Five months ago I purchased the SLP version. It came with the Improved Cylinder choke installed. It also had the lighter Gas Piston installed when it arrived. I left the IC choke in and tried both the heavy and light load gas pistons. I used 12 gage 2 3/4 inch Estate 00 buckshot and 2 3/4 1 Oz. Winchester Foster slug loads. The buckshot required the light load gas piston, the slugs worked with either the heavy or light load gas piston. Thus, the light load piston remains installed. Range results with about 100 slugs and 75 buckshot rounds exiting the barrel follow.
1] This inexpensive and basic buckshot load provides a very decent 50 feet pattern, with a centrally dense pattern putting 7 to 8 of nine pellets in an 8 inch circle. At 75 feet the pattern is still centrally dense, but only 5 to 6 pellets are in the 8 inch circle.
2] The slugs are where this baby shines. At 100 yards, offhand, 10 shots go inside the 8 inch circle, all the time, every time (well, after about 20 slugs I start to flinch and there is an occasional flyer).
I would certainly use this firearm with slugs for deer hunting if I needed to use a shotgun for such. I, however, purchased this firearm as a social tool. As such, its inability to match the buckshot patterns I can get from my hunting shotguns means very little, as I am not looking for a 40 yard capability with buckshot in the SLP, the 50 feet satisfying me. Beyond that distance I will use slugs. The gun is wonderfully balanced, comes to shoulder quickly, provides a very decent and quickly obtained sight picture and is quite light.
