Winchester, Model 1300 Ranger 12 gauge.....

[cynergyzed]

I have the 1300 Ranger with interchangable barrels, I have the deer slug barrel on it and I need to know if it is ok to shoot buckshot, birdshot, ect, besides slugs with this barrel, it has no choke. Now the other barrel, is longer, and has the winchoke in it. I like the deer slug barrel because it is shorter, and would be easier to handle in home defense situation, will it damage the barrel or cause problems to use the deer slug barrel?

Cynergy

 

[foghornl]

Depends...

Is your slug barrel a smooth-bore, or is it rifled? Rifled barrels generally speaking here cause all sorts of poor patterns with any shot load, and tend to have a heavy lead buildup on the rifling.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Hi, Cynergy, and welcome to THR.

If your deer barrel is a smoothbore, there won't be any problems shooting birdshot, buckshot or rifled slugs through it. Your patterns with shot will likely be more open because of the CYL bore barrel, at least compared to the longer barrel with a choke tube.

If the short barrel is rifled, though, you need to stick to shooting sabot slugs through it.

hth,

lpl

 

[cynergyzed]

how do I know..........

How do I know if my barrel is rifled or smoothbore? I do know that it doesnt have a choke and if you rub your finger around inside the barrel, it's not threaded for a choke. what would the inside of the smoothbore barrel look like as oppossed to the rifled barrel?

 

[cowboy68t1]

Have several Winchester rifled slug guns. Shooting lead buck shot out of a rifled barrel isn't a big deal. Just remember you are going to get a lot of lead build up in the rifling. Makes extra work when cleaning. And your pattern may be larger than you want without there being a choke. If you want to use the gun for home defense i'd look for a turkey barrel. They are usually around 24 inches and are choked so you can use different winchokes depending on your needs.
A smooth bore barrel is just like it says. The inside is smooth for shooting bird shot thru or Foster stlye slugs. Sabot are designed for rifled barrels they start to spin in the barrel. Were a Foster style slug uses air to get it to spin after is leaves the barrel. They will have grooves on the actual outside diameter of the slug. And are made of lead. The first slugs most people ever shot were Foster style.

 

[SSN Vet]

How do I know if my barrel is rifled or smoothbore?

sight down the barrel with the receiver open and the gun unloaded...

if you see rifling (spiral cut into the barrel) its rifled

if the barrel is smooth, it's smooth

 

[cynergyzed]

:banghead:

​

 

[cynergyzed]

sorry I dont know too much about this and I don't want to annoy anyone

 

[Rshooter]

Put your finger in the barrel and run it around, if it is smooth you can shoot slugs or buckshot in the barrel. Use 00 or #4 buckshoot. Most people recommend #4 as it penetrates less than 00 buckshot. If your finger hangs up on groves like you would find in a pistol you can still shoot buckshot but it is not as accurate and it leaves lead deposits in your barrel that you will have to clean up.

Ask as many questions as you wish and do not get frustrated.

 

[Milkmaster]

Bear with us Cynergy. We will get you there. IS it possible you know how to take the barrel off the gun? IF so, then remove it and look down the inside of the barrel and see if it is smooth or has spiral markings or grooves in it.

 

[Fred Fuller]

sorry I dont know too much about this and I don't want to annoy anyone

No worries.

I spent most of a career telling GIs, "The only dumb question is the one you DON'T ask." Several years into retirement I still haven't found any reason to stop saying it.

Everyone was a beginner when they got started, no one was born knowing this stuff. And generally folks here are pretty decent in trying to help out. It's The High Road after all. That's why it's called by that name...

lpl