Rifled Choke tubes
Looking for data from actual users of rifled choke tubes.
I have smooth bore Benelli Nova. Will a "Rifled Choke Tube" actually tighten up my shot groups? Or should I quit being a cheap ass and go ahead and buy a rifled slug barrel? OR should I just buy another slug gun altogether. So far, 6" to 7" groups using rifled slugs (not Sabots) is the best I can get at 100 yards.
I have smooth bore Benelli Nova. Will a "Rifled Choke Tube" actually tighten up my shot groups? Or should I quit being a cheap ass and go ahead and buy a rifled slug barrel? OR should I just buy another slug gun altogether. So far, 6" to 7" groups using rifled slugs (not Sabots) is the best I can get at 100 yards.
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I don't the answer but I suspect it would help to have rifling.
I shoot my own cast Lyman sabot slugs in a pistol gripped 870 Express with a 20" smooth barrel with screw in chokes and an extended magazine. I installed a mid-bead in the rib to serve as a rear site. 3# coffee cans at 90 yards using my favorite choke tube which is marked Skeet #2.
http://www.fieldandstream.com/forums/hunting/deer-hunting/shooting-sabot-slugs-rifled-choke0 -
get a barrel 0 -
a rifled tube is better than a plain unrifled barrel for shooting SABOT slugs....a fully rifled barrel is best. a fully rifled barrel with the cantilever scope mount is Dyno-mite!....... if all you are gonna do is shoot the old style FOSTER slugs, a rifled barrel is like those bumpy things on a boar....additional note, you won't tighten groups to more than 3-4 inches at best 0 -
Rifled slugs use a smooth barrel & smooth choke (they work on the drag stabilizing system, just like a dart).
Sabots work best out of a rifled barrel, but may work OK with just a rifled choke tube.
From a smooth bore, I've had the best results with Brenneke style slugs, followed by the "normal" slugs and the worst results with the old "pumpkin ball" slugs.
The only way to know which style/brand your gun prefers is to try various brands/styles.0 -
Discusdad and Tailgunner are spot on, good advice. 0 -
The Nova is not noted to be a real accurate slug gun, even with the rifled barrel, and sabots. In my honest opinion, the sabots only get you about 50 yards more distance, with a good shooting gun, than a foster type slug, in a good gun. I would look for a good used 870, with a smooth bore deer barrel, and use the fosters that are about 1/5 the price of sabots, and practice more. It should get you out to 125 yards, or so.
Best0 -
Been there. I've hunted with slug guns for 30 years. Don't waste your time with the choke tube. If you want to go with sabots get a fully rifled barrel. Those sabots are pricey but if you find the right one for your gun you will like the accuracy.
I suggest for the price of the barrel you think about an H&R ultra slug gun, heavy barrel, about the same price as the barrel for your gun. The 20ga is plenty for white tail deer but on a quartering shot may not leave an exit wound. The 12ga almost always leaves an exit wound. I've killed a few dozen deer with the 20ga model. I shoot Remington copper solids, pricey, but deadly.0 -
Many Eastern counties here in Virginia only allow shotguns for deer hunting due to the exploding population and flat terrain. I have been hunting with slugs for years and trust me, your absolute best accuracy will be from a cantilever fully rifled barrel. I have 4 "dedicated" fully rifled slug guns. I also cast my own slugs using both the Lee Drive Key sabot and the Lyman "Wasp Waist" sabot. Years ago I had a Winchester model 140 semi auto with a rifled choke tube and it did OK, but after going with a fully rifled barrel, I never looked back. With the right load combination, I can get pinpoint accuracy out to 100 yards and "Minute of Deer" accuracy out to 150. Remington came out with an "Aerotip" sabot that supposedly gives 200 yard accuracy, but I have never tried it. Here is a picture of an 8 point I got a few weeks ago using a sabot slug and fully rifled cantilever barrel. Dropped in his tracks[;)] 
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