Have any of you done accuracy tests on commercial 2 3/4 12 gauge shells in smooth bore barrels? Not expecting Saeed .22 LR testing results, just looking for more predictable accuracy with open sights out to 75 yards which is about 25 yards farther than I can see in the hardwoods.

My experiences have been that slug guns are individuals and what works well in one may not work well at all in another.

A large amount of information can be gained by reading what Tar Hunt rifles has written on their website:

https://www.tarhunt.com/shooting-resources/

They make custom made rifled slug guns, but they have a lot of good information for slug shooters of all flavors.

For your smooth bore, try some of each brand and see what shoots best. Fosters will be fine if you are hunting locally. They are much less expensive too.

For what it is worth: I have tested most brands and types of slugs in both 12and 20 ga. Testing was done in a smoothbore gun in both cases. The most accurate slugs in Both cases were the conventional Brenneke slugs. The ones with the wad screwed to the slug base. The 12 ga was a cyl bore gun with a ghost ring peep sight. 6 inch group at 50 yds and pie plate at 75 yards. The 20 ga gun was an old mossberg bolt gun to which I mounted a 4x shotgun scope. Got 5 to6 inch groups at 75 yards. Can hit a paper plate at 100 yds with virtually every shot. This old mossberg was full choked. Cheers. Good luck. Luke

I have also had best luck with Brenneke slugs in my smoothbores. My Winchester Ranger 120 shoots 5 of them into 8" or better at 100 yards. I would also try Lightfield, Win, Rem, and Federal. In most of the smoothbores I've tried, they will all shoot 5-6" at 50 yds.

The three Savage 24s I've seen shoot a lot lower than the rifle barrel at 50 yards.

do like I did. stop smoking and drinking beer for awhile to save up a little cash and then b buy yourself a browning x bolt 12 guage with the rifled barrel. PUt a half decent low power scope on it. No more trouble with slugs!

Accurate and slugs to me is an oxymoron.

While a rifled barrel and sabot slugs can shoot well enough for deer hunting, my 5 different guns and trying a multitude of loads was really frustrating, I could get decent 3 shot groups most of the time, but there was always a flyer in 5 shots, and 10 resulted in a 8-10" group at 100.

Smoothbore, I gave up quickly, as nothing was good, but then again all were a&C zone on an IPSc target at 50. (12" groups).

Got it tuned in to that state of affairs for 3 gun and shoot fewer deer than I otherwise could.

I know - old thread.

Here in this region of NY up until recently centerfire rifles were not allowed.

I started out with an Ithaca Deerslayer 37 featherlight. It had a smooth but tighter bore and at 100 yards I could do about 6" with either Federal or Remington rifled slugs. Brutal recoil.

In 1989 I bought a Remington 11-87 Premier. Weighs a couple pounds more. I put a Hastings full rifled barrel on that and it has nice Williams style sights. It would do a little better with rifled slugs.

Then I tried Remington AccuTip sabot slugs. A little better accuracy (4" at 100yds) but massive meat-robbing wounds!

Then I tried Hornady SST Sabots. Whoa! I added a 4X scope. Now I am shooting 1-1/2" five round groups at 100 yards with a .50 cal 300 gr SST spire point.

Then, wouldn't you know, NY opens this area up to centerfire rifles so now I've switched gears.

I put maybe 15 deer in the freezer with that pump M37 and rifled slugs. It was deer-capable out to 100 yards and I took at least two at about that distance; though most within 40 yards. All while still-hunting or sitting on a log. Slugs are very efficient killers of whitetail.

Slugs are certainly effective.
Back in the early 60s before there were hardly any deer in Alabama we hunted as a group with drives. Hunters had buckshot and drivers just hollered and whooped. After the drives I would reload with Brenneke slugs and still hunt. That product in a model 12 imp would do 2 inches @ 40 yards which was as far as you could see in the woods. As you said, heck of a recoil and big tissue damage.

I have relatives that live in Iowa where it's either slugs or muzzleloaders. My cousin has used an 870 with smoothbore slug barrel and Brennekes as about the best answer to the state gun requirements.

slug guns can be quite accurate.....this one isn't bad at all


















This is the third slug gun I've made for grandkids. It seems to me that a cut off barrel (meaning cylinder bore) is beneficial and my personal history with shotgun slugs is quite dismal. Not to say that a full choke isn't accurte....but to say that this hasn't been my experience. This gun is a 16 gauge and shoots 2 1/2" groups at 50 yards with traditional foster type slugs. It's a very nasty thing to do to a deer.