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Shooting Slug From Smooth Bore

olrebel37
I have always heard that shooting rifled slugs from a smooth bore shotgun will mess up the barrel of your shotgun. If I was going to shot slugs from my smooth bore....should I use rifled (with or without a slug choke) or sabot slugs with a slug choke?

My shotgun is very special to me and don't want to see anything bad happen to it as I have alot of money tied up in it and use it all the time.
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • SCOUT5
    I have tried the rifled choke tubes and have not found the accuracy to warrant the cost of shooting the sabot rounds. Sabot rounds work great through a fully rifled barrel, but not the rifled tubes.

    Try the federal tru-ball ammo with an IC or straight bore choke tube.

    As for damaging your barrel, other than the choke tube I wouldn't worry about it but there may be something to it.

    What kind of gun is it, can you change over to a regular slug barrel for deer season?

    Edit: I am assuming when you wrote "slug choke" you were referring to rifled choke tubes. Is this right?
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  • iwannausername
    Sabot slugs are only for rifled bores.

    Rifled slugs - the rifling on them doesn't do anything. Sales gimmick.

    They are stabilized by the hollow base, just like a badmitton birdie
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  • 11b6r
    Slugs will not "mess up your barrel". I would NOT shoot them thru an "extra full" choke, or an adjustable choke, like the older Mossberg C-Lect chokes.

    Smoothbores get rifled slugs. Rifled barrels get sabot slugs.
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  • jaegermister
    The only success I have had with slugs from a smooth barrel was with the original Brenneke (spelling?), the type with the base wad screwed to the bottom of a slug with rifled cuts on the side. Then removing the slug from the shell, unscrewing the base wad, and sanding the slug body to perfectly fit the choke. Re attaching the base wad and insert into the shell and roll crimp. Lots of effort! But good accuracy.
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  • BGHillbilly
    quote:Originally posted by iwannausername
    Sabot slugs are only for rifled bores.

    Rifled slugs - the rifling on them doesn't do anything. Sales gimmick.

    They are stabilized by the hollow base, just like a badmitton birdie
    I suspect the rifling on them also allows the slug to deform/form to various chokes a little easier, and some marketing person said lets spiral it.

    Don't know, but some guns shoot them with better accuracy than most people expect. Friend of mine had a 20 ga 870 full choke vent rib gun that he consistantly shot groups under 4" with at a 100yds using those old hollow based 'rifled' slugs.
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  • montanajoe
    • Community moderator
    Would like to know, the make and model shotgun you have ?
    Fixed choke or screw in ?

    I shoot sabot in my full rifled barrel rem 870 12 ga
    My wife shoots rifled slugs in her 870 20 ga.
    Both are deer getters.
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  • mcaso
    Why are Sabot slugs only for rifled bores?
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  • allechalley
    While you can shoot them thru smooth bores, you won't gain anything, considering their cost and without rifling in the bore, they may or may not stabilize in flight. The older foster rifled slug is made with the rifling on the slug to enable it to deform to most any choke(probably not good in extra full)without damaging the barrel and to seal the bore after firing. My father used rifled slugs thru an 870 remington full choke for years with no damage. You do have to try several brands to find which your gun prefers. Shotguns are particulary finicky as to preferences, ie, even if you have two identical guns one may shoot a particular shell very well while it's sibling groups terrible but may shoot another brand or type well. And while one lot of a brand of ammo will shoot well, three years later if there is a production change (powder, ect) that brand might not work as well. Anyway, other than normal precautions of the proper gauge and length for your gun and cleaning, you shouldn't worry about slugs as they are not going to harm your gun (I mention gauge and length, as there still are people putting 16 or 20 gauge shells in their 12 gauge and wonder what went wrong)
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  • He Dog
    Lead alloys being far softer than steel, don't worry about damage to your barrel. We have hit 6" targets at 220 yards with rifled slugs from a smooth barreled 870.
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  • nononsense
    olrebel37,

    Now that we've established once again that shotgun slugs do not harm a shotgun barrel, please take note that reports of inaccuracy stem from two problems.

    Shotgun manufacturers do not take great care to make the barrel diameters as accurate as rifle barrels. There are significant variations in the choke diameters even when the same choke is measured. This means you have to buy the slugs then take one apart to measure the slug to see if it's close to the choke diameter.

    The slugs themselves vary but will expand to make up small differences. Matching the slug to the choke diameter can be crucial to accuracy. Maybe have an experienced slug shooter lend a hand with the measuring.

    Best.
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