Sabot slugs

[fasteddie]

I shoot Federal & Winchester foster slugs in my Winchester 1200 pump . I have been told several times that I shouldn't shoot rifled slugs in a rifled barrel but it has worked for several years . I inherited something from my folks that helps me clean the barrel . It's called elbow grease !
I read an article several years ago about remington slugs . It claimed that Remington slugs were a bit smaller diameter than any others and tended to "rattle down the bore" . I don't know that for a fact . I don't shoot anything that is Remington for personal reasons !

[hunter480]

A rifled slug barrel, just like a rifle barrel will "like" certain ammo better than other ammo, so unfortunately, you`ll likely need to try multiple brands and weights of slugs.
 
That will mean taking alot of pounding from shotgun recoil, as well as the cost of buying lot`s of premium ammo, but to get the results you expect, that`s what it will take.
 
Try Remington, Winchester, Federal, Lightfield, any name brand you can think of-it`ll be a pain, but it`ll be worth the cost and effort in the end.

[vambo991]

You said that your windage and elevation adjustments weren't moving the crosshairs very much? Sure your scope isnt broke? If you want a scope that's absolutely shockproof, try the Nikon Omega/Slughunter.*** I love the Hornady SST, but I used to shoot Rem Ultra Core-lokt. They weren't quite as accurate as the SST, but they smash deer. I've got buddies that use lightfield and federal-barnes and I've seen them both perform very well.

[Legnip]

ORIGINAL: lonlon

Wack, Interesting and informative, Thanx Lon   PS T/C Pro hunter in 50 cal w/sabots, your nemesis, pretty accurate. Powerbelt elminates sabot pieces. 

 
Make sure that your barrel is dirty if you use the powerbelts. I like them for my second or third shots, but not for the initial. They tend to shoot better with a dirty barrel. In my opinion.

[Squirrelhawker]

One of the most accurte and hardest hitting slugs for me have been the Winchester "partition gold" line of slugs. .375gr
 
I shoot them out of a mossberg 395 bolt action slug gun (not because it's fun either) I am not a particularly talented rifle shot. And the gun is not comfortable nor does it handle very fast in my hands. But I hunt 95% of the time out of treestands and refuse to shoot at moving deer.
When I have the time and can get a good rest, I can kill a deer reliably out to 130+ yards. I ranged where the buck was standing last year. 122 yards. He ran 75 yards before piling up. My semi-off hand shot went 4 inches to the right.

[Woods Walker]

ORIGINAL: Squirrelhawker

One of the most accurte and hardest hitting slugs for me have been the Winchester "partition gold" line of slugs. .375gr

I shoot them out of a mossberg 395 bolt action slug gun (not because it's fun either) I am not a particularly talented rifle shot. And the gun is not comfortable nor does it handle very fast in my hands. But I hunt 95% of the time out of treestands and refuse to shoot at moving deer.
When I have the time and can get a good rest, I can kill a deer reliably out to 130+ yards. I ranged where the buck was standing last year. 122 yards. He ran 75 yards before piling up. My semi-off hand shot went 4 inches to the right.

 
What he said!   I also use the Winchester Partition Gold Sabots in my now extinct Browning A-Bolt Slug Gun. They have the best downrange ballistics of any sabot made.
 
I'm zero'ed at 100 yards, and I don't have to think about holdover until the 140 yard range. The farthest kill I've made with these was 145 yards, and the lungs were a puddle of cranberry jelly when I opened him up. They are the first shotgun sabot load that I've seen that causes hydroscopic damage.

[Squirrelhawker]

ORIGINAL: Woods Walker

ORIGINAL: Squirrelhawker

One of the most accurte and hardest hitting slugs for me have been the Winchester "partition gold" line of slugs. .375gr

I shoot them out of a mossberg 395 bolt action slug gun (not because it's fun either) I am not a particularly talented rifle shot. And the gun is not comfortable nor does it handle very fast in my hands. But I hunt 95% of the time out of treestands and refuse to shoot at moving deer.
When I have the time and can get a good rest, I can kill a deer reliably out to 130+ yards. I ranged where the buck was standing last year. 122 yards. He ran 75 yards before piling up. My semi-off hand shot went 4 inches to the right.

What he said!   I also use the Winchester Partition Gold Sabots in my now extinct Browning A-Bolt Slug Gun. They have the best downrange ballistics of any sabot made.
 
I'm zero'ed at 100 yards, and I don't have to think about holdover until the 140 yard range. The farthest kill I've made with these was 145 yards, and the lungs were a puddle of cranberry jelly when I opened him up. They are the first shotgun sabot load that I've seen that causes hydroscopic damage.

 
Roger that. They do real damage. Out of curiosity, I may try the SST's but in reality it will most likely be a non-issue. Like I mentioned, I'm not that talented and I can squeeze out a half dollar size group at a 100 yards any time. The gun is capable of much more than that. Practicing with this cold hearted _ _ _ ch is not ever gonna happen. Unless I one day fill the stock with ballistic gel or something.

[federali]

I sometimes hunt with my Ithaca Deerslayer II. Frankly, I've had no accuracy problems with any of the modern saboted slugs. I think the first generation slugs had problems with portions of the sabots sticking to the slug and causing flyers. My scope sighted Ithaca will place most slugs into a 3-shot, 2.5" group across the 100-yard bench.

If you prefer a smoothbore and Foster slugs, it's hard to find a shotgun more accurate than the original Ithaca Deerslayer using Winchester slugs. For years, Remington slugs were undersized and far less accurate but I think they've fixed this problem. The Ithaca Deerslayer had an undersized bore specifically intended to increase slug accuracy before the advent of rifled barrels and saboted slugs. Unfortunately, Ithacas are no longer made and they've become rather pricey in recent years.

[mag30079]

Sorry vambo I missed this one. I hope that scope isn't messed up. I've only used it a half dozen times. Its to close to the season to mess with it now. I'm going with my trusted smooth bore. I'm giving the field edge to my brother-in law. I found a funnel that must have 10 trails that cross. I'm gonna give that a try, plus the longest shot I could get off is about 40 yrds.
 
Next year I'll try playing with this setup

[HauntedWinter]

I could not agree more with Federali. My very first gun I ever hunted with when I was 12 years old was a Ithaca Model 37 Deerslayer 12 ga.. Smooth bore with rifled sights. Incredibly accurate using the ol' Winchester super X 1oz. hollow point slugs. First time out with this gun got me a beautiful 8 point buck in Central New Jersey at 55 yards. It was a dead on perfect lung shot. He ran to the middle of the field and dropped. Every deer I shot for the next few years was always one shot, one kill with that gun. Unbelievable. Then I sold it for what I thought was a better gun using sabots turned out was not a good gun. I never should have sold my Ithaca. I moved from Jersey to NC and now use my 7mm Rem Mag rifle mostly but just bought the H&R Ultra slug and figured I try the sabots again. Fired it off and excellent accuracy. extremely happy with this shotgun. I got mine in 12 Ga but a 20 ga will do very nicely also. I use the Hornady SST's. Your new hunting partner will be very very happy with the Ultra slug..Not sure but I think all ultra slugs have the bull barrel which might be a little heavy for him. My 12 weighs 9 lbs and I think the 20's are not far off of that. Sabots are expensive though. Thats the downside. Mossberg 500 with a smoothbore slug barrel will do very nicely also with Remington sluggers or the forementioned Winchester Super X's....[:)]