TRS_Montana
Well-known member
Yes! Can't agree more with the advice to not shoot 3" slugs. Man, a guy wouldn't have thought there can be that much difference in 1/4 of an inch, but holy cow....
Shotguns, barrels and slugs
- Thread starter mtmuley
- Start date
Generally that 1/4" is all powder! I've yet to need more than a 2.75" slug. For deer, I really like Lightfields. They don't always give an exit, but they are accurate, cheap, and I've yet to have one not drop at the shot. They also make a deeper penetrating model, but I've not used it. I have had very good success with Remington Copper Solids and Federal's that use Barnes bullets.
Marshian
Well-known member
I second the savage 220 with 2 3/4 in Remington accu-tip sabot slugs. Mine has gotten over a dozen deer between myself and friends/ family who have borrowed it over the last 4 seasons. I'm thinking to name it "Thor" cuz it hits them so hard and is extremely accurate: I'd shoot easily to 150 yards.
I'm in a weapon restrictions area, and have been looking at shotguns or muzzleloaders. Are the Savage 220 only 20 guages? I assume the 20 guage is still effective on whitetail to 150 yards with minimal hold over? They look like a nice gun.
LCH
Well-known member
220 is a 20 gauge. Savage 212 is same gun in a 12 gauge.
Rat Fink
Member
There is a reason guys choose the 20 over the 12. Lower recoil, ballistics are better, and more than adequate for elk and everything smaller. I see some guys here are doubting the power of the 20 gauge, is a .45 caliber bullet with a muzzle velocity of 1850 fps considered too small to handle deer?
RingneckGSP
New member
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2015
- Messages
- 12
Factory sight and smooth bore with rifled slugs should be ok for up to 100. I have better consistency with 2 3/4 slugs. Getting a rifled barrel and scope to increase distance will depend on how much you want to spend and time at the range to know how the gun and slugs perform.
Laelkhunter
Well-known member
If your shotgun has a screw in choke, I have seen "Rifled Chokes" avail for sale that you screw in for shooting sabot slugs. Not sure how effective it is stabilizing the slug with just the choke being rifled. Maybe someone has experience with them.
IMO stick w the 12 gauge. Yes, the 20 gauge is flatter shooting. But my 2 friends that have 20 gauges...lose deer. 20 gauges dont "hit" very hard. If u want long range capabilty...buy a Nikon scope & use their ballistic calculator.
Gut Shot
Well-known member
Your friends might not be very good shots, one of the hardest tracking jobs I ever had was a deer shot with a 12 gauge slug. I switched to a 20 gauge several years ago and haven't had a difficult tracking job since.
Marshian
Well-known member
I completely disagree about a 20 gauge having insufficient knock down power. I've witnessed number deer shot with mine and unless the shot was poor, none ran more than 25 yards. I agree with Ratfinks above assessment.
Gut Shot
Well-known member
As a comparison, Remington lists a muzzle velocity of 1810fps for a 300gr 45-70 round.
Their 20 gauge accutip 2 3/4" 260 gr slug leaves the barrel at 1850fps.
Their 20 gauge accutip 2 3/4" 260 gr slug leaves the barrel at 1850fps.
VAspeedgoat
Well-known member
I'm gonna back trigger50 on this one. My buddies that hunt in OH laugh that every other time a 20 fires a deer gets away. I think its probably a combination of things like down range energy and bullet/slug choice that gives the 20 that reputation. I guess I can't say it wouldn't have to do a great deal with accuracy but then again who hasn't taken a poor shot even by mistake. Compound that if we are bringing elk into the equation. Also something to consider is that 3 in shells generally shoot better than 2.75 when shooting in a 3 in chamber similar to seating a bullet in a handload. But I agree with the others that getting the chit kicked out of you may not be worth it.
Rat Fink
Member
Huh that's odd. The reputation the 20 gauge fully rifled barrel slug gun has built is a complete 180 of your description. People love the Savage 220 for it's accuracy and it has been very impressive in it's game dropping power. The difference between a 2 3/4" accutip and a 3"accutip is 50 fps. The 2 3/4" shells feed better and shoot better from my experience.
These are the only negative comments I have ever seen about 20 gauge slug guns.
VAspeedgoat
Well-known member
I wasn't really meaning the 3 inch is better over all, I just meant that a three inch chamber is meant for 3 inch shells for best patterns both with slugs or shot. The longer chamber can affect patterns because the shell is opened up with a 1/4, inch to go before the sabot/wad enters the bore. It may be minor but its still affects things.
I agree with you that especially the savage 220 has built quite a reputation. And without personal experience like you have maybe I should not disagree. I think some of the bad thoughts come from older designs or such. However if elk are involved I truly feel it should be a 12 but then again an elk doesn't really care what size a slug is when it goes through its heart.
I agree with you that especially the savage 220 has built quite a reputation. And without personal experience like you have maybe I should not disagree. I think some of the bad thoughts come from older designs or such. However if elk are involved I truly feel it should be a 12 but then again an elk doesn't really care what size a slug is when it goes through its heart.
