[sharpshooter]

How accurate "should" slugs be from a smooth bore?

Mine consistently puts 3 shots in a 5" circle at 50 yards, with a mod choke and Walmart bulk Winchester Super X 1oz rifled slugs. Is this good, bad, or average?

 

[K.Kiser]

If you could print holes like that consistantly I'd say it's a decent group considering... I'm no slug expert and there will be more knowledgeable responses to come, but it doesn't seem bad to me...

 

[Buffering]

That looks like a Warhol.

 

[DBR]

Generally with slugs a gun likes most smooth bore shotguns are capable of 4-6" at 100yd with cylinder or modified cylinder chokes. Slugs don't usually like tighter chokes. Most shooters can't do this however.

 

[aippi]

Rifled slugs love tighter chokes in a smooth bore and Modified is the best as it stablizes the slug better then I/C. You are putting them in there just fine. Yes, it could be better and I have had the exact same model barrels shoot different groups with the exact same ammo. I have an 18.5 bead sight in modified that will make little snow men with Remington slugers at 50- yards and the exact same barrel on another 870 that gives me 4 to 5" groups. So if that is what your barrel is giving you that is what you got.

 

[MrMurphy]

+1.

I've seen rifle or ghost ring sighted shotguns that'll keep pretty solid groups and others that made the shooter approach hadji levels of accuracy.

A Nova SP, smoothbore 18.5" ghost ringed model I once owned made me a considerable amount of money because nobody would believe how accurate it was. With the heavy trigger, if I was careful, using Remington Sluggers or Reduced Recoil slugs, I could consistently put five for five, or four for five slugs into the head of a TX DPS silhouette at 100m from the prone. Body shots I could do all day long at 50 or 100m.

I didn't have issues at 50 and found the accuracy out almost by accident. Trying to figure slug drop at 100m i aimed for the head figuring it'd drop into the chest. My spotter announced I just hit him in the head. Three more in a nice group demolished the target's head.... and another box and target proved it wasn't a fluke. Did it regularly after that.

I've seen other shotguns approach that level of accuracy, and a few that had trouble (even with rifle sights) staying on paper at 50m.

 

[method]

Have you tried any other slug loads? What kind of sights on the gun? I have a feeling you could find another load that will group a little tighter.

 

[sharpshooter]

XS ghost ring sights. I tried Remington Sluggers and they shot the same. Shot off front/rear bags.

 

[Big Bird]

That's about right. When I went to the Gunsite Shotgun course back in the 90's we routinely shot steel pepper popper target with slugs from the prone out to 125 yards using ghost ring sights and foster style slugs. I like the Brenneke slugs a little better in my guns. Kent loads Brenneke slugs in the KO line of ammunition and they run about the same as Foster slugs if you mail order them. I bought a case a while back on closeout for 2.99 a box of 5. I've killed several deer with Brenneke slugs and they do a number on a deer. But the Foster style slugs are no slouch either. One thing I have found is there is very little difference in how a given shotgun will group various brands of slugs...Remington, Winchester, Federal all pretty much group the same in the same gun.

 

[byf43]

Rifled slugs love tighter chokes in a smooth bore and Modified is the best as it stablizes the slug better then I/C. You are putting them in there just fine. Yes, it could be better and I have had the exact same model barrels shoot different groups with the exact same ammo. I have an 18.5 bead sight in modified that will make little snow men with Remington slugers at 50- yards and the exact same barrel on another 870 that gives me 4 to 5" groups. So if that is what your barrel is giving you that is what you got.

Right after I bought my beloved Remington 1100 (1983), I bought a rifle sighted slug barrel for it. (I/C choked.)

With Winchester and/or Federal 'punkin balls', I got 4-6" groups at 50 yards.

Remington Sluggers would make "Mickey Mouse Head" groups at 50 yards.

When I hurt my back (1991), a neighbor offered me an insane amount of $$$ for that barrel.
Like a fool. . . . I sold it.:crying:

 

[fuzzy03cls]

Never checked groups, but my 5901A1 18.5" hits my steal plate at 50 yards without missing a beat.

 

[L Pete]

My 870 Express with a rifle sighted smooth bore will consistently do 2" at 50 yards with Remington 1 oz. Sluggers. I've never shot it at 100 yds. I've got a group cut out of a target stapled to the wall over my reloading bench. I don't shoot that gun much, so, maybe I should start using it more.

 

[sharpshooter]

So, I got one that doesn't shoot well? And that's just how it is? Or can a different choke tube change that?

 

[aippi]

If you are shooting a Rem Choke barrel you can not count on the same accuracy as from a fixed choke. Rem Chokes are for small shot, not slugs.

 

[sharpshooter]

So Rem choke barrels don't shoot slugs as well? So my grouping is probably typical of all Rem choke barrels?

 

[method]

If you are shooting a Rem Choke barrel you can not count on the same accuracy as from a fixed choke. Rem Chokes are for small shot, not slugs.

Can you elaborate on this?

Sharpshooter...you've only tried two different loads, there's plenty more to try before saying that's as good as it gets. Try Federal's Foster loads, try Brenneke, try Wolf, try S&B. Also, have another shooter try the gun...it may be you.

 

[byf43]

So Rem choke barrels don't shoot slugs as well? So my grouping is probably typical of all Rem choke barrels?

What length barrel are you using??? (Sorry, IF you posted it, I overlooked it.)

Have you tried Remington "Slugger"???? Winchester 'slugs' used to be 'punkin balls'. I've never gotten "good" accuracy using these. YMMV.

The Remington "Slugger" is shaped like a Badminton 'shuttle-cock'. It's open in the back.
It's been my experience that these slugs open up more (from powder ignition) and fill the bore, better.

In my not-so-humble-opinion, IF the slug isn't filling the bore, it's bouncing along the walls of the barrel like an old smoothbore flintlock.
You're only going to get ___________ (less than ideal) accuracy.

Also, (again, just my NSHO), there's the possibility that a slug will loosen a choke-tube, or strip the threads and shove it (the choke-tube) out the barrel.


Now, on the other hand. . . . a rifled slug barrel, shooting Winchester 12 ga #SSP-12 Sabot rounds, my 870 will shoot 3 shots touching at 100 yards (off sandbags)!!!
(I've got the targets sitting on my workbench, in the basement!) I was amazed at the accuracy!!!

 

[method]

What length barrel are you using??? (Sorry, IF you posted it, I overlooked it.)

Have you tried Remington "Slugger"???? Winchester 'slugs' used to be 'punkin balls'. I've never gotten "good" accuracy using these. YMMV.

The Remington "Slugger" is shaped like a Badminton 'shuttle-cock'. It's open in the back.
It's been my experience that these slugs open up more (from powder ignition) and fill the bore, better.

In my not-so-humble-opinion, IF the slug isn't filling the bore, it's bouncing along the walls of the barrel like an old smoothbore flintlock.
You're only going to get ___________ (less than ideal) accuracy.

Also, (again, just my NSHO), there's the possibility that a slug will loosen a choke-tube, or strip the threads and shove it (the choke-tube) out the barrel.


Now, on the other hand. . . . a rifled slug barrel, shooting Winchester 12 ga #SSP-12 Sabot rounds, my 870 will shoot 3 shots touching at 100 yards (off sandbags)!!!
(I've got the targets sitting on my workbench, in the basement!) I was amazed at the accuracy!!!

Barrel length has next to nothing to do with accuracy. Winchester Super X and Remington Sluggers are both of the 'Foster' design. They aren't shaped like a shuttlecock, they simply have the same weight-forward characteristic that allows them to naturally fly straight without added stabilization, ie rifling.

About the concerns over choke tubes....I think the people that engineer these guns know a little bit more than any of us here. Choke tubes have been in wide spread use for quite awhile now. If there were issues with using slugs or anything other than small shot with choke tubes, I'm pretty sure they'd be documented.

 

[aippi]

Choke tubes are for small shot not slugs. One day that tube is going down range as the slug puts a lot of strain on the threads. Look at the threads on your tube. that is the reverse of the threads in the barrel. The choke tube is stainless steel and much harder then the steel in the barrel. You don't have to know much about steel to understand.

 

[fiasconva]

I'd look at it this way if I were you. If you were shooting at a deer or anything else at that range with that shotgun it would have been very effective. I don't think any of those hits would have been survivable.