Anyone have any experience of using solid lead slugs in a twelve gauge. what is the tightest choke you can use in the barrels with them.

what sort of accuracy and what sort of range can you expect from them

Gerry, in theory at least, they can be used in barrels up to half choke - never personally used them in anything tighter than skeet.

Accuracy is a problem. In a conventional game gun, I wouldn't use them much further than 40 or 50 yards.

For best result you need a single barrelled gun (Benelli's work) with rifle sights and perferably a rifled choke. 3-4" at 100 is achievable with this.

I"ve played with them a lot in various guns.
Brenneke(Rottwiell,Browning) is better than Foster(Winchester)
I"ve fired them out of full chokes, the only ill effect I found was a sore face!
More open chokes may be more accurate as they deform the slug less as it passes through.
I"ve had scopes on cantilever mounts, and all I had was a poor rifle and a worse shotgun.
They are a fantastic close range weapon, maybe 50yds, but performance is patchy after that. some gun/slug combinations will do better.
I know they will kill goats in fine style!
good shooting

Gerry

Amongst other toys, I run a Rem 1100 with a red dot on top. Using Brenneke slugs, I group to four inches at 100yds. That gives a 50yd poi +4".

I have an adjustable compensator on the end of the shot barrel that provides the full range of chokes. I checked grouping from full down to cylinder and found that the least choke possible offered the best grouping.

Your mileage may vary!

Rgds Ian

Anybody tried sabot slugs with fully rifled barrel, on game not paper

jnd:
I've used that set-up for several years now, taking about 15 deer at ranges varying from a few feet to well over 100 yards. Rem 870 with rifled barrel and Federal ammo with Barnes slugs. Accuracy is quite good. Last year I shot a doe running across a field at about 75 yds and hit it twice before it stopped broadside at about 125 yds, when I put a finisher in her.

I've just got me a Benelli M2 comfortech with fully rifled barrel, will try to get hold of some different type of sabots to try it out.

G-M,

I'll add my $0.02 worth and it pretty much reflects everything that has already been already mentioned above.

From the US you're going to receive comments and results due to individual State Laws, so-called "Shotgun States" where hunting and shooting w/slugs in all types of smooth & rifled shotgun bores, with optical options, considerable Trade R&D and improved "platforms" and ammunition have developed much better accuracy and performance than the standard European O/U or SxS shotgun and currently available ammunition.

Having said that, like the others have mentioned; my expereince is they work better in a Cylinder bore (IanF's comments apply - you'll just have to test yourself) and a with standard shotgun rib and front sight you can normally expect reasonable accuracy to 50 meters or so.

Having shot a few Wild Boar with Brenneke Slugs in some some pretty specialized hunting scenarios, although somewhat accuracy handicapped - the results are most impressive and quite desisive.

Last year I was shooting prairie dogs in Monatana with my friend who lives there. He has dozens of rifles and one shotgun which he assures me he got just for me. He maintains he has trouble hitting the ground with a shotgun. It is an old side by side that he renovated just for me! This amounted to replacing a spring on one of the pins and cutting the barrels down to 18", then he epoxied an old rifle sight onto to it.

We went to the range and on top of the 100 yard target frame we stood a couple of old bowling pins that somebody had filled up with 22 rimfire by the look of them. He handed me the gun, then a box of shells - solids - and grinned at me. "OK Mr shotgun" say's he, "go to it". I loaded up squinted down the barrel, pulled it into my shoulder just as hard as I could, hung on for dear life and squeezed the front trigger. There was a mighty bang, a huge kick and as I looked down range there was a slapping noise, an explosion of soil on the berm behind and the left hand pin toppled over. I could not believe it, I turned and looked at my friend, expecting at least a well done, he looked me straight in the eye and said, "do it again". I took aim at the other pin and hit the target frame about 4" to the left of it. My friends son then wanted to have a go, a fit sporting 19 year old then grasped the gun and listened intently to all instructions, pulled the trigger and turned to face his father and I, and we both agreed that his nose was bleeding but not broken. I knew I would find a use for my 4 stone weight advantage over that kid.

So I suppose what I am saying is that solid slugs can be surprisingly accurate, but steer clear of shortened barrels, they kick like a horse with it's nut's in a rat trap.

John

Do the sabot slugs work in a non rifled barrel?
Also are they doing the same FPS as the brenneke?

regards
griff

I used 12.gauge slugs for many years on all kind of animals, including dolphins and other small whales. Before or when I was young and careless I us to cut shoot shells with regular loads, almost in half by the vat and shoot the load in one slug at seals and it worked fine. I always used modified choke and newer felt the kick that some people talk about. My gun was an old Remington 870 Wingmaster that my father gave me when I was 17.

quote:

Do the sabot slugs work in a non rifled barrel?
Also are they doing the same FPS as the brenneke?

regards
griff

No they don't. The sabot needs the barrel's rifling to impart spin on the sabot. Without rifling, the submunition would have no stabilization. The "rifled" or Foster slugs have rifling grooves cut into the projectile to impart spin. You can purchase rifled chokes to put some spin on the sabot but I have no first-hand experience with them.

I shoot Winchester Partition Gold 385gr sabots out of my full rifled Remington 1100. Their published velocity is 1900fps. My son shoots an 870 smooth tube with 1 oz. rifled slugs at about 1300-1400fps. Not sure of the Brenneke's velocity. I feel comfortable taking a shot at 150 yeards with the sabot while my son limits his shots to about 75 yards on deer. Within their effective range, slugs are devastating. Illinois is one of those "Shotgun States" referred to earlier. For us it's either slugs, muzzleloader or pistol, or no firearm deer hunting.

Find a shotgun that works with the slugs and you can be surprised @ accuracy,I used to use a Mossberg pump with them and they were quite accurate and yet my Remmington 1100 wasnt that good.

Sabot slugs are currently used in regular shotgun barrels here with good results, mainly Sauvestre, a french brand. Often hunters that have chocked barrels prefer sabot slugs.

I've been out and had a play, they seem to go well out of the 1/2 and 1/4 choke. Not had chance to try the 3/4 choke yet. Will have a play next week!