Slug Gun for Deer Question: Does barrel need to be rifled???

[2152hq]

The over .50 bore dia and rifled rule placing the firearm into the NFA catagory still has an exemption (if that's the correct term for it) if the firearm and cartridge are considered 'for sporting use' (or some such similar wording)
That designation is up to the BATF to determine afaik.
So the .600NE and the .700NE and other firearms chambered in such big bores get a pass w/application to and approval by the BATF . There are quite a few other over 50 CF rounds out there chambered in usually modified bolt rifles.

Some have the gracious approval of the Agency, others probably do not as people likely figure that as long as the firearm looks sporty, it's A-OK.
I don't think that's how it works,,but that's how I understand it anyway.
My over .50 rifled are all loaded from the front.

In the case of the 12ga and other gauge rifled slug bbl's, I think the public pressure, combined with the mfg'rs and marketing push to make and profit from them was the reason they were made legal outside of the 'Over .50cal bore dia and rifled = NFA' rule.

Probably no crime stat to show their use above and beyond that of a smooth bore shotgun and likely no advantage to criminals with one.
So 'Permission Granted' people.
But as always,,they retain the power to change the status at any time they desire.

Check State and Local Laws. Rifled shot gun bbl's may be illegal to use under those provisions.

 

[350mag]

I have a twenty gauge 870 youth with a rifled barrel that sits well with iron sights. The sabot slugs are impressive, more power than a 45-70. I’ve taken deer with it and a 870 12 gauge smooth bore. I prefer the twenty for power and range. The twelve with the foster slug requires extra hold over.


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[Llance]

However, I'll offer what works for me. The original poster, Redcoat3340, lists his location as Washington State. As far as I know Washington does not restrict any deer hunt to shotguns only.

While not all over the state of Washington there are certain areas, such as Snohomish County, and I believe Skagit County, which are restricted to shotgun only west of State Highway 9.

Because I live in Illinois my slug gun is an old Mossberg bolt action 16 gage with Williams sights on it. Red/orange fiber optic on the bow and green two dot fiber optic on the stern. The green optic on the stern sure shows up nice in the falling light of dusk. In fact it's too bright for the red on the bow. I'm going to switch them for the next season.

This gun originally had a "select-a-choke" on the front but I cut it off just before the compensator cuts in the barrel and reshaped the stock. It's no tack driver but it has taken it's share of whitetails.

 

[Biggfoot44]

No , slug gun does't * have to * be rifled .

Smothbore guns vary from gun to gun , and load to load . With compatible combination , you can be good to 75 yds plus .( After 75yds , some slugs , from some guns can start becoming unstable in flight .

I've had beed sights print to my exact prefered sight in ( 1.5 in high @ 50yd ) , and I've had beed guns print nice groups that required 2.5 feet of Kentucky windage @ 50yds .

Rifled choke tubes only had a brief heyday for a reason . Flush ones had little effect . Extended rifled tubes had some improvement , with certain loads , specifically those with velocities similar similar to the Original BRI sabots . Modern super premium sabots with their higher velocities by time of encounter with the rifling tend to just strip out . And the extended rifled chokes were $$ . As the price of came down for dedicated guns , or combo packs with two bbls , the price difference became small enough to go straight to fully rifled .

In

There are slugs designed for smoothbore on purpose , with better accuracy and performance than Old School Foster style . I have experience with Federal Tru Ball , and swear by it . Breneeke has multiple offerings advertised as suitable for both smooth and rifled bores . Haven't tested in smoothbore slug gun , but no reason to doubt the usual Breneeke performance .

In normal times , plenty offerings of Reduced Recoil aka Managed Recoil aka Tactical slug loads as rule of thumb have recoil similar to a trap load b and less than the typical 20ga slug .

All depends on distance . If anticipated shots are within 75 yds , smooth is fine. If 150yds or a bit more , full rifled is fine .

Caveat - You can't just pick a random Foster slug with random smooth bore , and be assured of acceptable hunting accuracy . You'll likely to have to test several brands to find the one your gun " likes " .

 

[uncleted327]

Only the last couple inches of the barrel are rifled . . .

I've never owned a rifled slug barrel that wasn't rifled the entire length of the barrel, so that theory is pretty much junk...

 

[Drm50]

While it’s true that a rifled barrel with the right sabot will out shoot the average smooth bore, that doesn’t make it better for deer hunting in most cases. That is because deer aren’t shot at ranges that make a rifled gun an advantage. If they were I would have switched when sabots and rifled barrels first came out. At 100yds off hand shooting won’t be that much different. So there is no point in expensive barrel and sabots. Shooting a better group off a rest don’t mean squat. I guess if you are still hunting power lines or such you could get some benefit, not fore average shots.
My old man gave me a Stevens 94, single barrel 12g when I was 6. At the time I probably only went 50-60lbs. For a few years I avoided heavy loads.
I might have been acclimated but never thought a 20 repeater kicked enough to notice. When people say that I’m thinking they ate shooting off a bench or rest of some type. Almost anything will beat you up rested.

 

[k22fan]

[...] deer aren’t shot at ranges that make a rifled gun an advantage. [...]

While I read you qualified that statement with the possibility of power lines, it's still quite a generalization. During high power season (the old name for modern rifle season) my yard is in a restricted firearm area. One property line borders a 50-60 acre clear cut. Wanting good rifle sights on an accurate rifle is not unlikely. However, the last one I took with my muzzle loader was so close that I wished I'd brought along a revolver just for the bragging rights that come from filling your tag with a revolver. You never know what will happen next.

 

[Muss Muggins]

I've never owned a rifled slug barrel that wasn't rifled the entire length of the barrel, so that theory is pretty much junk...

You’ve clearly never owned a shotgun with rifled choke tubes. Don’t be insulting. I’ve never owned a fully rifled shotgun barrel. Does that make your theory pretty much junk?

 

[Drm50]

I once shot a deer over my head. With my left hand because my right was busy pulling me up a steep bank. The deer jumped over me just as I got to the top of the bank. The deers feet hit my barrel, the Brenneke caught it right under the chin, popped its eyes out and I had pieces of deer brain all over my face. I slid back down the bank turning to shoot again and deers legs were a blur, like chickens wings when you cut its head off.
I’ve hunted deer in several eastern states and long shots are few. If you are actually deer hunting. If you are deer shooting from a stand and staking out deer that will be walking out in open, then a rifled gun would be better. Ohio is the only state I used a slug gun in. The others all rifle and shots were exactly same kind of ranges. Point is the ranges most deer are shot doesn’t require a target gun.

 

[raljr1]

I have a Mossberg 500 with a smooth bore and a 4x scope mounted. It is deer killing accurate to 100 yards and I have taken several deer with it. A one ounce slug kills them very quickly. One caveat I will add to this thread is this: when shooting from a bench sighting in, be very careful not to get hit by the scope.. The recoil on the bench is significant, and the only time, in over 50 years of shooting that I got bitten by a scope, was sighting in my slug gun from sand bags.

 

[ColbyBruce]

If the OP has a skeet gun he should try the Foster or Brenekke slugs in it. Most skeet bores handle slugs very well.

 

[Drm50]

I’m not recoil sensitive. I got recoil sensitive when sighting in 5 or 6 slug guns at a sitting. I can shoot all day standing up, after about 25 off the bench the fun is gone. I made a spud for 12 & 20 for boresighter that helped a lot.
We had a used barrel rack and let customers swap even for same barrel.