Why do you use a slug vs a rifle for deer?

[dougk]

Why do you use a slug gun (smooth or rifled) vs a rifle for deer?

Thanks
Doug

[Busta]

Doug,

For deer hunting in MI, there is a horizontal (East/West) line about half way up the Lower Peninsula, and South of that line is the "shotgun zone" (shotguns/muzzleloaders/pistols with straight walled cartridges .35 caliber or greater) only. North of that line is the "Rifle Zone" (Northern half of the Lower Peninsula and entire Upper Peninsula), open to center fire rifles and whatever is legal in the shotgun zone.

This line was designated several years ago (not sure when), before I started hunting in 1973. They used to allow .22 mags also, but changed that for good reason IMO. The line was drawn according to population density (people, not deer), and they have considered moving it further North, but nothing serious as far as I know.

I only live 3-1/2 miles South of the line, and hunt as close as 2 miles from it. I mostly hunt with muzzleloaders and a H&R/NEF Ultra Slug Hunter LE, but would hunt with a center fire rifle some (especially in pistol calibers) if it were legal.

I heard that Indiana is allowing center fire rifles chambered in "pistol calibers" this year. That will be a great way to start the younger guys and gals, with less recoil than the shotgun alternative.

So, the bottom line from here is "we have to by law".

Center fire rifles can be used in the entire state for predators and varmints.

[SDS-GEN]

Rifles are illegal for use on deer in Illinois.

[PA-Joe]

In PA urbanized areas are shotgun only rest of state rifle only. I don't understand the full logic as a 1oz slug is going 1500 fps will do more damage than a 100 grain rifle slug going at 3000fps. Something about what if you are shooting up a hill and miss the deer the rifle slug in theory will go much farther.

[1187VX2]

I'd say for about 99% of slug gun hunters, the answer would be 'because centerfire rifles aren't allowed'.  Very few would choose a shotgun as a first choice.

[IOWA DON]

Rifles (except muzzle loaders) are not legal in Iowa, except there is a 7-day rifle season for does only in January, and only in the southern part of the state. However, I also carry a slug gun with when the rifle is legal. The reason is that sometimes dumb deer will bed down in the road ditch or cross the road. Sometimes on can sneak up on a bedded deer and quit often it is possible to get a shot at a deer crossing a road. That is because in Iowa one often sees a herd running accross a picked corn field from a long ways off because they are being hunted by a party of drive hunters. Sometimes they are running in your direstion and fail to change their route. When crossing the road they often stop after jumping the fence. It is legal to shot deer in the roadside in parts of Iowa with a slug, but not a rifle. And the roadsides are about the only public land in the state.

[billy_56081]

Because its the law here in Southern MN. Now many choose to use there slug guns for bear hunting over bait in northern MN, for the close range killing power. Many guides actually recommend using a slug gun for them. It would be really cool to see pistol cartridge rifles legal to be used in Southern MN.

[GRIMJIM]

Same here, I live in Illinois too, rifles are prohibited. I pay a pretty penny to go hunt Wisconsin just so I can use a rifle. The slug guns are getting pretty advanced nowadays though. I shotgun, handgun and bowhunt here but it's nice to rifle hunt also.

[moxgrove]

When I hunt in the northern part of MN I use a shotgun because I like the knock down on the short range shots available. It also will knock the tar out of black bears. I use a rifle in more open areas though. I have friends who have hunting land in the shotgun zone too, so it is a mandate there. I think a modern slug gun and load in a pump are at least as good as my 45/70 at the same short ranges.

[Bryan Elderkin]

The type of still hunting I do most, I prefer the a smooth bore shotgun. Rem. 1100 12. Most shots are at 50yds or closer. The shotgun handles for me better than rifles.  And I can still kill deer out to 100 yds. I have tried several types of rifles, they just don't handle as well for me. I use open sights.

Bryan

[Ranger J]

When I lived in Illinois that was the only thing you could use.  Over the years I developed a real accurate combo of a Rem 11-87 with rifled tube a 6X scope and Win foster type slugs.  In the dense woods of Southern Illinois this would put a real large hole in a deer. It was great for 50 yards or so.  When I moved to Missouri in the Ozarks the woods were similar and even though I could use a rifle I stuck with the shotgun for a number of years.  What finally switched me to a rifle was as I got older I got tired of carrying the shotgun around.  Also a rifle is a lot more fun to practice with and as I now reload it is cheaper.
RJ

[SDS-GEN]

Here in Illinois I can't ever recall feeling handicapped by a slug gun.  As I have stated before in this forum most slug guns/hunters are only really capable of 100 yard field accuracy, and that with a rifled slug and sabot.  I don't really want to start that whole debate again.  But I have never had a problem getting close enough for a shot, the only exceptions I can recall were deer that were moving in the open.  I don't like shooting at moving deer.

[NYH1]

Here in New York there are some areas that require the use of shotguns and/or muzzle loaders for deer hunting if you use a long gun. In most areas you could use any center fire handgun if you wanted. Up until a few years ago about 2/3 of the state was shotgun and/or muzzle loaders only (for long guns). Now you can use a rifle in about 3/4 of the state. Our hunting camp is still shotgun and/or muzzle loaders. If I didn't have to use a shotgun for deer I might not even own one. I have a 308 win., 280 Rem., and 35 Rem. and most of the time I have to take a shotgun deer hunting!

[lil_hunter12]

where i live and hunt there is many people living around so i use a shotgun and slug for my hunting because i consistently hit to about 100 yards so anything really in eastern kentucky is covered and with more knockdown than i can get from my .308 and in brush it is better than the rifle.

[Blammer]

light, fast handling, accurate enough in thick cover, and hits like the hammer of thor!

[wink_man]

light, fast handling, accurate enough in thick cover, and hits like the hammer of thor!

I think Blammer sums it up about as best as it can be summed up. There's a lot to be said for a one ounce piece of lead(foster slug) traveling at a sedate 1600 FPS finding its way to the boiler room of a deer in heavy cover. And anyone that has tried shooting various rifles, slugs, etc. through a pocket of mountain laurel to a target on the other side of it knows exactly what I mean.

While I am required to use slugs for deer hunting in my state, when I hunt rifle areas of New York state, there are certain areas I hunt there that the slug gun is my weapon of choice, despite being able to use a rifle there.

[Foggy]

when it comes to raw 50yard and in a 3" 12ga slug is hard to beat. Ive put  3 shots on a paper dinner plate at 150yds. with one of the marlin fully rifled bolt action equipped with a scope. once I figures out the hold over.

[varmitbob]

Today's slugs and slug guns are very accurate, and pack a punch better than a rifle.  Unless the target is over 150 yards I prefer the heavier slug.  If it is at ranges over 150 yards I would opt for a rifle.  Wink_man has got it right.  The raw impact of a large slug is very effective on deer.  I have heard some people prefer the 12 ga slug for bear when it counts in close.  A shoulder shot with a slug equals a deer that is not going anywhere.  There are some very accurate large slugs out there.

[w8n4rut]

I mainly hunt in Ohio where it is shotgun/muzzle loader legal state only. But occasionally I will hunt in Virginia with my in-laws. They all use rifles. However I still remain loyal to the shotgun even when I go to Virginia. Why......because I have never shot a deer yet that got more than 10 yards from where I hit it. On the other hand I have seen rifle shot deer in Virginia run until we lost the blood trail, and we never could find the deer. It is simple, shotguns are devastating on deer. I have yet to try sabots though, I can't bring myself to pay that much for them, I will continue to shoot "pumpkin-balls". I would also like to add I believe that rifles do serve a good purpose on deer in open fields, where long distance shots might be required. But in the woods/brushy areas it is hard to beat a shotgun in my opinion.

[Cement Man]

I'm another Illinoisan, so it's slugs, handguns, or muzzleloaders for me.  I hunt several other states; however, and I prefer my .308 where I can use it.  The slugs and slug guns we have today are fantastic and effective at the ranges I have shot Illinois deer at, so I don't have any strong reasons for my preference other than I like the handling, design, range, and finesse of my bolt rifles better, as well as being able to load my own.  Having shot dozens and dozens of deer with both slugs and with rifles, I can't agree that slugs have some decided lethality advantage over a (proper) rifle cartridge.  Whitetails in general aren't particularly hard to kill and a proper slug or a proper rifle bullet is more than adequate for any deer.  As always, you have to put it where it belongs.  I have seen poorly (slug) shot deer running around just like poorly (rifle) shot deer.
I'm not criticizing slugs at all.  Like I say we have fantastic slugs and slug guns nowadays.  I just prefer the handling characteristics and ammo choices of my rifles - where they are legal to use.

[ironglow]

    Here in NY State, the legislature is finally "getting a clue" and allowing rifles in more counties

  My home county started allowing rifles a couple years ago, I got a Marlin 336c in 30/30 and haven't looked back,
  but that is because I am a rifle shooter at heart...

  My home county (Cattaraugus) is rural, wooded and hilly to mountainous...so many of the guys are still clinging
  to their shotguns and I can't fault them for it.
   Many of them are trapshooters, bird, geese and turkey (shotgun only) hunters, so their shotgun, especially in brushy,
   wooded areas of these hills ..seems right and feels natural to them.

    ....And nobody can deny the "sledgehammer" effect of a shotgun slug at short range..

[Huntsman1]

I like the "smack down" factor with slugs, but don't get me wrong I still use my T/C Encore both 209x50 barrel & .308Win bbl.
Funny thing too is there's no Blackpowder or shotgun only season here

[WNY_Whitetailer]

Because NYS says that I must in certain areas that I hunt...

[Spanky]

Bigger holes and lots of knockdown power.

[SHOOTALL]

wink man has a great point !
In Virginia each local govt. gets to choose the weapons we hunt with . so in many locations its shotgun only , some buckshot only some both slug and buck shot . some rifle 10 feet off ground , some 15 feet . and a bunch more of the craziest laws you could imagine .
I know the use of slugs are for safety but i just finished an article where a 150 gr. 3006 , a 1 oz. sabot slug and a 50 cal ML were compared for safety and the slug was the most dangerous , after hitting a solid surface it would travel the longest distance , because it had the most weight , and smaller bullets at higher speed tended to come apart or deform more .I guess the debate ain't over yet !

[Oldtimer]

Shootall, Amen on Virginia laws being strange.  A few years ago, we even had a game warden write himself a ticket for quail out of season, because he went hunting in another county that had a different season from the one he worked in.  In the county where I live, the railroad tracks make the difference in whether deer can be hunted with dogs, the season length, and doe season.  At least  we can use rifles.  In the next county to the east, shotguns and muzzleloaders are allowed, and rimfires for small game, except for groundhog hunting, in which case, centerfires are allowed.  It's so bad, I have thought of taking a lawyer along when I hunt.  Now if I could only find one that would hold a point.

[DRM]

I live in California, I started using a slug gun to hunt pigs because it allowed me to hunt an area that did not allow center fire rifles. There was less hunting pressure because of it and hunters were not allowed to take vehicles into the area.  You had to carry out anything you killed.  As it turned out I like hunting with my slug gun, it's something different and has kept hunting interesting and with new challenges.  I started bow hunting for the same reason, it allowed me to get out and hunt before the general rifle season.

[ironglow]

 
  Here in rural western NY, some counties that share a border with Penna have finally gotten the nod to use rifle, including my home county..so I have been using rifle ever since.   however; if I travel about 12 miles north of my house, I am back into shotgun country !
 
   The other day, I was up to my neighborhood gun shop and was looking for some extra NEF stocks and found on the rack a 12 ga Tracker II (rifled barrel) for just a bit    more than the stocks alone would have cost me alone. This is because due to the change from shotgun to rifle..slug guns are hard to sell or trade in the immediate area,
  especially in 12 ga.
      I was going to sell/trade the barrel for something else..but then thought, the slug gun is handy to keep behind the seat in my Ranger while I am not intentionally
 hunting and would be great if I were just a few miles north of home and spied a nice buck . I could carry an extra barrel or two and be ready for almost anything afield..year round ( e.g. the barrels from my Versa-pack).

   One thing that put me off from staying with a rifled slug gun was the apparent "need" for sabotted slugs ( at $10-$18 for 5@ ) , to prevent leading...A bit of research on the web showed me that the grand old Brenneke Rottweil slugs are all compatible with rifled barrels .
  Some of the large sporting stores carry the various Brennekes, starting as low as $ 2.99 for 5@ ! So, I guess the 12 ga stays with me for a while, even though this old blacksmith has a bum right shoulder.. who knows, maybe a good centerfire  or 20 ga barrel will turn up !

   Incidentally, I am another one of those " Handiholics"..hard to pass up any of those NEF Handirifles seen on the rack...

  You know; I was up to my neighborhood gun shop just yesterday..and Charlie has an absolutely like new NEF .22 hornet on the used rack..Hmmmm

[smokepolehall]

Because i can! Actually i alternate my guns during deer season. I start off using my Win. 16ga model 12 pump. When i harvest a deer then my Ruger carbine 44 mag. is next inline! Then i have 2 other rifles that are waiting their turn. Of all of depends if i don't fill out my 3 buck tags with my CB first!

[south_river_redneck]

To Iowa Don , not to be too hard on you, but the regulations in iowa state that no rifle or shotgun shooting a solid slug can be fired over or across a public roadway, which includes the ditches.