lets talk slug performance

[AmericanBob]

this isn't to get a bunch of factory balistic charts up here. i'm looking for peoples experiences with the ammo their using. what got me curious was this year i switched over to the remington accutip 12ga shells. i shot a doe sunday night and the slug didn't exit. granted the shot was 125+, but all i heard was how devastating these slugs are. is it unreasonable of me to expect an exit wound at that range?

 

[IndyMonkey]

I very rarely see exit wounds with 12 gauge slugs. The doe I shot Saturday didnt have an exit wound which Im ok with as that means all the energy was used in the deer.

 

[captpaul]

Brenneke KO slugs are heavy hitters in my experience with large wound channels. The Remington Copper Solids exhibited minimal expansion in several deer I have shot so they are not longer an option. The best round in terms of accuracy have been Lightfield Hybrid Elites in my gun.

 

[loony1]

I shoot awesome groups at 100 yds. w/the reminton copper solids, Hastings rifled slug barrel and a 25 year old remington 870. I have tried all of the brands they sell here locally and the copper solids shoot the straigtest out of my rig.

 

[6birds]

is it unreasonable of me to expect an exit wound at that range?

Well, it dumped all the energy in the deer, and that's a goodd thing.

Second, getting an exit wound on a double lung is different than getting an exit on a quartering or shoulder shot.

Where did you hit yours? Did that accutip open like it was supposed to? Sounds like it worked just fine.

Last month I has a 250gr 338 Win travel through 4 foot of elk. Shoulder, then heart, then broke a rib on the off side. No exit wound, no blood trail, ran 50 yards. We retrieved the bullet between the ribs on the far side, all 250 grains intact. The bullet did just fine.

 

[Bradsknives]

I shoot lightfield 20ga sabots. I have been using them for close to 10 years. They may not be the fastest sabot on the market, but when I do my job, I have never had a deer go more than 50 yards. I don't recall having any completely pass through a deer. They tend to explode/break up inside and get the job done.

 

[combat45acp]

The old Remington copper solids we crazy lethal. They had a hole drilled for the hollow point and two cross cuts giving it 4 pellet like pieces that broke off in 4 90* directions from the bullet. Wasn't uncommon to have one hit the spine, stomach, or come out the bottom of the body or windpipe, etc. Allways dropped them fast with an exit hole.

I use Federal Hydro Shocks now with an exit hole everytime so far but I'm shooting a 3" mag and think 100-110 yards has been the max I have shot since I switched.

 

[Ashkelon]

I used Winchester sabots in a new rifled 870 last weekend. Good for a doe and a small deformed rack 6 pointer. BUT not impressed. When lining it out on paper the groups were tight but didn't matter much with the adjustments on the rifle sights. I aimed low left on both to get proper placement on both deer.
Planning on running some different brand of sabot this weekend after some target time.

 

[Jack Ryan]

Federal 1 1/4 ounce super slugs/foster slugs will put a hole through a deer from one end to the other at any angle through every bone in it's body at any range you can hit it. If you know where the heart is and you can put it there, the slug will hit it. If you do miss, then it's just like TWO pretty dang good hits from any of the gimmic slugs that only go half way through.

I like that.

I don't like hollow points or any of the rest of that gimmicky hokum. Big, fat, heavy, fast, it's a deer slug not a rifle bullet.

 

[Jack Ryan]

I used Winchester sabots in a new rifled 870 last weekend. Good for a doe and a small deformed rack 6 pointer. BUT not impressed. When lining it out on paper the groups were tight but didn't matter much with the adjustments on the rifle sights. I aimed low left on both to get proper placement on both deer.
Planning on running some different brand of sabot this weekend after some target time.

How could that POSSIBLY be a problem with the ammunition?

 

[snapping turtle]

fEDERAL BARNES EXPANDERS OUT TO 125 IN 3 INCH THEN THE BIG OLD CUPPED HOLLOW POINTS MAKE EM TUMBLE.

Hornaday SST slugs do well.

It is more important how they group than how they expand. A slug is far enough powerto anchor and Indiana deer. Even the old pumpkin ball smooth bore slugs.

 

[Leadeye]

Get slugs that group well from your gun. Accuracy is always best.

 

[Ashkelon]

How could that POSSIBLY be a problem with the ammunition?

Not saying it is. Some guns shoot certain slugs and designs better than others. My smooth bore would noticeably shoot certain slugs bettwe than others. Only shot one brand. Going to experiment w/ some others and see if any shoot differently. I agree that the culprit is most likely the loose screw behind the trigger.

 

[Jack Ryan]

Not saying it is. Some guns shoot certain slugs and designs better than others. My smooth bore would noticeably shoot certain slugs bettwe than others. Only shot one brand. Going to experiment w/ some others and see if any shoot differently. I agree that the culprit is most likely the loose screw behind the trigger.

So long as you are getting good groups I wouldn't spend money on trying other brands, that won't solve the problem. Just waste money you could use on the amo that already groups good to get it zeroed in.

You need to shoot that from a good solid position that the gun is with out doubt locked in on the target when you pull the trigger. For most people that is a bench, with sand bags or some kind of solid rest. If you are calling three shot groups "good" and shooting them off hand they can easily be fooling you with a shotgun.

The first indicator of that is funny stuff going on with sight adjustments that don't make sense or are not consistant.

If the ammo is indead CONSISTANT in that weapon you should be able to fire one shot at 20 yards or so, make an adjustment and confirm with a second shot. If it's any where with in an inch of a quarter size bull at 20 yards make a little adjustment and move back to 40 and fire one more. If it is all still behaving logically then make a little finer adjustment and move back to a rock solid bench rest at 50 or 60 and shoot one.

If that's with in an inch of the quartersize bull then don't move anything, wait 5 minutes between shots and shoot two more.

If that group is what you would call good and shot at 50 yards then you can move as indicated on the scope adjustments X 2 to put the CENTER OF THE GROUP over the bull. Tap the scope lightly 4 or 5 times after that last adjustment and shoot one more.

If that last shot lands where you expect right there touching the bull or with in the size of the previous group to it, then you are sighted in and confirmed, ready to hunt.

That shotgun will not change the point of impact from the point of aim enough to miss a skoal can any where from zero to 100 yards.

 

[newguy]

lightfields!!!!! never had a deer get away . never had an exit wound either.didnt matter if it was 25 yards or 135 (yes i actually took a deer at 135 yards) all the slugs that i recovered seem to not just to expand extremly well but they fragment which causes even more internal damage.

 

[newguy]

the rifled barrel has rifling inside it

 

[koenig clone]

I like winchester supreme partition golds. Very fast and accurate but you do pay for that with a little more recoil. I've recovered a couple. Petaled out very nicely. shoot those out of my 20ga 870. My 12 ga 1100 likes hornadys better. My shoulder does too with a 12 ga.

 

[Water63]

Over the years I have used several different sabot slugs. My rig is a Remington 870 fully rifled barrel Cantilever scope mount. All slug were 2 3/4 inches and all shot very accurately. I sight in 1.5 to 2 inches high at 100yrd that puts it about 4 to 6 inches low at 200. Copper solids shoot 2 inch groups but seem to just pass through. Barnes expanders shoot 1.5 inch groups devastating internal damage to the deer. The last one is the hornady slug they are the most accurate with a cloverleaf pattern. The first deer shot with this ammo had the .50 entrance wound and a 3 inch exit wound with devastating internal damage but 2 others have had less internal damage. None of the deer ran more than 75 yards and were all taken with only 1 shot. My theory is accuracy is much more important than the latest hype.

 

[ISP 5353]

I am using the Remington Copper Solids out of a rifled Remington barrel on my 11-87. They have been devastating on everything I have hit with them and they proved to be the most accurate out of my slug gun. Mine is dead on at 100 with the 2 3/4 loads. Usually have entrance and exit wounds on bradside and quartering shots. I had one slug stay inside a buck that I shot almost head on in the chest. It performed perfectly and was still intact. It wreaked total destruction inside the buck. He only made it 25yards after the hit. I have a high level of confidence in them due to the accuracy factor and the proven lethal results. They are a little overkill on coyotes though! Not much left!

 

[DragonGunner]

My Mossberg 500 with scope an rifled barrel likes the cheap Winchester 1 oz. foster slugs. 10.00 for a box of 15 from wally world...1600 fps. I can hit a baseball at 110 yards....I usually don't get a exit wound. But massive damage almost all the way through an they usually drop in their tracks.