Eye relief and Parelax question for slug guns scopes.

[Anthropas]

Hi All,

 
I'm planning on going deer hunting on the family farm for the first time next year in the 2005 season.  I'm looking at getting the NEF Ultra Slugger in 20 gauge.  We hunt from blinds on my Uncle's farm so I'm not worried about lugging the heavy gun all over the place.  What I do have questions about though is putting a scope on it.  I've read here that I'll need to use high rings in order to have clearance to cock the hammer.  Is this accurate?  What I also don't know about is what kind of scopes are people here using on their slug guns and do I need a specially designed scope made for shotguns because of parelax? (sp) It's my understanding that most scopes are designed to be parelax free at 100 yards, but before that you can have issues with parelax.  Since sighting in is supposed to be done at 50 yards, and some shots are very close on deer, is this a problem?  Also, what's the minimum eye relief I need for a scope on a 20 gauge?  Is 3" or more a good idea?  Thanks for the help and any recomendations.  This site has been a great resource in the few days I've been lurking.

-Anthropas

[Brett]

Anthropas most all the scope makers make scopes designed specifically for use on slug guns. One of these would be your best bet because they are set for the correct parrelex and have at least 3-1/2" of eye relief. A cheap rifle scope is lucky to have 3" of eye relief (a bit too close for comfort on a slug gun IMO) and probably not hold up for very long because of a shotguns heavy recoil.  Some places to look for a shotgun (slug gun) scope;  www.natchezss.com  www.sportsmansguide.com  www.midwayusa.com  There are others as well but these are the ones that pop to mind.

[HuntenNut]

Anthropas,

Excellent choice.

I have the 12ga Ultra and 2 of the 12ga Trackers. All are dead on accurate. The Ultra absorbs more recoil due to its weight, enabling me to comfortably shoot heavier loads.

Anyway, as to the scopes, I would recommend a 1-4 power scope with a minimum 60ft FOV and 3.5" eye relief. The big FOV allows you to get on target quick in heavy cover or close in. Small FOV can make a deer at 15yds impossible to find quickly in your scope. I like the eye relief to be 3.5", but with a 20ga, you may be able to get away with less.

I like BSA Catseye 1-4x32--Big FOV and Big Eye Relief, inexpensive and pretty good optics.

Bushnell has several inexpensive but good ones too.

Simmons makes some too,  but the eye relief is too short in my opininion--they have 4x32 with 5.5" eye relief, but the FOV is only 17ft, way too small for a slug gun.

The best one you can get under $200 is the Bushnell Elite 3200 1.5-4.5x32 which is available in the Firefly Retical which is cool. I have one on my TC Encore 209x50, and when I gets me another $200 free, I'll be getting one for my Tracker II.

I have a Nikon Buckmaster 3-9x40 on my Ultra, but I am using it more as a Target Gun at longer ranges than for hunting. I would never hunt with that scope on that gun. Others like them, however.

[Markus]

Welcome to the board. You couldn't have found a much better place than this for info on ultra slug guns. A lot of the guys here shoot them I don't have one yet but have been shooting a scoped slug gun for the last 10 years with a cheap simmons 4x32 on an 12ga 870 with a hastings barrel and have had no problems. I plan on getting a ultra barel some time in the future. Do a search for scope recomendations and I'm sure you'll find all the info you need. 3" of eye relief should be plenty on a 20 ultra. Don't worry about parralax just shoot? As slug guns go these are awsome.If I had known about the ultra slug guns before I bought the hasting barrel I would have never bought it.

[WNY_Whitetailer]

Welcome to the forum Anthropas...I'll share my slug gun scope experience with you.  When I first started hunting I bought a Rem 870 Express and I mounted a Simmons ProDiamond 4x32 shotgun scope on it.  This combo worked well for a while...I took two deer with it at about 40 yards and life was good.  Then one year the deer came closer to me.  I couldn't "find" them in the scope because it was 4x.  When I finally located the deer the only shot I had was a Texas heart shot.  Not good...I then decided to move down in power.  I now have a Bushnell Trophy 1.75-4x32 scope mounted on both of my slug guns...The eye relief is sufficient for me at about 3.5" and the scopes are super clear and bright.  No more losing deer in my scope while hunting up close and personal.

My recommendation to you is to decide the range which you will encounter deer.  If the deer will be real close then a 4x may not work for you...If the deer are out further than 40 yards or so then a 4x may work fine.  If I was going to buy another scope for a slugger I would go with a 2.5x32 or low power variable.  Maybe when I purchase the 20ga Ultra Slugger barrel for my SB2 rifle frame I will opt for a 2.5x scope...A red dot site is also an option for you to investigate.

Good luck with whatever you choose...

[buckslayer]

go with wny_whitetailer, he just told you about the best scope for shotgunning w/ slugs out to 125yds(most average shotgun slug hunters including myself can't get much past 125 yds, mybe 150 at the most for hunting shots). the trophy is a very strong scope w/ the power 1.5-4.5x32.... great for the close shots great for the longer 130 yds shot. i have a bushnell elite 3200 3-9x40 on my 20 ga. ultra slug hunter w/ 3.3'' of eye relif-put 40 slugs through it saturday(including the hard kicking cor-lokt and part gold 260 gr) and i did NOT have any trouble w/ the ER or paralax( the elite 3200 rifle scopes are set paralax free at 100 yds). i shot several same hole, 3-shot groups at 50 yds with this set up. if you have shot out to 150 yds i'd use a good rifle scope. the elite 3200 3-9x40 is 199.00 at cabelas and 184.00 at swfa.com. some tell you that you need aleast 3.5'' of eye releif for shotguns, but ther'r talkin' about a 12 ga. standard weight barrel gun that not much more than 7 lbs. a heavy barrel 20 ga. does not need more than 3''-3.3''. now for scope rings. save money and time and buy loupold riflemen HIGH rings. they sell in cabelas for 16.99. very good rings. i use them (high size) on my ultra, handi and huntsman 50 cal ml and the worked perfect. are they accurat?? i shot a same hole group withe them on my ultra- yes thour accurat. hope this helps :lol:  good luck :lol:
buckslayer :twisted:
P.S some will say that you need steel rings for shot guns(the riflemens made by loupold are aluminum). i've put 60 rounds through my ultra 20 ga. w/ aluminum rings and they did'nt flinch :lol: if i was going to use a 12 ga. i would go with the steel rings. also try to find Shotgunning For Deer. this book is by David Henderson, it covers every thing possible to know about shot guns, buckshot and slugs.GOOD LUCK