Slugs Out of a Smoothbore Barrel?

[bigmac_au85]

My son will be hunting deer for the first time this year.  One choice for him is his Benelli Nova 20 gauge, with 26" smoothbore barrel.  I have some questions, if anybody has the time to answer:

1. Should I have him use rifled slugs with his improved cylinder choke, or some other type of slug with an after-market rifled choke?

2. Who makes the best and most sturdy sights (front and rear) that will attach to the vent rib?  Some type of peep (rear ring) sight would be preferred.

3. Is there any other type of 20 gauge slug gun I should be considering for him instead of his Nova?  Remington 870, Mossberg 500, etc?  I'm not interested in a fully rifled barrel, because the sabots for it cost so much that it would severely limit my son's practice shooting.

Thanks

[1187VX2]

Rifled slugs should work fine out of a cylinder bore choke and probably even better out of the rifled choke tube.  I've known a few guys who've gotten good results with rifled slugs & a rifled choke tube.

I know a lit of guys insist upon starting a kid with iron sights.  That's great if you're gonna have them shoot 100's of rounds out a .22 first or whatever, but slug guns kick enough that he may not want to practice that much.   I firmly believe in scopes.  Benelli makes cool guns, but it should be fairly easy to put a high eye relief (4" or more) scope on an 870 or 500.  That is what I'd do.

Also, of you have the money, a semiauto should kick a little less.  Lots of Rem. 1100s out there in 20 g.

Last thing, there is a wide variety of 20 g slugs out there.  If recoil is an issue, you may want to focus on the ones with the lighter slugs as opposed to the heavier slugs.   

[TribReady]

For the slugs, stick to pretty much any of the traditional Foster style, just not those for rifled barrels.  The sabot rounds are designed for rifled barrels and are a huge waste of alot of $$ in a smoothbore.  Whether the slug itself is "rifled" or has "rifling" marks on it really only impart a small amount of spin, if any, on the slug.
Since they're pretty inexpensive, buy alot of different brands of slugs and test them out.  I've heard alot of good things on the Remington BuckHammers and Federal Tru-Ball.  However, there are a ton of other choices to try (Brennekke, Lightfield, Win, Rem...)

Improved cyl. should be perfect for the normal slugs.

I'll agree with 1187vx2, scope it if you can.  Even a 0 power red-dot will improve accuracy, and most hunters will be shooting from scoped rifles later on, so no need to avoid them.  I'd look into a straight 4x shotgun scope with plenty of eye relief to avoid a split eye brow......new hunters sometimes underestimate the recoil and catch one in the forehead....oh, wait, we've all done that at least once .

Good luck this fall and keep us posted on your son's success.

[dougk]

1187VX2 and Tribready,

good points...

I have several friends that are going back to the 4x fixed scope for all their hunting.   

Bigmac,
The three shotguns you mention are all good choices for your son, were you going to research the 3 with him and let him make the final choice?

As for which slugs, I found the Winchester and Remington slugs (15 in a box from Walmart) work great for me and they are cheap.  As your son gets familiar with the shotgun, you might want to try different brands to see which lug works best in the shotgun. 

Good Luck... 

[merhunts]

to avoid a split eye brow......new hunters sometimes underestimate the recoil and catch one in the forehead....oh, wait, we've all done that at least once .

Speaking from experience this is no fun. The guys at work sure had fun though. My cut was on the bottom side of my eye on the cheek bone. And a very bad black eye on top of that.

[one$$shot]

I shoot a lot of foster style slugs.  The so-called rifling on the foster slug doesn't rotate the slug.  The slots in the slug give the material somewhere to squish when someone wrongly fires them through a full choke barrel.  Improved cylinder is the best for foster slugs. 

Foster slugs are designed the same as a badminton shuttlecock.  The front (nose) of the slug is much heavier than the rear skirt.  This causes the rear of the slug to follow the front of the slug. 

Foster slugs are nose heavy and primarily designed for a smoothbore. 

[Huntsman1]

Good point  one$$shot , you hit it right on the nail by mentioning what alot of newbie slugshooters are not aware of.
I to this day still shoot he Win. 1 oz Fosters with great success out to 50yds with a smoothbore deer barrel and only stretch the distance to 75yds with an added rifled choke tube and a Remington 3" Buckhammer, and believe me. A Sims Limbsaver recoil pad takes away the ouch

[dougk]

Foster slugs are nose heavy and primarily designed for a smoothbore. 

I understand the Brenneke where also designed for smooth bore with a focus on larger game.  Interestingly I could only find Brenneke slugs available from Brenneke.

[Huntsman1]

I found Brenneke slugs to be very accurate outta a smoothbore, I tend to stick with the Winchester 1oz Fosters as they tend to be more readily available.

[dougk]

I found Brenneke slugs to be very accurate outta a smoothbore, I tend to stick with the Winchester 1oz Fosters as they tend to be more readily available.

I thought the same thing of the Remington Sluggers in the 15 pack, I can only find Winchesters now in the 15 pack.  I am now using the Winchesters. 

[Mikey]

bigmac:  for as many years as I have use shotguns for whitetail I have always found the plain ol Remington  (foster type) slugs to work very, very well.  I will either use a Remington 870 or my old 1100 with the Remy slugs and they never fail.  Both my Remys group 5 rounds together at 50 yds with their plain bead sight.  Both are 12 ga., however.

I would suggest that if your son has good eyes the plain bead sight shoudl be just fine.  If he (or you) want a rifle type sight I believe they can be purchased from Brownells and these are the type that are designed for a ribbed barrel.  

You didn't mention the distance your son would be hunting/shooting at - if it's 50 yds or so the bead sight should do just fine.  

I don't usually shoot the 20 ga.  I have a sxs coach gun I use for small game during the winter because it is soooo much fun.  I have assisted others at the range with sighting in their slug guns and have helped fellas with Remington 870s in 20 ga (last year).  Shotgun shot the same at the 12s did - one large hole for 5 slugs at 50 yds.  

You might find a saboted type slug like the Brenneke that would shoot well in your smoothbore but they are costly and if you are going to be hunting within the effective range of a 20 ga (with open sights) you can probably do just as well with the plain ol Remingtons.  

A Bennelli is an expensive shotgun and pretty fancy.  Remington 870s and the Mossberg 500 line are workhorses that have served the American hunter incredibly well for many, many years and they are a lot less expensive (I think) than the Bennelli.  

If you are looking for a slug gun I would suggest a pump action rather than a semi-auto, I feel it is a much better way to familiarize a young hunter with the firearm he will be using during season, and they are very reliable.  

1187vx2 mentioned recoil - yes, a semi has less recoil than the pumps, if that is an issue and while there are lots of 1100s on the shelves, Mossberg also makes a semi that is designed to handle every shotgun round (in its caliber) out there.  Good luck and HTH.  Mikey.

[Huntsman1]

I found Brenneke slugs to be very accurate outta a smoothbore, I tend to stick with the Winchester 1oz Fosters as they tend to be more readily available.

I thought the same thing of the Remington Sluggers in the 15 pack, I can only find Winchesters now in the 15 pack.  I am now using the Winchesters. 

Yup, 15/pack Winchesters, I'm paying about $12.99 CDN. I've never seen nor heard of Remington 15/packs?

[w8n4rut]

Rifled Slugs work just fine in a smooth bore. I too would highly recommend an improved cylinder choke tube. The Remington 870 is an excellent choice for a great all-around shotgun. As far as sights go, I bought some cheap-o Tru-Glo fiber-optic sights that snap on to the vent rib, and they work great. I found it to help me keep me from lifting my head as I pulled the trigger. What I mean by that, is that I was forced to keep the sights lined up all the way through the trigger pull, as opposed to a bead sight, were do to excitement I have found myself lifting my head, and as a result missing the shot. In reference to the ammo, well I have hunted with rifled slugs for 19 years and never had a problem with accuracy or lack of power. I will say though in the past few years I have noticed while shooting Winchester slugs, that my barrel has been leading up much quicker than years past, which seems to have affected accuracy a bit. I have recently changed to Remington Slugs and have not had that problem at all. I found that Federals react the same as the Remington's.

[Huntsman1]

Now that you mention it  w8n4rut, The Winchesters do lead up alot don't they? After I just bought two 15/packs!

[buckslugger]

i used to do alot of slug shooting and hunting , it was a shotgun only county i hunted for years, winchester slugs are sized closer to the real bore size than remingtons and usually shot better for me,most foster slugs are sized smaller because people shoot them out of chocked barrels,actualy i think the rear of foster slugs flare out when fired to seal the gases and get them down the bore better

roy

[Huntsman1]

Thats exactly what they do "buckslugger ", flare up at the end providing obturation to seal gases behind the projectile
I recovered a couple of them at our gun range last spring after some winter shoosting, thats my CSI input 
Now hunting season is near, I'll be doing some "rock, paper  scissors" to help me decide between shotgun, muzzle loader or .308?