[dsmith84]

dont laugh you guys but a friend was telling me that a stock shotgun can't shoot slugs? i didn't think that was the case but i wanted to make sure. i'm sure you guys know can anyone help me out

[Caliche]

A stock shotgun can shoot slugs, it just wasn't designed for that. A stock shotgun that was intended to shoot bird shot is not rifled (Wikipedia Rifling Page). It also only has a front sight (or bead) and is intended to be shot with both eyes open (by most opinions). A rifle designed to be a "slug gun" can come with a rifled barrel and a rear "U" sight to assist in aiming. The rifling stabilizes the projectile making it possible to shoot at longer distances.

I hope this answers your question. If not, keep posting up and the good folks here will do their best to help you out!

[Shotgun Shooter]

I'd need more info on what you mean by "stock". There are all types of shotguns.
Mainly, the choke is where people get messed up when dealing with slugs. For best accuracy, slugs should be shot through a cylinder bore [no threaded choke] or an improved cylinder choke. Now, rifled barrels were meant for sabot slugs. Smooth bore barrels, which use chokes, are meant for rifled slugs. Little confusing yes, but once you read more on it you'll understand.

There are no stupid questions. We all start somewhere.

S.S.

[dsmith84]

i think one of my friends shotguns is a mossberg 500 would it hurt it to shoot slugs thru it?

[Shotgun Shooter]

Oh good. I can help now. I have a Maverick 88, which only has a few things different than the Mossberg 500.

Depends on the barrel. Assuming you have a smoothbore barrel [chokes], I'd get an improved cylinder choke before shooting slugs through it. The "stock" choke would either be a modified or a full choke, which isn't the best idea to shoot a slug through.

If you want horrible accuracy and cant get to a new choke, technically you can shoot slugs through it. I just wouldn't recommend it. Hope this helps.

S.S.

[IGETEVEN]

Everyone here is correct in answering your question, yes you can fire slugs of any sort as long as they are 2-3/4" or 3". You can even fire the sabot style slugs, but they're meant for shotguns with rifled barrels. You won't get maximum performance, but they'll exit the barrel just fine. You can actually check the barrel to see if there is any rifling pattern or if it's just smooth inside. If it's just smooth inside, it's a smooth bore barrel. The rifling, along with saboted slugs, make for more accurate shot placement.

For a smooth bore, you want rifled slugs. The idea with rifling is to get the bullet to spin while traveling through the air. The imparted spin causes the bullet to be more stable, and hence, more likely to reach the intended target.

No ones laughing, you asked a very good question and thank you for asking. I hope we have all answered your question thoroughly for you.

Jack

[Bigcat_hunter]

I am not sure about the mossberg 500 but you CAN NOT shoot slugs out of a mossberg 835 with out a slug barrel. They are back bored to reduce recoil which means the barrel is larger in the back and slowly tapers narrower towards the front. It would result in the slung bouncing around in the barrel as it goes forewards which could cause all sorts of problems.

[BigByrd47119]

Originally Posted by Bigcat_hunter

I am not sure about the mossberg 500 but you CAN NOT shoot slugs out of a mossberg 835 with out a slug barrel. They are back bored to reduce recoil which means the barrel is larger in the back and slowly tapers narrower towards the front. It would result in the slung bouncing around in the barrel as it goes forewards which could cause all sorts of problems.

A added word of advice DSmith. A full choke barrel can shoot slugs (in most cases) but the reason people say no is because it prevents people from making the mistake of doing so. The slug will elongate as the barrel gets smaller in diameter, causing the slug to stretch in length. As a result, pressure in the barrel can (and usually will) surpase safe levels. After a few shots like this sever damage will be done to the barrel, or in more serious casses, the whole thing may blow up in your face. This is my understanding from extencive reading on other forums and several other web sights, although I dont have this experiance first hand and hope I never will! Another reason that your question is anything BUT stupid.

[Shotgun Shooter]

As I said earlier, you CAN, I wouldnt recommend it. I personally prefer to shoot slugs through my 18.5" security barrel, which is a cylinder bore. If you do decide to use a choked barrel to shoot a slug, I recommend purchasing an improved cylinder choke.

S.S.

[Caliche]

Originally Posted by Shotgun Shooter

I'd need more info on what you mean by "stock". There are all types of shotguns.
Mainly, the choke is where people get messed up when dealing with slugs. For best accuracy, slugs should be shot through a cylinder bore [no threaded choke] or an improved cylinder choke. Now, rifled barrels were meant for sabot slugs. Smooth bore barrels, which use chokes, are meant for rifled slugs. Little confusing yes, but once you read more on it you'll understand.

There are no stupid questions. We all start somewhere.

S.S.

Thanks for that, just realized I forgot to mention the difference between sabot and rifled in my post.