Questions about slug ammo for rifled barrel

[Questor]

I just ordered a Hastings slug barrel for our Browning BPS. This is a dedicated slug barrel with a rifled bore. I've never used a barrel like this. Should I expect to try several brands of slug before getting one that shoots well, or do they tend to be pretty accurate regardless of slug brand?

Can you recommend good ammo for whitetail deer?

Also, what's a good distance at which to zero the scope for this kind of slug?

Finally, is a 100 yard shot too long on a deer? What's a good maximum effective distance?

Thanks for all the help. I appreciate it.

[SHOOTALL]

Go to the Tar Hunt Web Site , it will tell you how to shoot a slug gun better than anything I have ever read . They seem to sell light field slugs and they worked good in my Savage 210 , winchester works better in my sons 210 . guess they all are different .

[jjas]

Questor,

Shootall's advice about visiting the Lightfield/Tarhunt website is definety spot on.  Here's a link http://www.lightfieldslugs.com/lightfield/shooting_guide.cfm?id=2&cfid=14636634&cftoken=94962926

On the left side of the page will be different headings for equipment selection, etc that will take you through the process of shooting a slug gun (it's a totally different animal).

As far as ammo goes, avoid foster slugs (rifled slugs) as they are made of a soft lead and will lead your barrel up very quickly.  In a rifled barrel most guys shoot saboted ammo and all the manufacturers make a quality product anymore.  I've shot lightfields and Remington copper solids in the past with good accuracy and good on game performance.  It's really a matter of you finding the slug your gun shoots the best (they can be picky, somewhat like a .22 rimfire can be).  Many people are shooting Brenneke (non saboted) ammo with good luck out of their rifled barrels.  If your shots are primarily going to be under a 100 yards or so, the brennekes are cheaper and will more than do that.  If you want to stretch that to 150 yards or so, start researching saboted ammo.

I would invest in a good recoil pad and rest, read the primer from lightfield/tarhunt and take your time.  Saboted ammo is very expensive so make every practice shot count. 

Best of luck and let us know how you do.

Jim

[eye shot]

 Good choice in a barrel. I have two Hastings barrels, 870-20', and 1100-24". IMO start with Win-BRI's, you won't believe how accurate they are out to 100yd. If you want a little more than 100yd try Lightfield Commanders IDS-Impact discarding sabot or Hastings Lasar Accurate slugs. All are very accurate in that 1 in 34" twist barrel.

[Questor]

Thanks for the tips.

One more question, though: Can you recommend a good slug that has relatively low recoil. I went to Gander Mountain today to see what was available and two things struck me: One was the high cost of rifled-bore slugs, the second is that I should take a strong look at the Remington Buckhammers because they are relatively low cost and we really don't need maximum distance, within 100 yards is fine.

But the thing that really struck me was the high velocity of some of the loads, like 1900fps. That sounds like a ton of recoil to me. This is for my 16 year old son and I don't want him to develop a flinch practicing with slugs.

Up to now he has used a 20 gauge Mossberg youth pump with Rottweil slugs. He outgrew the gun and will now be using a scoped BPS. I really want to keep the recoil manageable. The 2 3/4" Rottweils in 20 gauge (3/4 ounce slugs I believe) had good recoil. This BPS is heavier so I figure something comparable to 2 3/4" 1 ounce slugs should be OK for recoil.

Thanks in advance.

[mike65]

Some slug makers, like Remington, make low-recoil loads. I believe the muzzle volocity of the regular copper solids, which I shoot, is around 1500. That's about the lowest I've found for sabots. Recoil in the regular loads is not bad, for 20 ga. 2 3/4" shells. I've never shot the low-recoils, but would assume it's even better than the regulars.

[eye shot]

If you try the Win. BRI you will have a good deer slug out to 100yd and low recoil. I have a slug recoil chart that I can't find at the moment, but I remember that the BRI's are only a hair higher in recoil than all these so called low recoil slugs. The BRI is 1350fps.

[Questor]

Thanks! I'll get some of those BRI's. I appreciate it!!!

[Questor]

The barrel arrived yesterday. Looks pretty good except for a few minor scratches on the bluing. I was surprised to see that they are made in France. With the high cost of the Euro today, there is probably a business opportunity in making slug barrels here in the US to replace the Hastings barrels.

[SHOOTALL]

lightfield has a low recoil slug .