Well this is depressing for me to write about. It looks like I am going to be stuck living in NJ for a while unless a miracle happens. My wife really wants to stay here so the poconos in PA will have to be put off for a while. SO I need a good slug gun since I will not shoot them out of my pirty ruger red label 12 over and under.

I would like to start off looking at bolt actions and then progress towards semi autos and last single shots. So what is your opinions and please don't get outrageous with price stay under like 800-900 bucks if you can. I will only use it on our whitetail deer we have here. It wont be used as a dual purpose gun at all. I am positive that it will be rifled barrel too. SO let me have it.

thanks for any and all input.

Brian

I don't currently own a rifled slug gun, but have been considering the purchase. For me, the front runners are the Mossberg 695 and the Savage (forgot the model #). Both are bolt guns and can be purchased for around $240 new. I'm leaning towards the Savage because the doesn't come without porting. You should be able to scope either one and still come in under budget. For a little more money, you could get a H&R single shot break open. These have come out on top of most of the accuracy comparisons that I have read, but since they use a 10 guage barrel to make their 12 guage slug gun, the 12 guage to make their 20 guage, they do end up being somewhat heavier. The H&R would get the nod if I almost exclusively hunted from stands, but for versatility, I think its hard to beat one of the bolt guns.

bucktail. Thanks for responding. H&R is at the top of my list. I will be only hunting from stands and that is it so I just might get that one. But will not rule out the others yet. thanks again

Brian

I have been deer hunting in Iowa for many years. I know how frustrating hunting deer with inaccurate shotguns can be!! Missed some VERY big whitetails more than once... damn. Guess that's why they are so big there (I'm sure all the soybean and corn helps a bit too, I guess).

Okay, what would I get?

The Benelli Super Black Eagle is pretty bad ass. The rifled barrel is screwed into the receiver just like a centerfire. The upper receiver is also replaceable with the regular bbl.

Awesome setup!

The bad news... it's about $200 over your budget. Maybe you can find a good used one?

Good luck,

Kenati

Marlin, Savage, and Mossberg all make or made rifled bolt guns.

Semis are made by Browning, Winchester, Mossberg, Remington, Benelli, to name a few.

Pumps....Mossberg, Remington, Winchester, Browning, Ithaca....

Singles....H and R, NEF

Another single shot that might interest you: T/C Encore. 20 Gauge: Both regular 26" w/choke tubes and 24" rifled slug barrel available from T/C. 12 Gauge: Rifled slug barrel (24") and "Turkey" barrel (24", with extra-full choke tube), available from E. Aurthur Brown Co. ( www.eabco.com , slug barrel is item number 207-4239). I think that all of them are 3" chambers. A complete Encore rifle (in a different caliber of your choice, $550), the E.A. Brown 12 gauge slug barrel ($249), and fore end (for the 12 gauge barrel, Walnut, $45) would still be within your price range. You could also get the Encore frame only, then get the EAB barrel and fore end to save a few $$$s.

Just another option for you, Bill

445 SuperMag,

Kenati is on the right track, he just hadn't seen Beretta's offering.

This year, Beretta is offering the ES100 Pintail in a combo set. This is a synthetic stocked gun.

This gun will havea 24" rifled slug bbl AND a 28" field bbl. The gun comes w/ two fore-ends and 3 choke tubes (for the field bbl).

Dealers here in Indiana are selling it for less than the $800 figure you stated. For this price,you're getting two shotguns!

The ES100 is an 'inertia' recoil gun, that means it's roughly between a single shot/pump gun (corn shucker for Kenati ) and the Gas operated guns like the Remington's and Brown-chesters out there.

This is the same action that the SBE is based upon.

Check it out. I've got one and have managed to keep my groups inside of 3" at 100yds.

another to look for, is the Browning A-Bolt shotgun. They were discontinued a couple of years ago, but the 2 that I have a very accurate with any saboted slug.

Much like Kenati, I have hunted in Iowa and missed enough nice deer with a slug gun that I feel his pain. However, I took my 870 and pinned the barrel in place (just drill a hole, tap it and put in a cap head screw), put in a rifled choke tube and added a 1.5 X 5 scope, started using lightfield saboted slugs and lived happily ever after. The only problem now is the bucks tend to run around and through the cattle when they finally break cover in front of the drivers making it tough to get a safe shot off.

Since I already owned the 870 that's what I used. If I was doing it again or was young enough to amortize the expense I would have used an automatic, 1100 or something.

If you can get by with a single shot then the NEF/H&R 24" rifled bull barrel model is the hot ticket. The bull is very thick and I would be the choice if you're worried about accuracy or "barrel whip", it is also heavy, the gun weighs 9lbs! But you can reduce that because there is a heavy counter weight in the stock.
You can also order a 10GA smooth bore barrel to fit the gun for $40-$50 depending in the length/choke you order. Or you can buy an NEF 10GA at at a great price and order the 12GA rifled bull for $70, and that includes scope rail.
I paid $145 for my NEF 10GA, so I guess it'd be about $175 for the bull. The H&R gun is also available with a very cool laminate stock that I highly recommend.
Here's links to them:

http://www.internetguncatalog.com/details.asp?ItemNum=89044

http://www.internetguncatalog.com/details.asp?ItemNum=55006

thanks guys as I am 99.9% sold on the H&R ultra slug hunter 12 guage. It is heavy but I will be hunting only from a stand so Weight doesn't matter. Thanks again.

Brian