NEF slug gun...need help

[fortress49]

I recently sent in my NEF Handi for a tracker I smooth bore slug barrel.  This is the barrel with the open sights.  Yesterday I took it out to the range and shot Remington 1 1/8 oz rifled slugs.  That is all that I could find in the store that I went to. 

The results were very disappointing.   The rifle consistently shot low and to the left by a HUGE distance.  The target that I was using was about 2' x 2.5 ft.  In order to get the shots on paper, I was aiming at the upper right corner of the target.  Only by doing that could I get the shots to hit in the lower left corner of the target.  It was WAY off! 

I was not too worried about the windage adjustment yet since I did not have a screw driver small enough to make that adjustment.  But, the elevation adjustment was set to its maximum and I still could not get the shots any higher.

The slugs were VERY STOUT in the recoil department!  To me they were a bit painfull actually.  No bruising as I held it in tight to my shoulder but I feel "tenderized".  So, I thought the problem might be that I was flinching.  But, they did group well in the lower left corner of the target.  I would think if I was flinching to much that the group would not be so good.  Could I be flinching in the same manner each time?  Maybe.  Next time I will add my mercury recoil reducer which I have and see if that helps too. I will also try different slugs if I can find some. 

Does anyone else have some additional ideas to try?  Does the o-ring need to be done for slug guns? 

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Matt

[stimpylu32]

Matt

At what distance were you shooting , the reason i ask is that i have the same barrel and it also shoots way low at 100 yards with the Rem. slugs but not that low , while the Win. only shoot about 3 inches low at 100 .

The windage can be fixed by a simple sight ajustment right to left ,and are you sure that you have the sight set for max elev. you may want to re-check just to make sure .

Also try adding some weight to the stock it will help with recoil .

stimpy

[ELMO]

      I would suggest trying different brands of slugs. There is a difference the way they shoot and you should find a brand that is somewhat accurate out of your gun. When doing some initial sighting in I usually start out at about 30 to 40 yards to see where I'm hit'n, then go back to 50 yards and start sight adjustments. Good luck to ya.....

[fortress49]

Hello,

Thanks for the responses.  I am shooting at 50 yards.  The range I am at will not let you shoot any rifle cartridge at less than 50 yards so that is where I have to start.  I may have to wait to take it up to my in-laws farm where I can shoot at any distance I want.

I do have a mercury recoil reducer that is made for the Handi rifle.  I will put that in next time I shoot.  I just wanted to see what it was like without it.  Now I know!

I was not worried about the windage adjustment.  I just did not have a screw driver small enough to adjust it.  My main concern was the elevation adjustment and how far off it was.   

I sure do want to get this shooting well.  It is really a nice handling rifle and those slugs make HUGE holes!  When I brought the target home my wife was amazed that the holes in the paper were from one bullet!  She stuck her thumb through one of the holes and just shook her head.

Anyway,  if there is any other advice, please let me know.

Matt

[Markus]

I remember a while back someone with a similar problem filing the sight down a little to remedy this. I'd try a bunch of different slugs before I did that though. If you do that work slowly.

[gimphunter]

When you said that the "elevation adjustment was set to its maximum," you did mean that the rear sight was all the way up, right? Because if it was all the way down, that could explain its shooting so low. If an iron-sighted gun shoots low, you have to either raise the rear sight or lower the front sight. If you don't use iron sights much, and don't take a second to think about how the sights work, it's almost counterintuitive, so it's easy to get mixed up. Same with windage. The sights always point at the target. When you adjust them, what you're actually doing is moving the barrel around.

Please don't hit me if you already knew this and it's really the gun's fault.

D

[DaveH]

I had the same problem with my Tracker II I found I was not getting the proper sight picture with those big boxy sights that are on the trackers.  I had to put the tip of the front sight high in the rear sight groove until I could see the some of the ramp of the front sight.  Then place the tip of the front sight on the target.  This works for me.

[fortress49]

Again, Thanks for the replies.  When I said the sights were set to "maximum" I did mean they were all the way up.  But thanks for the advice.  You never know, you can temporarily get a "brain freeze" and goof up.  I think my next step is to get some different slugs.  If that doesn't work, I may have to adjust the sight picture as mentioned in the previous post.

Matt

[gimphunter]

I don't like the "Kentucky elevation" method for getting the gun "zeroed." You really need to be able to hit the target at a known range, using a proper sight picture. Then you can play around with holding the sights differently for different ranges, but you should start with a proper zero at a defined distance.

If the different ammo thing doesn't solve the problem (and I doubt that it will completely), you'll have to file that front sight down.

Set up a bench and rest at close range, say 25 yards or so, and fire a bunch of different slugs. A 25 pound bag of shot between buttstock and shoulder will be useful. Decide what load you plan to use in the field, and file the sight down a little at a time until you have the elevation right. You can do this with reduced-recoil slugs, I'd bet, if you keep the rear sight all the way up while you're doing it. If you zero it with the reduced-recoil loads, your hunting loads will print too high, of course, but you should be able to then lower the rear sight from its maximum to get it zeroed with them.

[Busta]

Yup, get some cheap slugs like Wolf and get out the file an d asmall screwdriver. Those sights were made to be filed, just go easy.

[offhand35]

MARKUS, I'm pretty sure that my post is the one that came to mind re: filing the front sight down to gain elevation for my Tracker II!
I tried several different sabot slugs until I found the one for me. That one has plenty of power in a 2 3/4" shell, great accuracy at 50- 100 yds. , yet allows me to shoot more than 3 rounds at the range without needing a sling for my shoulder!!! Then, I bought 2 cases of the same lot #......I think of the 50 boxes I've used 6.....those slugs go with that gun......but they will stay with me!

fortress49, granted, that the T..II  has a rifled bore, but the process would still be the same.....I don't remember the title for the posting, but I did post some regarding sighting in my Tracker II......

Ultimately you want your rear sight in a middle setting with your slug of choice to allow some fine tuning....If you decide on a particular slug type and load that will be THE load for you, THEN you figure out how to get the sights right.....hopefully they will shoot at least a little low, to enable you to adjust the rear sight to approx. the middle, then bring a file with you to the range.....shoot a couple ... file the FRONT sight down a little  to raise POI.....COOL THE BARREL....shoot a couple.....file a LITTLE more....until you are hitting 1 or  1 1/2" high at 50 yds....[or whatever you decide your goal is to get you the zero you want, be it 75 or 100 yds.... Doing this with the rear sight at the middle setting lets you fine tune your group a little if you happen to get too zealous with the file.....

[offhand35]

fortress49,
Have you made any progress in your quest for a slug that will shoot in your smoothbore?
I shoot 16ga rifled slugs in 2 custom smoothbore slug guns in addition to my Tracker II rifled barrel slug gun .....one is cylinder bored like your Tracker I, the other has a  modified choke..........what I have found is that the largest  slugs that fit the bore tightest in the cyl bored gun AND the modified choked gun shoot the best.....with the mod gun yielding groups of 2-3" on a paper plate at 100yds.....the cyl bore gun is reliable out to approx 80 yds..

My  point is to emphasize that different brand slugs will shoot VERY differently. Don't give up until you've tried every brand and configuation of rifled slug.   You may find that a slower [2 3/4"] slug  will shoot best, as opposed to a high velocity 3" slug that blasts wildly.......

If you have trouble obtaining an assortment, maybe you could get a box or two of each from a mail order house like
www.cheaperthandirt.com