gENERAL qUESTIONS

[msgfox]

Have been looking through the site and have some questions in general:

1) Believe I saw that in regard to a 20 GA v. 12 GA, at a range up to 50-75 yds (dont believe 100 yds) for deer size game - not much difference in killing power, but the kick betwwen the 2 is significant. True?

2) In regard to slug barrell (smoothbore) v. rifled barrel, any real difference in accurecy up to a100 yds with the smoothbore using slugs and the rife barrell using sabots?

3)It is fine to use slugs out of a smoothbore but not out of a rifled barrell as the slug would leaden the rifled barrel too much? If so then as a general rule, use slugs only in smoothbore and sabots out of a rifled barrell?

Lastly, I plan to use the shotgun for deer size game and prefer a rifled barrel for alleged accurecy but if accuracy is not really any different between the smoothbore and rifled barrels up to 75 yds or so then I can jst use the open barrell with no choke (Mossberg 500).

Thanks to all for the help.

J p

[spikehorn]

1) The difference in killing power between 20ga and 12ga IMHO is the size of the whole you put in the deer. In my 12ga rifled slug gun I use remmington solid copper sabots, they open up and leaf out and are very devistating. every deer I have shot with these has dropped in it's tracks. My son's 20ga doesn't shoot them that well it likes lightfields and they leave smaller holes and we have had to track deer. There is a difference in felt recoil but in the heat of the moment i don't notice it.
2) There is a diffrence in accuracy of smoothbore and rifled barrels. My sons mossberg 500 came with a smoothbore and i tried every type of slug i could lay my hands on and the best i could get was about a six inch spread at 75 yards. i bought a rifled slug barrel and after I found what it liked to shoot it will clover leaf 3 shots at 75 yards.
3) Yes you are correct.
4) You can try, you might get lucky and get a smooth bore barrel that will shoot just as good as rifled barrel. it didn't happen that way for me so i stick to the rifled barrels.

[JimFromTN]

I think there is more killing power with the 12 ga when you compare the energy and the size of the hole that is produced by the 12 ga vs the 20 ga.  20ga are more accurate and the recoil is less which is why people choose the 20ga over the 12ga.  I don't think you will find too many people that will argue that a smoothbore is just as accurate as a rifled barrel.  You can shoot slugs out of a rifled barrel but you will needs to clean them more.  I shot sluggers out of my hastings barrel for years and killed many deer with it.  I never had the accuracy that I have with hastings 2 3/4 magnums.  I get one big hole at 50 yds and 2 to 3 inch groups at 100 yds.

If you have the money to buy a rifled barrel for your mossberg, do it.  If you don't then adapt.  I would go with an IC choke over an open bore and try brenneke slugs
.

[Noreaster]

I have both and the rifled barrel is better. I have heard, from more than a few people now, that the Remington Rackmaster and or Federal Truball slugs shoot great out of smooth bore barrels and or smooth bore barrels with a rifled choke.

These slugs are half the price of sabots and only slightly more than rifled slugs. The Rackmaster has a skirt attached and the truball have a ball behind the slug. Something about the skirt and or the ball push up and expand slightly the diameter of the slug to the diameter of the barrel and produce better accuracy, (something like that I may have it wrong, I asked a federal rep at a conference I attended and he said something to that effect.)

I would try it in my smoothbore barrel but I have a ton of Winchester 1 oz cheapo slugs for it and I don't want to get hooked on something else. As far as killing power of 20 vs 12. I don't know about foster type slugs, but a buddy at work switched to a 20 gauge Rem. 1100 with a rifled barrel and red dot sight and he has been knocking down deer w/o a problem with sabots.