Slug Gun Hunting

[havershap]

I in Island County, which is a firearm restricted zone.  So I'm considering getting a slug gun and learning to use it.  So I'm asking for help with some basic questions.
Smooth bore versus rifled barrel.  Which is preferred, and why?
Rifled slugs versus non-rifled.  Do you shoot rifled slugs in a smooth bore and non-rifled in a rifled barrel?  Or can you shoot rifled slugs in a rifled barrel?  What are the pros and cons?
What is the effective range of a slug gun?
Can you put a riflescope on a slug gun or do they require a scope specifically designed for slug guns?

What other basic information should I have that I don't even know enough to ask?

Thanks in advance for any help,

Ed

[Pete112288]

I've hunted shotgun for big game for almost 20 years. Both smooth bore and rifled. Scoped and non scoped. 10 deer and 2 elk have fallen to it for me. It's fun.
Rifle scope is fine, I ran a bushnell banner 2-7 for years on my 12 gauge.
Mine is mounted to the receiver but if doing it over I would have the barrel pinned or use a cantilever barrel where the scope mounts to the barrel not the receiver as shotguns can have some play between the barrel and receiver.
The first slugs I used in my rifled mossberg shot amazing, all holes touching at 100 yards. But they don't make them anymore. I have yet to find another that shoots as well. But slug gun ar 100 yards a 3 inch group is acceptable as long as you know your limitations.
Sabot slugs now a days can be expensive. So I'd only go that route if you are willing to put the up front money to test every sabot slug you can come across.
I have used a scoped smoothbore 20 gauge and open sight 12 gauge.
Test different slugs. My 12 likes federal truball. The 20 likes the cheap winchester rifled slugs. With practice both are 100 yard guns on deer. With less practice they are still very capable and accurate 50 yard guns.
The rifled barrel with a good shooting round and a lot of practice can go to 200 yards on deer.
Any more questions, ask. This is one area I have had a lot of time with so I am happy to finally help someone as I seem to spend more time on here asking rather than answering, haha

[steeleywhopper]

Grab yourself a Savage 220, mount a 2.5-8x36 Leupold scope and you are set. Next go order up some 3 inch Remington Accutip slugs, they shoot amazing out of these gun and shoot well out to 200 yards. You will not need to worry about a dedicated slug gun again.

[Parasite]

I'd go with 20 gauge over 12 gauge. Usually better trajectory and less recoil (slug guns can be brutal).

On a pump or semi-auto shotgun, a cantilever scope mount is the way to go as noted above.

Bolt guns or break-open single shots are the better way to go and more accurate. As noted above, the Savage 220 is a good choice. I have a TC Encore in 20 gauge.

The pumps and semi's are going to have a lousy trigger since they are not designed to be rifles. The bolt guns and single shots are better in this regard and can be improved further. In 2018 I grazed the bottom of the chest of a 140" whitetail in southern Illinois at only 35 yards cause I had to "pull", not squeeze, the trigger on my Remington 11-87 20 gauge. I was sick about that. Bought the Encore shortly after.

Shoot as many ammo types as you can afford to find what shoots best, especially if you are shooting 50-200 yards.

[Macs B]

I've gone the opposite route.  I started out with a Mossberg 695 Bolt Action 12 Guage, fully rifled barrel, slapped on a sturdy scope and went to the zero range.  I've used that one for years, and its still one of my favorite guns.  Since then I have purchased two other bolt action shotguns.  A Browning A Bolt Slugger 12 and a Tar Hunt Bench gun in 20 ga.  Both are ridiculously accurate with the right slugs at ranges out to and beyond 225 yards.  You need to practice with a slug gun and don't be afraid to buy a box of every slug you can find to try out in yours. 

[huntnphool]

 @M_ray

[Bob33]

If you already have a smoothbore shotgun I would try it out and see what type of accuracy you can get from it. It will probably provide acceptable accuracy for shots on deer out to 40 or 50 yards with a bead sight, and possibly longer with better sights.

A scoped, rifled barrel is the best way to go if you’re serious about it. I’ve used both 12 and 20 gauge shotguns. I prefer 20 gauge as the shotguns are generally lighter and more nimble, and have less recoil when everything else is equal. They will have more than enough energy to kill a deer at distances you’re likely to encounter.

Good luck in your ventures.

[ganghis]

When I lived in NC there were some refuges with great hunting opportunities but you had to use short range weapons.  I went with what I had which was a smoothbore Remington 870 which I put a Williams fiber optic sight on.  I didn't feel very accurate outside of 40 yards or so with that setup.  The most successful people out there went with rifled barrels on 20 gauges w a scope, but that was outside of what I wanted to spend.  If you're just doing short range shots out of a tree stand in thicker cover a simple set up should be fine ... just depends on where you're hunting.

[James]

Savage 220 is the easy button.

Another option is a muzzy with a pic rail.  Use a red dot/1x scope during muzzy season and a scope of your choice in modern firearm assuming you have a multi season tag


They sell quick release rings these days that hold zero pretty well.

[HunterStrait]

Grab yourself a Savage 220, mount a 2.5-8x36 Leupold scope and you are set. Next go order up some 3 inch Remington Accutip slugs, they shoot amazing out of these gun and shoot well out to 200 yards. You will not need to worry about a dedicated slug gun again.

This. The savage 220 is an awesome gun. i bought mine at Ranch & Home and they mounted and sighted my scope in there for me.
The Sabot Accutips are great but are pricier. I hunt with The Federal brand copper sabots and they shoot just as well in my experience and are cheaper.
Winchester is pretty good as well. I don't recommend the Hornady Sabots, could never get them to fly great but they aren't terrible to send down range to get a good feel of your gun since the ammo ain't cheap.

[waterdrinker9]

A lot of good information here! I grew up out in Maryland and had to use a shotgun over rifle because of where I hunted. Will say odds are you're not going to have the longest shots (I assume) with how thick vegetation can be on this side of the Cascades so standard rifle slugs would be all you need. Definitely try out different brands to see what your gun of choice likes the most. But, if you like the idea of sabot slugs, they are usually more accurate and extend your range but are more expensive. With sabot slugs, you need to have the rifled barrel or rifled choke tube (if you don't want to spend money on the barrel...they work decent from what I hear). Without it, your slug will just tumble through the air. If you go the rifled slug/smootbore route, cylinder or improved cylinder choke is what you want assuming you're using a standard barrel with chokes. They do make smoothbore slug barrels though.

[IslandHunter]

I hunt the islands. Took my first buck with my great grandfathers double barrel 12 ga and a riffled slug a few years back at 40 yards. Found a rifled barrel with cantilever mount for my Mossberg 500 on ebay and picked up a cheap shot gun scope and shoot the Remington Accutip sabot slugs with good success. I really enjoy shot gun hunting.

My advice would be start with that ever you have if you already have a shot gun and get a season or 2 under you and then go pick up your dream slug gun.

My Mossberg 500 does just fine for me and my dad uses his grandfathers old double barrel, we both had success last season. I plan on picking up a Mossberg 20 gage and setting it up with a rifled barrel for my kids when they get to hunting age. I suspect I will like that the most as the 12 gage gest heavy and is a lot of gun for an island blacktail.

[headshot5]

Grab yourself a Savage 220, mount a 2.5-8x36 Leupold scope and you are set. Next go order up some 3 inch Remington Accutip slugs, they shoot amazing out of these gun and shoot well out to 200 yards. You will not need to worry about a dedicated slug gun again.

This. The savage 220 is an awesome gun. i bought mine at Ranch & Home and they mounted and sighted my scope in there for me.
The Sabot Accutips are great but are pricier. I hunt with The Federal brand copper sabots and they shoot just as well in my experience and are cheaper.
Winchester is pretty good as well. I don't recommend the Hornady Sabots, could never get them to fly great but they aren't terrible to send down range to get a good feel of your gun since the ammo ain't cheap.

Just be aware, I know you are specifically asking for deer, however in the event you decide to hunt elk with a slug gun I believe you are restricted to 12 Gauge last time I checked. 

[MeepDog]

It’s very tempting to try the carlsons rifled choke tubes, but out of my stoeger it never reliably stabilized any sabot of multiple different brands. It did slightly improve the grouping on the lead foster slugs, but you have to keep it clean because the lead fouls up the rifling.

I just purchased this crazy choke tube that hangs out the barrel by about 4 extra inches for a total of about 6” and I’m hoping that will stabilize sabots but they don’t make them anymore. I had to find it on eBay. I’ll try to remember to snap a photo of it at home.

[steeleywhopper]

Grab yourself a Savage 220, mount a 2.5-8x36 Leupold scope and you are set. Next go order up some 3 inch Remington Accutip slugs, they shoot amazing out of these gun and shoot well out to 200 yards. You will not need to worry about a dedicated slug gun again.

I also have a Remington 870 Wingmaster 12ga with the cantilever rifled barrel and scope set up. This gun has taken many Island Blacktails, but you have to hold it correctly and put some torque on it when shooting. Pretty accurate, but again you have to get dialed in how you hold it and the little extra torque on the fore grip.This setup kicks pretty darn good but the Limbsave pad tamed it a bit.
Once i saw and shot the Savage 220 my buddy had it was a no brainer to grab one. Glad I did because this thing is as accurate at 100 yards as most of my big game rifles, holes touching accurate. I did find the 2 3/4 Accutips shot just as well as the 3 inch except impact was about 1 inch lower at 100 yards, holes touching accurate as well.