes for all kinds of hopping, climbing, flying eatables.

Takes longer to change ammo then it does to change barrels.

 

[Sunray]

"...buckshot..." Isn't reliable or accurate enough for deer. Use the slug. Your IC choke is just dandy for them. On the other hand, you'll be seriously handicapped with it for ducks. Too much shot spread. Be ok for small game though.
"...dont wanna take a 50 yard shot at a deer with a slug using bead sight. Just isnt comfortable for me..." Good thinking. However, no matter what slug or sight you use, you'll have to sight in for it. Put on the Red Dot or a low magnification optic and go sight it in. Think 9" pie plate, off hand, at 100 yards with the ammo you intend to hunt with. Practice until you can hit it every time. Just remember that 6 MOA is roughly 6" at 100 yards.

 

[fgr39]

buckshot is a reliable load for deer. I grew up using it(couldn't use rifles or slugs) 12 gauge 3" Remington premier nickle plated 00 works great, never had a deer get away that I shot.

With that being said there were limitations, first we all used full choke barrels and second shots have to be taken fairly close(usually 40 yards or less). So I would not recomend using an IC barrel unless you kept shots to 25 yards. Stick with slugs if using that barrel.

As for having optics and wing shooting I have never done it but I think it would be very hard to do. As others have said mount it and zero it for deer but take it off for birds.

One other note, I prefer a tighter choke than IC for ducks, especially if you have to use steel shot.

 

[smokemaker]

A word about sabot slugs in smoothbore barrels... don't bother. Accuracy will be poor at best.

 

[Gohon]

Once saw a hunting program where young people were being taught to trap and skeet shoot. The shotguns all had Bushnells Holosights mounted and after a few shots these kids were busting everything thrown. My understand is the Holosight projects the dot 50 yards in front of the gun. This would be a perfect setup for what you are seeking. I know Mossberg smoothbore slug barrels are bored cylinder so the IC bore on your gun would work out nice for slugs out to 50 yards. I've got the trophy red dot mounted on a 22 pistol and a lever action .357 and it works great for these but I think the Holosight would be a much better choice for a shotgun.