Slug recommendations

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Derek Zeanah

Derek Zeanah

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Searching shows that folks love Brenneke slugs, but those things seem to cost $2 each, and that's a bit excessive.

I'm looking for recommendations for a solid "general purpose" 12 gauge slug that can group well out of a smoothbore, and that's not so expensive that I can't train with it. Basically something I won't cry about launching a hundred of at a shotgun course, that's a reasonable choice in a defensive shotgun, and that could take a deer or a hog if necessary.

That might be asking a lot, but ammo is cheap right now and I'd love to buy a few of something, test to make sure it runs well, and stack them deep now while I can afford to do so.

So if there were one or two that you think are worth testing, what would they be?
 
12 ga. smoothbore..... So I'm assuming Foster style slugs. The simple answer is "whatever your barrel likes"....... I can make two suggestions based on over 25 years of smoothbore slug gun hunting. My old High Standard 12 ga. smoothbore is absolutely in love with 2 & 3/4" Remington Sluggers. Discovered them in the early 1970's and never went back to anything else in that gun. In 1987 I got my Remington 870 "Special Purpose Deer" 12 ga. smoothbore and wound up using 2 & 3/4" Winchester Super-X Foster style slugs exclusively until about 2001 when it got a fully rifles barrel and I went to sabot slugs. These recommendations are based on what they do out of my guns....... What gun are you using? .... One thing I've noticed over the years is that Winchester slugs generally shoot great out of Remington smoothbores....... Go figure. Also; when I got the 870 in 1987 it had a 3" chamber so I immediately went to 3" foster style slugs for a few years until I noticed that the deer couldn't tell the difference...... They died just as fast when hit by a 2& 3/4" slug..... And the 2 & 3/4" slugs were more accurate out of that gun. So that guns gets nothing but 2& 3/4" stuff ever since, ( even with the rifled barrel I now run only 2& 3/4" Winchester sabots ). I'd be willing to bet that a hog couldn't tell the difference in slug length either. So I'd only be concerned with accuracy with whatever gun you use. Just about any 12 ga. slug has more than enough power as long as you can put it where it needs to go. Too bad the Brennekes are so expensive because they generally shoot well from a lot of different guns. Four years ago I did the "stack them deep" thing with Winchester/BRI 2 & 3/4" Sabots for the rifled barrel 870 and I'm glad I did.
 
Derek, each gun and barrel will react differently with the same brand of slug. Most slugs like to be shot out of cylinder or I/C choke, but I have some fixed choke guns that do well in Full and Modified. Rem Sluggers do decent out of a couple of my guns, but really I do mostly skeet and trap so don't shoot many slugs and if I hunt deer with one it is a rifled slug barrel which needs sabot slugs, not Foster style. Try the cheapest "rifled" Foster style slug you can find first, you might get lucky.

"Rifled" has rifled grooves imparted on the soft lead so it can actually swage down to bore or choke diameter, they really depart little to no spin on the slug as it leaves the barrel, the weight forward design helps it stabilize in flight mores so than any spin.
 
^^..... What Kudu said............. Start trying foster style slugs. I forgot to mention that Lightfield also makes some slugs that perform very well from smoothbores but I'm not familiar with the cost. Buddy of mine used to use them exclusively in an 870 cyl. bore smoothbore and they were great. With cylinder bore barrels you ought to be in luck. Lightfield also makes some sabot slugs that have impressed the heck out of me so much that I'm tempted to try a few in my rifled slug gun just out of curiosity even though I've probably got a lifetime supply of Winchester / BRI sabots.
 
Fiocchi makes a 3 Gun inspired slug that are $9 for 10 from midway USA, they shoot pretty well for me, they are 7/8oz and are powder coated

I would just shop around and buy a few samples, shoot em and go from there
 
I don't know whether you do any handloading or not, but my Winchester 1300 really likes one ounce "Thug Slugs" by Ballistic Products. They have a "kit" where all you do is add the powder. It contains primed hulls, slugs with wads/gas seals attached, and a load data brochure. This kit is around $19.00 for 25. You will also need to buy a roll crimp tool ($30.00) and you're ready to go. I doubt the loads I use have the velocity the factory loads from Winchester or Remington have but they are much more accurate.

https://www.ballisticproducts.com/Slugs-and-Components/products/71/

Be safe and enjoy.
 
Derek Zeanah said:
Searching shows that folks love Brenneke slugs, but those things seem to cost $2 each, and that's a bit excessive.

I'm looking for recommendations for a solid "general purpose" 12 gauge slug that can group well out of a smoothbore, and that's not so expensive that I can't train with it. Basically something I won't cry about launching a hundred of at a shotgun course, that's a reasonable choice in a defensive shotgun, and that could take a deer or a hog if necessary.

That might be asking a lot, but ammo is cheap right now and I'd love to buy a few of something, test to make sure it runs well, and stack them deep now while I can afford to do so.

So if there were one or two that you think are worth testing, what would they be?
Click to expand...

DZ:

I pay about $1.00-$1.50 per brenneke slug. I order online, usually as part of a larger ammo order to keep shipping costs down. KO line is cheapest, but Black Magic & Green Lightning my preference.

No matter how much you pay, you will feel like crying if you shoot 100 12ga slugs in one day. Birdshot target and/or reduced recoil buck they are not. You can extend your endurance with a gas-operated gun or recoil gewgaws on a pump. My Rem 1100 is soft shooting, though I am not eager to shoot 100 slugs in one day out of it. Just the bbl leading would be a flippng nightmare. I would clean and then set up my home-brew Outers Foul Out.

In my book, it is "Fosters for defense, Brennekes for hunting."

Foster slugs are impressively large, but don;t have the penetration I'd like for tougher beasts. For whitetail, they are fine, but not so much for bigger/tougher critters. And vs humans, they beat buckshot at most ranges. The fosters are soft and have very little sectional density, even though they weigh a bunch. They will flatten out PDQ. I have had good luck, accuracy-wise, with Federal Truball slugs. You might get lucky and one of your guns likes Wally World Winchester Value-pack slugs.

I have had the best accuracy out of my smoothbore 12ga guns with various Brennekes, Green Lightning and Black Magic were the top performers for me.

Like folk wrote above, you gotta try a variety of slugs in every gun/bbl to find out what it likes.

Test Priority:
Fosters
1. Cheap Winchester Wally World Value Pack. Could get lucky
2. Federal Truball
3. Others

Brenneke
1. Green Lightning
2. Black Magic
3. KO (I have not had as good a luck with these)
 
$2 each is high? Price the sabot slugs. I shoot Remington Accutips from my 220 Savage but cast four others styles for cheap practice. My blinds offer shots out to 125 or more yards and after fifty years, a dozen dedicated slug guns/barrels I like my present choice. Ten shots a year....two three shot groups, one more for each deer, and two left for "seed". I probably shoot fifty home brewed slugs for fun (self abuse) and practice. I did buy a case of Nobel Strike Slugs a while back and they are Brenneke clones (at $5.99/10) and use them in my loaner Mossberg 695k. Try Federal Truballs, they work great in smooth or rifled guns.
 
Brenneke K.O.s are really a modified Foster slug. It has the same structure as a Foster, but uses a snap in plastic wad that is supposed to stay attached to the slug in flight. I say supposed since I've read several reports of seperation in mid flight which will cause a loss of accuracy especially after 50 yards or so. Tauflaedermaus on YouTube has a slow motion video of Brenneke Tactical Short Magnum slugs experiencing the same problem.
TRUE Brenneke slugs, as in the type manufactured since 1898, features a more robust slug over the hollow based Foster slugs and also feature a fiber wad screwed to the base of the slug with a wood screw. Accuracy is excellent with this design, there are no secondary projectiles in the form of wads, and the fiber wad isn't going anywhere.
It does penetrate deeper than most foster slugs and expansion isn't very high even at close range. But this can be a benefit when firing against barricaded attackers or when firing against a wide variety of vehicle barriers such as auto glass and panels. And even without expansion, you're talking about a .73 caliber cylinder that sure as hell won't shrink and will perform the same from up close to 100+ yards away. The sharply angled wadcutter style slug of the original Brenneke with its ability to punch through bones and plenty of tissue even when fired at less than ideal angles against a human attacker make it very effective.

Brenneke USA has a Law Enforcement catalog and the original Brenneke is in there. They recommend it as a general purpose tactical slug. I would never use it for home defense but for an LEO it can make a great fighting slug. Louis Awerbuck used original Brennekes in his fighting shotguns and he is a legend in the subject.
As for the OP, I'm your situation I would go to Wal Mart/Cabelas etc. and buy a box or two of several different Foster slugs from the big names like Remington, Federal etc. Shoot them for groups and when you find the right load, use this website and order a case of 100 at the lowest price:
https://ammoseek.com/ammo/12-gauge?shot_size=slug&from=resultspage
You can also try reduced recoil slugs but they may or may not group as well at longer ranges as the flatter shooting full power slugs will. A proper fitted stock, proper technique, and conditioning can make these reduced velocity slugs not needed.
 
I put a Hastings rifled slug barrel on my 3” Remington 1100. Has been many years ago, but shooting sabot slugs, it grouped tight at 100 yds. Can’t remember which brand they were, but I was impressed.
 
I have tried to go economy on slugs but in the end paid more than if I had just bought a premium slug in the first place. Can't train if I can't get a group. Bench experimented with a lot of different brand slugs and Lightfield Hybrid has always came out the best. Smoothbore or rifled barrel. They aren't easy to find or cheap (at least around here anyway) but you really ought to try a few.
 
IMHO the Brenneke slugs excel when dealing with dangerous critters (i.e. bears) and to that end, that is pretty much what I use them for. What makes the Brenneke slugs work well in those situations is that the slug itself is hard cast lead instead of the very soft pure lead of a foster slug.

Green lightnings are what I use in my bear defense gun. I have tried the 3" black magic version and other than more recoil it didn't seem to perform any better. Still shooting 10 or so Green Lightnings is going to make your shoulder a bit tender.

Deer wise, when I need to hunt in a shotgun only area, I prefer a fully rifled barrel and sabot slugs. My BPS with Hastings barrel seems to like the 3" Federal Hydrashok sabot slugs. It will give me cloverleafs at 50 and slightly less than 3" groups at 100 with that load.

BTW: if you really want the Brenneke slugs, Buds Gun Shop has them for $7.40/box. Best price I have seen around.
 
My general purpose slugs are Classic Magmuns by Brenneke and slugger by Remington. These are what we killed deer so I have witnessed their performance.

Now it Remington copper soilds in 20 gauge for better performance, At $4.00 a shot they’re more expensive but worth it.
 
I used 2-3/4 1oz Remington Sluggers for years in my 870 with a smoothbore slug barrel. I tried Brenneke KO's one year when I found them cheaper. I've found they are slightly more accurate than the sluggers so I started using them and they perform in whitetail just as well.

I only shoot to 75 yards when practicing, and have yet to take a shot when hunting that was further than 35 yards so the accuracy either slug gives me is more than enough.
 
If you want a shotgun that will really shoot the cheap Foster slugs well and are willing to go through the trouble: I'd start off buying a small sample of each of the major brands of Foster slugs, Winchester, Federal and Remington, one or two boxes each, cut one shell open of each brand and measure the diameter of the slug and the inside diameter of the barrel/choke you plan on shooting them through and try to find the best match, then test fire. It used to be that Winchester slugs were the largest in diameter followed by Federal and then Remington... I don't know what they currently measure. Are you using a barrel with interchangeable choke tubes? If so, get an extra tube or two and try opening up a tighter choke tube a bit to fit the slug and then test fire and repeat. By going this route I've seen ordinary smooth bore shotguns with choke tubes and a scope that were able to shoot groups as small as 3 inches at 100 yards with cheap Foster slugs... I picked this up a long time ago from a gunsmith that had a shop in what was previously "shotgun only" deer hunting country.... Installing choke tubes was one of the shops specialties and he could make a traditional slug gun shoot surprisingly well...

The thing that makes Brenneke slugs usually shoot well is the fiber base wad screwed on the back of the slug. It is compressed upon firing and creates a proper fit in the bore as the compressed wad pushes out against the walls of the barrel. It's all about slug to bore fit...
 
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I've had remarkably consistent results with Winchester Super X 2 3/4" 1 ounce slugs. They have shot softball size groups at 50 yards in every smooth bore I've tried them in.
 
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