What is your shotgun set up for deer???

[NYH1]

I know a lot of states require the use of a shotgun to hunt deer.   Here in New York we have areas that we can use either a rifle, shotgun or muzzle loaders and we have areas that we can only use a shotgun or muzzle loader.   A few smaller areas that are bow only.

At any rate, what is your shotgun/slug gun set up?   I have a Remington 11-87 Sportsman Deer 12 ga. slug gun.   It has a 21 inch fully rifled barrel with the cantilever scope mount.   I have a Leupold VX II 2-7x33mm Shotgun Scope on it.   I still have to sight it in.   I'm going to try a bunch of different sabot slugs in it.   This gun is heavy, but it helps with recoil, which is very stout!     

I also just ordered a 21 inch smooth bore barrel.   It has rifle sights and the Remchoke choke tube set up.   It comes with imp. cyl., mod and rifled chokes.   I've alway's wanted one of these barrels.   I bought a set of Williams Fire Ghost Ring Sights for it.   Now I can shoot any kind of ammo I want in it.   I'll use it for deer hunting too, which we can only use slugs for.   If I know my shots will be under 50 yards or so, or if I'm going to be moving.   Mostly this barrel will be for plinking and messing around.

I'd much rather use a rifle then a shotgun for deer hunting.   I do like my slug gun set up though.   My dad has a 11-87 20 ga. set up like mine scoped set up.   His is nice a light, almost like a rifle, shoots nice too!   

           

[MGMorden]

Remington 870 12ga with 3" 00 buckshot .  28" barrel on this one but I really wish I had it down to 24". 

Here in SC we're required to use shotguns with buckshot on dog drives, so that's the only time I hunt with the shotgun (for deer).  For as long as that lasts anyways.  They've consistently cut back the number of dog days every year and I'd suspect it'll be gone completely within 5-10 years.  Really our own fault though.  Too many dog hunters standing on public highways slowing down traffic, dogs running deer onto private property, people taking ATV's down gated roads, and just general unsafe behavior.  These days I'll only go if I can walk out on my own into the woods.  They do crazy stuff out on the roads.  I was standing on a curve of a gated road once and another hunter walks around the curve about 50 yards away.  Does he notice another person and leave?  Nope.  He motions his hat for me to move to the same side of the road as he is so he (in his mind) can still shoot down the road on the opposite side if a deer crosses there.  Yep, they somehow consider it safe to take a shot with another person standing not 15 degrees barrel travel from where they're shooting.  I've seen countless cases where they're "stringing" hunters every 30 yards down a road - sometimes with full traffic driving on it! Like I said hearing the dogs racing is a wonderful thing, but unless I can find a secluded spot in the woods I just don't bother, and I don't expect it to be legal at all for much longer.

[NautiBuoys]

Ithaca 37 12 ga, with either a 20" cantilever rifled barrel, Leupold VX II 1-4x or a 20" cantilever smoothbore barrel with same scope. The rifled barrel is far more accurate and great for shots over 100yds but the smoothbore barrel is almost as accurate (out to 100yds) and drops deer like they were hit by a hammer. Where I hunt a lot of public land, more often the smoothbore gets the nod cause if you hit them, they drop right there...

[ttank0789]

I've got a 12 gauge Remington 870 with a Hastings cantilever scope mount barrel that wears a Bushnell Banner 3-9x40 scope. I've been thinking about getting one of the Remington shurshot stock for it but haven't gotten around to it yet. I started using Winchester Partition Gold sabot slugs last year because I wanted a heavier slug (I was using the SST's). And I'm gonna stick with them because they group good out of my gun and have good knockdown power.

[theoldarcher]

When I use a shotgun it is a .12 Ga. Remington 870 with rifled deer barrel, cantilevered scope mount, 4x fixed power scope, flip up scope caps, Claw sling and Remington Copper Solids slugs.  At my usual distances, no problem slam-dunkning deer with this set up.

I usually hunt with a long bow or recurve, however opening day of gun season here in lower MI has been absolutely miserable the last 6 or 7 years with blowing rain/snow mix and cold.  So a shotgun is much prefered over my bows in that kind of weather.

Best of luck, Arch

[gunrac]

In Ohio, No dogs, No shot, No rifles. Slugs only with shotguns only  being able to hold 3 shells. You will get a ticket if you don't have your gun pluged. You can use a muzzy, 32 cal. or larger, or a handgun, 357 cal. or larger, if you want. You can only carry 1 gun while in the field.

I have also seen fella's get a ticket for not carrying a pencel to fill out there tag with. The temporary tag must also be filled out an attached to the deer before you field dress or handle it in any way. You also must provide written permission if approched in the field on private land or you will get a ticket.

I'll be using my ol' Mossy 12ga. rifled. Sporting a 2x7 Leupy. 3" Win. Super X sabots. I have found these to shoot just as good as the high dollar Win.

I live in what they call the flatlands, of central Ohio. Big time agriculture. We hunt what we call patch woods. Just small tract's of woods surrounded by corn, beans or wheat, w/a couple river bottoms we also get into. Hopefully the crops will be gone by gun opener. Usually is. We do small 4 to 8 man drives, never getting any closer then 300 yd. to a road. We have hunted together and the same patch woods so long, the deer are almost predictable. Notice I said almost.

 

[Mohawk]

  Well, only taken one deer with a shotgun but it worked well and I'd do it again if needed.

18.5" barreled pump loaded with Remington 00 Buck, 9 pellet. Deer was 7 yards away, Most are 10yards from this stand. One shot behind the shoulder dropped it.

[buckshooter]

New York Hunter
I have the H&R ultra slughunter model number (SB2-980).  I shoot the Hornady's sst's out of my gun.  The scope I have on it is called the Nikon slughunter BDC 200 reticle.  Once correctly sighted in, you can be dead on at 50, 100, 150, and 200 yards.  I shot at 100, 150, and 200 yards. At 100 yards I shot 1 inch groups, at 150 yards I shot 4 inch groups, and finally, at 200 yards I shot four times and got 6 inch groups.  This is my slug gun set up.  I hope to kill me a gigantic buck this year. 

hope this helps

buckshooter   

[NYH1]

Well my smooth bore barrel came from Cabelas.   However for some reason the Williams Ghost Ring Fire Sights never came.   I looked to see if I was billed for them and I wasn't.   I'll have to give them a call.   Honestly though the more I think about it, the more I don't think these sights will that good for me (see below).   

I bought 5 boxes of sabot slugs today.
Hornady SST 1900 fps, 3/4 oz.
Federal Vital Shok Barnes Expander Tipped Slugs 1900 fps, 3/4 oz.
Fusion 1900 fps, 3/4 oz.
Remington Premier Accu Tip 1850 fps, 385 gr.
Lightfield Hybred XEP 1450 fps, 1 1/4 oz.

I'll try a few more slugs too. I want to try Winchester's Platinum slugs (1700 fps). Last time I shot the Partition Golds, they didn't group to well. I could always try a box again.

The smooth bore barrel came with imp. cyl. and rifled chokes tubes.   I'll try some Foster style slugs with the imp. cyl. choke.   And something like Remington Buck Hammer or Winchester Buck Master slugs with the rifled choke.   

I REALLY like the way this shotgun feels with an open sight barrel on it.   I'm just not that good with open sights much farther then pistol ranges.....50 yards or so.   I do better with ghost ring sights.   However the Williams Ghost Rings sights mount on the barrel in the same place the factory sights mount.   I don't think this set up will work for me because the rear sight will be mounted so far forward.   I'd much rather have the rear ghost ring sight mounted on the rear of the receiver.   Like where they're mounted on my Marlin 336.   They mount in the rear scope mount holes on that rifle and work great.   That type of set up won't work on the 11-87 because I'll be swapping back and forth between both barrels.           



 

[gunrac]

Well my smooth bore barrel came from Cabelas.   However for some reason the Williams Ghost Ring Fire Sights never came.   I looked to see if I was billed for them and I wasn't.   I'll have to give them a call.   Honestly though the more I think about it, the more I don't think these sights will that good for me (see below).   

I bought 5 boxes of sabot slugs today.
Hornady SST 1900 fps, 3/4 oz.
Federal Vital Shok Barnes Expander Tipped Slugs 1900 fps, 3/4 oz.
Fusion 1900 fps, 3/4 oz.
Remington Premier Accu Tip 1850 fps, 385 gr.
Lightfield Hybred XEP 1450 fps, 1 1/4 oz.

I'll try a few more slugs too. I want to try Winchester's Platinum slugs (1700 fps). Last time I shot the Partition Golds, they didn't group to well. I could always try a box again.

The smooth bore barrel came with imp. cyl. and rifled chokes tubes.   I'll try some Foster style slugs with the imp. cyl. choke.   And something like Remington Buck Hammer or Winchester Buck Master slugs with the rifled choke.   

You cannot expect a  2" or 3" rifled choke tube, to throw sabot slugs as accurate as a fully rifled barrel. That is a waist of time and money. Pitch the rifled tube's an shoot the cheep sluger's.

"Rule of thumb" Your good to go, if you can hit a gallon sized jug at a 100 yd.

[RWK]

NYHunter, my son got the same gun, with the same power nikon scope and has taken deer out to 130 yards with it and hornaday sst slugs. Were in NY are you from' i'm outside Buffalo.

[NYH1]

Well my smooth bore barrel came from Cabelas.   However for some reason the Williams Ghost Ring Fire Sights never came.   I looked to see if I was billed for them and I wasn't.   I'll have to give them a call.   Honestly though the more I think about it, the more I don't think these sights will that good for me (see below).   

I bought 5 boxes of sabot slugs today.
Hornady SST 1900 fps, 3/4 oz.
Federal Vital Shok Barnes Expander Tipped Slugs 1900 fps, 3/4 oz.
Fusion 1900 fps, 3/4 oz.
Remington Premier Accu Tip 1850 fps, 385 gr.
Lightfield Hybred XEP 1450 fps, 1 1/4 oz.

I'll try a few more slugs too. I want to try Winchester's Platinum slugs (1700 fps). Last time I shot the Partition Golds, they didn't group to well. I could always try a box again.

The smooth bore barrel came with imp. cyl. and rifled chokes tubes.   I'll try some Foster style slugs with the imp. cyl. choke.   And something like Remington Buck Hammer or Winchester Buck Master slugs with the rifled choke.   

You cannot expect a  2" or 3" rifled choke tube, to throw sabot slugs as accurate as a fully rifled barrel. That is a waist of time and money. Pitch the rifled tube's an shoot the cheep sluger's.

"Rule of thumb" Your good to go, if you can hit a gallon sized jug at a 100 yd.

I know a few guys that use rifled choke tubes in smooth bore barrels and with lower velocity sabot slugs they actually shoot pretty well.   I'm going to try shooting both Foster style slugs with the imp. cyl choke tube and lower velocity sabot slugs with the rifled choke tube.   I'll see which ones shoot better.   The Remington Buck Hammer and Winchester Rack Master sabot slugs only cost about $2 a box more then Foster style slugs.

The slugs I bought yesterday are to use in my cantilever, scoped, fully rifled barrel mentioned in my first post.   I'm going to use two different barrel set ups.     

[NYH1]

NYHunter, my son got the same gun, with the same power nikon scope and has taken deer out to 130 yards with it and hornaday sst slugs. Were in NY are you from' i'm outside Buffalo.

I'm in the Syracuse area, in Central New York.

[kb]

I have a Rem 11-87 smoothbore with open sites.  Im good out to 75 yards with foster-style slugs.  I hunt southern NY where shotgun, pistol, muzzleloader, bow are the rule. 

kb

[bigbore442001]

Don't laugh but my deer shotgun is the same as my turkey shotgun. I use a H&R single shot 12 guage 3 1/2" magnum with a steel weaver base welded to the barrel. I have a 30mm Aimpoint mounted on it with a screw in rifled choke tube for slug shooting. I use the ubiquitous Federal hollow point Forster deer slug. It shoots very good and it is perfect for hunting the Massachusetts woods out of a stand.

[FLNT4EVR]

I use either my H&R 20 ga Tracker 1  or my old Stevens 12 ga double gun, which has been cut to 18 1/2 in. and has rifle sights added.Both ard sighted dead on at 50 yds ,so I am confident with both out to about 80 yds . In the terrain I hunt 80 yds would be considered a long shot.

[NYH1]

Don't laugh but my deer shotgun is the same as my turkey shotgun. I use a H&R single shot 12 guage 3 1/2" magnum with a steel weaver base welded to the barrel. I have a 30mm Aimpoint mounted on it with a screw in rifled choke tube for slug shooting. I use the ubiquitous Federal hollow point Forster deer slug. It shoots very good and it is perfect for hunting the Massachusetts woods out of a stand.

No reason to laugh at all.   A lot of guys use their shotguns for hunting and shooting multiple things (game and or trap/skeet).   I switch barrels so I can use my shotguns for different things too!

[spikehorn]

Mossberg 500 trophy rifled barrel with bushnell banner 3X9X40. Clover leafs remmington solid coppers at 75 yards. tried hornady SST's and shoots them under 1.5" at 100 yards but haven't killed a deer with the SST's yet so I don't know what their terminal performance is like.