[easterner123]

I was told that one can fire a slug in a normal shotgun barrel but it is less accurate. Is it true, and if so is it so inaccurate to make it not worth the trouble?

[m72law]

sure you can.are we talking a barrel with a choke?..as for it being accurate out of a smooth bore barrel...i can punch nasty center holes in a target @ 50yrds away out of my 20inch 870 with rifle sights using 2 3/4 slugs with no problem....i would think any smooth bore shotgun would be plenty accurate with slugs as long as you wasnt shooting at rifle distance? i've never had the privilege to shoot with a rifled barrel shotgun but im sure they work even better?

[spittinfire]

You can fire rifled slugs in a smooth bore and they are relativley accurate. In my experience they are accurate enough to take deer sized game at reasonable shotgun distances. I would feel comfortable taking a broadside shot at a deer at 30-40 yards with a rifled slug and a bead. Can you use buckshot? If so I prefer buckshot over slugs for shotgun hunting with large game but have done both.
You could fire unrifled slugs but you've just created a musket and your guess is a good as mine as to what you'll actually hit.
If you get a rifled barrel and some of the newer sabots you can make a very accurate slug gun capable of nice groups out to 100 yds.

[Rex in OTZ]

ther is a certain amount of choke you can fire Forrister 'type hollow based slugs' through but you trade off accuracy by useing a bead sight'd barrel
i'd suggest useing a cylinder bore barrel with rifle sights, Ive fired 1oz rifled slugs and sabot type slugs from a rifle sighted cylinder bore 870 and can say confidntly you can fire either a smooth bore cylinder barrel or a rifled slug barrel at 40 yards and you arnt going to be able to tell the difference.
The rifled barrel holds the slugs at greater distances than 50 yards.

[skullcrusher]

I use my old mossy 500 with beads. Smooth bore and rifled slugs and accu-choke. I can honestly say that I have no trouble hitting targets at 100 yds (hold 6-8" high). I'm happy with that, but I can also say that the grouping is not rifle-type grouping. Good enough for hunting. I rarely have the opportunity to attempt 100 yd shots where I hunt.

[7.62 Man]

First to be safe be sure if your gun has a screw in choke that you are using a cylinder or improved cylinder choke tube. this can be done by removing the choke from the end of the barrel & checking the side of the choke. Shooting the slug through any choke tighter than this could cause the barrel to blow up or to rip the choke out of the barrel.
Most of the cheaper slugs have small fins on them that catch the air as it passes through & gives the slug spin to keep it some what accurate. But if you want to shoot any of the newer sabot slugs you will need some kind of rifling in the barrel. Note, I didn't say you need a rifled barrel. If you check your local gun store some makes of shotguns will take a rifled choke that just screws into your smooth barrel. It may not be as good as a full rifled barrel, but as long as you can hit what you are aiming at that should bring home the trophy buck.

[RL357Mag]

Originally Posted by easterner123

I was told that one can fire a slug in a normal shotgun barrel but it is less accurate. Is it true, and if so is it so inaccurate to make it not worth the trouble?

Standard rifled slugs shoot just fine out of smoothbore shotguns. People in shotgun-only counties have hunted this way for decades with very good results. When I lived in a shotgun-only county however, I used my .50 cal muzzleloader (which was legal during the shotgun season) because it was more accurate than any shotgun. Later I bought a bolt action Marlin 512 Slugmaster with rifled barrel and shot Remington Copper Solids. That gun / slug combo shoots like a rifle.

[skullcrusher]

+1, RL.

I live in a shotgun state and one of the top number for kills (checked) counties. We have BIG deer here in Southern Ohio, and the shottys bring 'em down with ease. I use 3" rifled slugs. I know you are not a big fan of in-lines, but I am. They shoot like rifles and are very accurate for the longer range shots. It stinks that muzzleloader season here is only 4 days.

[RL357Mag]

Originally Posted by skullcrusher

+1, RL.

I live in a shotgun state and one of the top number for kills (checked) counties. We have BIG deer here in Southern Ohio, and the shottys bring 'em down with ease. I use 3" rifled slugs. I know you are not a big fan of in-lines, but I am. They shoot like rifles and are very accurate for the longer range shots. It stinks that muzzleloader season here is only 4 days.

You can't use your muzzleloader during the regular season? I have no problems with inlines, I just think if we're going to assign a dedicated "primitive" muzzleloading season , then we should use "primitive" BP rifles. Many states allow scoped inlines - that ain't primitive, that's guaranteed deadly!
Here the Muzzleloading season is only a week - and it runs concurrently with the late Archery season, luckily there aren't a whole lot of archers walking around the woods in December, although I'll bet they say the same about the muzzleloaders!

[skullcrusher]

Originally Posted by RL357Mag

You can't use your muzzleloader during the regular season? I have no problems with inlines, I just think if we're going to assign a dedicated "primitive" muzzleloading season , then we should use "primitive" BP rifles. Many states allow scoped inlines - that ain't primitive, that's guaranteed deadly!
Here the Muzzleloading season is only a week - and it runs concurrently with the late Archery season, luckily there aren't a whole lot of archers walking around the woods in December, although I'll bet they say the same about the muzzleloaders!

Yes, I can use my muzzleloader during shotgun season, the muzzleloading season is only 4 days. Scoped muzzleloaders are fine here. Ohio changed the wording from "primitive" to "Muzzleloading". Still, long shots around here are very rare. Heavily wooded and lots of hills.