Slug Accuracy?

[Sergeantlbt]

I recently purchased a Remington 21" rifled barrel for my 12 ga. 870 Wingmaster Magnum.  It is chambered for 3" shells.  I have a 4X scope on a Leupold mount.  I don't have a lot of experience with slug guns and was wondering what kind of accuracy could I realistically expect?  (Say 50 and 100 yards)  More and more places here in Pennsylvania will become shotgun only areas.  I know this is the case in many parts of the country already.  Any advice on ammunition or experience from those that use these guns regularly would be appreciated.
thanks,

Sarge

[Daveinthebush]

Each gun is different as is each barrel as is each brand of slug is.  You really need to buy at least five slugs each of several brands of slugs and try them.  

All of these are going to affect accuracy.  Open or Improved cyl. should give you the best accuracy.  If the barrel is not rifled then traditional Foster slugs are your best option.  If it is rifled then you can use sabots.

I do not like the cantilever mounted scopes.  Try a B-square scope mount as they engage both sides of the action and are held in place by the action pins.

Accuracy:  My H&R single shot will group under 2" at 75 yards, about 3" at 100.  My 870 is close to that at 75 with a 28" full choke barrel.  

Different slugs will hit the target  differently when you try them.  Use at least a 4' square target with a small bull in the middle.  I like to sight in at 75 yards and 2" high at that range is where I like to be.  It will put you a hair low at 100 but not enough to concern yourself.

Have fun and don't worry about having to carry a slug gun.  They are more than adequate for most hunting and should serve you well. :grin:

[Bullseye]

I used the same gun and barrel for a few years only with 2 3/4 shells.  Mine had a Busnell 2x for a while and then a Leupold 2-7x.  At 50 yards I could get a 5 shot group where the hole just kept opening up (all holes touching).  Never shot it over 50 yards because where I hunt 50 is about the max shot anyway.  I used Remington Copper Solids, but never was impressed with the damage they did to deer.  I sold the barrel and went back to a smooth bore slug barrel.  They do not shoot quite as good at 50 yards, but plenty good enough to kill a deer and I was tired of paying $10 plus for a box of 5 slugs.  I could not afford to practice and do some testing.

[TH]

I shoot an 870 wingmaster with a 26" Hastings rifled and ported barrel with the cantilever scope mount (I use a BSA 30mm Red Dot).  My gun will shoot a 3 shot group at 50 yards with all shots touching each other.  That is using Lightfield sabot slugs which I found to shoo the best out of my setup after trying about 6 different brands.  I like the cantilever scope mount myself, as opposed to Dave, because with the mount directly attached to the barrel you don't have to worry about a loose barrel to reciever conection throughing your zero off on your sight.  Also if you interchange barrels for wing/deer hunting as I do you don't have to re-zero your sight every time you put the slug barrel back on.
  Back to the original question, I would go out and buy 5 or 6 different types/brands of slugs and see which work the best for you.  Make sure to try both the new lighter high velocity sabots (i.e. Win Partition Golds, Win Platinum Tips, Hornady H2K's, etc) and also some of the heavier sabots (i.e. Lightfields, Remmington Buckhammers, Winchester BRI's, etc) as some barrels, including mine, will prefer one or the other.  My setup would not even group some of the lighter sabots, H2K's, at 50 yards.
Have fun!!

[Will_C]

Slugs- good advice given, shoot them all, or as many as you can afford! Good places to start would be the Lightfields, and the Winchester standard sabots. Those two slugs have shot well out of every rifled barrel I have seen. Winchester Platinum Tips are what I have been using for the last two years. They shoot very well out of my Remington barrel, and give a good combination of penetration and expansion.
I know the Winchester Partition Golds are very finicky. A friend shoots great groups out of his Browning Gold, but I can barely keep them on the paper with my Remington 11-87. I think it has to do with different rifling twists in the barrles.
I have the cantilever mount, and have not had a problem in 4 years. I have had a clamp-on saddle mount come loose on a Ithaca Deerslayer many years ago. I would have a gun drilled and tapped, but there is not enough metal on the 11-87 to do this.
I would expect a good shooter, with a decent scope, and a good gun, to find a slug that would group 2"@50 yards.
Will