Sabot Knockdown

[NautiBuoys]

Looking for some feedback on 12 guage sabot, in field, knockdown successes.
I hunt a lot of public land and have been using a 12ga smoothbore for years,
as when it hits a deer, it goes down. Looking to use a rifled barrel setup this
year (something different) and am looking for actual field success with sabots.
I saw the Lightfield and Remington Buckhammer ads and they look promising.
Any similar success with the Winchester Platinum or Gold sabots, or Federal
Fusion or others? Thanks,

[SHOOTALL]

LIGHTFIELD 11/8 Red box works great . keep in mind each gun has its own likes

[spikehorn]

my mossberg 500 trophy likes the remmington solid coppers which open up and leaf out and are devastating. it also shoots Hornady SST's very well, but haven't tried them on deer yet.

[ttank0789]

I started using the Winchester Partion Gold sabots last year and they have good knockdown power. I shot a big bodied buck that dressed at close to 200 lbs. and he stumbled 5 yards and went down and I think he only made it that far because he was running. Her was pretty torn up inside and there was a nice sized exit wound. He's the only deer I've shot with them but I'm confident that they will continue to put deer straight down or they at least won't go far.

Two years ago I got the Hornady SSTs because of how accurate I heard they were. They are a very accurate slug but the downside is they are only 300 grains which is relatively light as far as most slugs go. Which is why I switched to the Winchesters (385 grains). I killed one deer with the SSTs and he went about 45 yards. It took him about 20 minutes to cover that distance though but I believe that was because I only hit one lung due to a sharp quartering away angle. I would have shot again but he didn't offer a shot. One thing I didn't like was the exit wound wasn't much bigger than the slug so I'm not sure as to how much they expand but maybe that was an exception to the norm.

My buddy uses the hollow point Federal Barnes Expanders. 3 years ago he shot a buck at about 130 yards and it literally knocked it off its feet. The following season he shot a doe and she took about one step and dropped.

My brother started using the Remington Premier Accutip slugs last year and they are very deadly as well. He shot a button buck and it went about 20 yards but its vitals were torn to shreds. The lungs were ripped apart and the heart was pretty much nonexistent. Remington says are the largest and heaviest slugs on the market (.58 caliber) so they are sure to leave a big hole - which they did.

Sorry for writing a novel. Hope I was some help.

[NautiBuoys]

All good info; thanks. Reason why I'm looking is I have seen three deer shot with the Federal Barnes all copper hollowpoint slugs (before they came with the expander) and each deer ran off and was lost or claimed by another individual. Shooting the remainder on them into various media (gelatin, sand, phone book) showed they wouldn't, or didn't expand, but became rather a full metal slug. Thanks again.

[jdinil]

I have shot a fair number of decent sized deer with both various sabots and Foster slugs.  My unscientific observations are that the Foster has a bit better "stopping" power. I have had more deer that dropped in their tracks with the Fosters. I've had more runners with the sabots.  But, the next hunter may have the opposite experience. I usually shoot my deer at fairly close range, maybe a 30 to 40 yard average. The rare long shot for me would be 60 to 70 yards. The Fosters would be at a disadvantage at longer ranges because they shed velocity so fast.

[SHOOTALL]

Lets be honest here , any slug will do the job on the deer end plain and simple . The goal is to use the slug your gun can best hit the deer with period . Try the least expensive first and work up in price until you find the best in your gun . When you find the gold standard for your gun - go buy several seasons worth with the same lot number  and store in a good place until needed .