Shotgun slug

[wdshannon]

can any one confirm if a slug can be fired threw a choked shotgun barrel?

[bearhunter338-06]

As long as your not standing in front of it when choking it

[Joel]

I thought not, but I'm no shotgunner so I wouldn't really know

[oldschoolguy]

ya you can. They're designed to fit through a choke

[oldschoolguy]

I shoot them through my dad's fully choked shotgun, and nothing ever happend

[Gateholio]

Sure. Slug is lead. Shotgun barrel is steel. Lead slug will swage down through choke.

[Surrey Boy]

Would it be possible to fire it through a screw-in choke? Rated for steel shot?

[835]

Mossberg 835 ulti mag.
stamped on it " NOT FOR USE WITH SLUGS"
just watch out for this stamp! I have shot slugs through chokes but not on the 835

[d6dan]

I shot 2 whitetails last week with a rifled slug in my BPS using a modified choke. I was suprised they shoot as flat as they do..word of caution, they kick like a mule.:mrgreen:..

[TEN22]

can any one confirm if a slug can be fired threw a choked shotgun barrel?

Just make sure it's not a "full choke," that is what I was told.

[kyleklassen]

i fire them through my 16 gauge wingmaster with a full choke. i'm still kickin'

[buck nash]

I've always been told no tighter than a modified choke, so that's what I use but I know a lot of people put them through full chokes with no problems. I don't think you would get any better performance from a tighter choke so if it's not a fixed choke why chance it?

[groove]

Some of the extra full turkey chokes are a no go for slugs I think. Other than that give her. SOme Remington slugs I shot last week were marked "best in IC choke"...

[IceClash]

Just make sure it's not a "full choke," that is what I was told.
yes easily but for best results don't do it on a full choke...........

[cloverphil]

I've done it, mod choke that is, not full
12 gauge

[Matty_ola]

Imagine shooting a spitball down a tapered straw. Once the ball reaches the tapered end it requires more pressure to push it out and may damage the end of the barrel in the process. I always use nothing more than IC for the slugs I use. I've measured me slugs to be approx .73" and my IC choke to be .718" Therefor I see no reason to constrict the barrel anymore than need be.

Just my .2 cents

[Matty_ola]

Damn it I can't spell worth a damn:(

[Legi0n]

some good info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun_slug

[downsouth204]

I use an improved cylinder choke for slugs in my BPS hunter.

[Ronforca]

Fired many slugs through my Remington 870 with full choke and no problems.Used to live in a shotgun only area.

[Chuck]

Recent technology has made it confusing. In years past, shotguns would shoot just about anything you wanted to put through them - full choke or not, but people were much more careful.

Way back, when I was in highschool, I remember guys getting po'd because idiots caused gun manufacturers to put stupid stampings on the barrels, which ruined the looks and hurt the egos of many gun users.

"Warning - Read information booklet and fully understand the use of and function of this gun, as it can and will kill you or others if used in a careless or unsafe manner."

I suppose some people began to lose their common sense, or what?

[Martin_Hunter]

can any one confirm if a slug can be fired threw a choked shotgun barrel?

Yes,if you use cylinder choke,only.I was told about it at reliable gun.Once I shot 4 three inches slugs in a row with cylinder choke and my 12 gauge shotgun was ok.

And you may also know that unless your shotgun has a rifled(grooved)barrel,
shooting a slug is nowhere near accurate.

Good luck

[6616]

i fire them through my 16 gauge wingmaster with a full choke. i'm still kickin'

Yah but is it still a full choke....????

[oldschoolguy]

Yes,if you use cylinder choke,only.I was told about it at reliable gun.Once I shot 4 three inches slugs in a row with cylinder choke and my 12 gauge shotgun was ok.

And you may also know that unless your shotgun has a rifled(grooved)barrel,
shooting a slug is nowhere near accurate.

Good luck

That's actually not true. The rifling in a slug barrel doesn't make the slug spin, it makes that there is less contact surface, and therefore less friction, and therefore more fps

[6616]

That's actually not true. The rifling in a slug barrel doesn't make the slug spin, it makes that there is less contact surface, and therefore less friction, and therefore more fps

Then why aren't the rifling grooves straight instead of spiral...?

[Singleshotneeded]

A Foster type shotgun slug will achieve it's best accuracy with open-cylinder to modified chokes, depending on the gun. It's just a matter
of trying open-cylinder, improved cylinder, and modified to see what
your shotgun prefers. Slugs through full chokes puts unneeded stress
on your barrel and will give you the worst accuracy of the lot.

[Gateholio]

The reason there are grooves on a FOster style ("rifled") slug is so that the slug can easily swage down to fit through any choke constriction. If they impart any "spin" on the slug, it's minimal.

[kyleklassen]

Yah but is it still a full choke....????that wasn't the question....... still kills geese with the crappy 15/16 oz #2 steels.

[Surrey Boy]

Has anyone recovered a slug from an animal? Do they usually pancake? pass through? fragment?

[BuckEye]

trying open-cylinder, improved cylinder, and modified to see what your shotgun prefers.

Backing it up a bit for the newbs reading, can someone explain the principle of the choke, and the differences of the types listed in the responses. Practical hunting applications and where you may prefer one over the other. Are they adjustable etc. I liked the spitball analogy.

This may help some understand and learn from the original post question.
Apologies, but it is the newb section:-P

[Gateholio]

Has anyone recovered a slug from an animal? Do they usually pancake? pass through? fragment?

A Foster style slug usually has the rear end catch up to the front and "pancakes" but they have lots of mass so before they do this they usually penetrate pretty good.

Brenneke style slugs act as a 'solid" and deform a but, but will maintain most of it's character.

Not sure of the sabot slugs which look like hourglasses...

[FlyingHigh]

i've put hundreds of slugs down the barrel of my Mossberg Maverick 88 12 gauge with a screw in modified choke. no problems yet.

[Kyle84]

Shot slugs out of my maverick 88, both in 2 3/4 and 3inch. With mod and imp mod chokes. No problem.

[Surrey Boy]

Backing it up a bit for the newbs reading, can someone explain the principle of the choke, and the differences of the types listed in the responses. Practical hunting applications and where you may prefer one over the other. Are they adjustable etc. I liked the spitball analogy.

This may help some understand and learn from the original post question.
Apologies, but it is the newb section:-P

Choking on a shotgun is done more for shot patterns than slug shooting. Some rifles have choked barrels to prevent any gas unevenly escaping at the crown, ruining accuracy. Some shotgun shooters prefer IC chokes for this reason, but most use CB if they are only using slugs. The great thing about shotgun slugs is that you can hunt small and big game with the same gun using different ammunition, just eject your birdshot and chamber a slug.

[Surrey Boy]

Is there a huge loss in either accuracy or velocity by having a short barrel? I'm looking at using a 12ga 18.5" CB barrel with foster slugs. Is it necessary to buy a 24" barrel?

[Matty_ola]

The answer depends on the choke tube that's screwed into the barrel. You can get rifled choke tubes designed to spin the slug (to be used with sabot slugs), or you can just use a cylinder or improved cylinder tube (for rifled slugs).

It's perfectly safe to do with a shotgun that's in good repair, with proper ammo for that gun's chamber length. I wouldn't want to shoot many slugs through a tighter choke, but some modified chokes will do okay with slugs.
The tighter you go, the more pressure there is on the barrel and action, and the more stress is placed on the muzzle, which is thinner than the rest of the barrel anyhow... and this is especially true of newer guns, since their muzzles are threaded for choke tubes (the threading process removes metal from the barrel). But with the right choke (rifled, cylinder, improved cylinder, or possibly modified) screwed or built into the gun, no problem.

[Singleshotneeded]

Surrey Boy, I asked that question via email of Phil Bourjaily, shotgun editor of Field and Stream, before I bought a 14" cylinder bore barrel for my Rem 870 from Dlask Arms. He wrote that a slug develops all it's power in the first 15" of barrel if it's a 2 3/4" shell, and in 16" if it's a 3" shell.
My 14" barrel doesn't give up much, and your 18.5" barrel will be more than enough.

[emerson]

What 835 said. The Mossberg 835 has an "overbore" barrel as in larger than 12ga up to the choke at the end. Apparently with shot this design patterns more reliably. It is stamped no slugs although they don't seem to hurt it. Slugs aren't accurate in the shot barrel though. I bought a rifled slug barrel for my 835.

[kamloopshunter]

I've always been told no tighter than a modified choke, so that's what I use but I know a lot of people put them through full chokes with no problems. I don't think you would get any better performance from a tighter choke so if it's not a fixed choke why chance it?

Yeah I've been told that too. Remington says something on their website in regard to the 870.

[BiG Boar]

I think it might be bad if you took the choke right out. It may damage the threading I'm guessing.

[Surrey Boy]

Surrey Boy, I asked that question via email of Phil Bourjaily, shotgun editor of Field and Stream, before I bought a 14" cylinder bore barrel for my Rem 870 from Dlask Arms. He wrote that a slug develops all it's power in the first 15" of barrel if it's a 2 3/4" shell, and in 16" if it's a 3" shell.
My 14" barrel doesn't give up much, and your 18.5" barrel will be more than enough.

Much appreciated. Thanks.

[Surrey Boy]

On the back of a package containing a Remington 12ga IC screw-in choke it says that IC chokes are recommended when shooting Foster type slugs. I guess it's alright after all according to that particular manufacturer.

[Squamch]

I've put slugs through every choke I own for my 870. IC, mod, imp mod, and full. All are steel shot chokes. No problems, I get best accuracy with a mod choke in.
I've also shot them through my cut down (cylinder bore) single shot CIL 402 12 gauge. Also, no issues apart from lack of accuracy wig a cylinder bore.
I've also shot them through a 12 gauge single wig an extra full choke. Again, no issues.
I use rifled slugs in a smooth bore barrel, and sabots in a rifled barrel.
If you want to test for accuracy, donut shoot slugs from the bench, it sucks. Shoot offhand with a shooting stick if you need a rest.

[luckynuts]

For those that have smooth bore camp guns. A similar post came up a few years ago regarding best accuracy with slugs/barrells etc. I was curious about accuracy especially from all the stories so I picked up a bunch of different boxes and found in my camp gun (mossberg 12g) smooth barrell that the tru ball slugs 2-3/4 made by Remington worked best with a 3 shot 3.25" hole at 50yds. They are hard to find but were accurate in my smooth bore. That was shooting off a tri-pod standing up.

W.

[Surrey Boy]

BTT for Van Isle.

[Van Isle]

Good reading, thanks. Trying now to figure out the best way to sight the gun in with the slugs. Curious about the above post saying to NOT use a bench rest. My first group of 5 was fine last night off the bench, but waaaay off point of aim at 25 yds. I have bead sights on my barrel and it seems I just couldn't figure out the sight picture. I think that's for another thread after the next trip to the range, tho.

Cheers!

[itsy bitsy xj]

Shot slugs out of my maverick 88, both in 2 3/4 and 3inch. With mod and imp mod chokes. No problem.

Same gun with a full choke...no problems but not as acurate as with other chokes in the same gun

[Surrey Boy]

Same gun with a full choke...no problems but not as acurate as with other chokes in the same gun

Are you liking it overall though? I've always appreciated the versatility of a shotgun.