Best slug shotgun for deer hunting

Hi,
Just purchased some land in WI shotgun territory…..I have always used a rifle for deer season and know nothing about slug guns…..so I pose this question “What is the best slug gun for my money?”…..I would like to stay under $500.
Thanks,

All I’ve ever used for a slug gun is winchester 1300. I really like using it and I haven’t had any trouble with it. Good luck finding a gun.

i shoot a Remington 870 12 gauge with a slug barrel, smooth bore. My buddies back home use the same or Rem. 1100’s.
i have never been disappointed with shooting it, they are priced decent too.
Mossberg guns aren’t bad, i have a couple 500’s, never put a slug barrel on them, put they do the job for pheasants.

I used to use a Mossburg 500 12 gage with a rifled slug barrel. The sabots are a little expensive but you get awesome accuracy and more flat shooting. If I were to get something it would have the rifled barrel. If you don’t want that Remington 870’s you can’t beat them.

I also use the Mossberg 500 with a rifled barrel. I think you can get the combo gun for around your price range.

870 rem, you can beat this gun and it still shoots good

You can not go wrong with the Remington 870 12 gauge. Here is what I have and would recommend to anyone, Remington 870 special purpose 12 gauge pump with rifled slug barrel & 3″ choke. I have killed many deer with this gun.

Thats the same gun my boy has and we’ve shot alot of rounds through it and no loose screws or damaged firing pins. They are accurate too, very confident at 100 yrds.

I agree with the 870. Thats all I’ve shot for years, including in rifle zones. Slugs do not deflect like a rifle when going thru brush, and nothing has more stopping power than a 12ga. sabot inside of 100 yards, provided you hit your target, of course. Hastings makes a very good slug barrel for Remingtons also if you want to check out different slug barrels.

How accurate are the smooth bore 870 Super Mags with a sabbot rifled choke?….can you get shots out to and past 100 yards or am I better off getting the combo kit.
Thanks

If you want to, you can shoot a fully rifled slug barrel on an 870 with a cantilever (sp?) mount, 4X scope, and drill sub 4″ groups at 100 yards. There are more and more people switching over to 20ga. slug guns and shooting accurately out to 150+yds. (flatter tragectory) with all the dropping power you need for whitetails anywhere in the state.

My boys gun has the smooth bore barrell and the rifeled choke on the end. It shoots as accurate as i can shoot at 100yrds with open sights. The groups i get with just standard federal slugs are a kill at 100yrds. Ive got it sighted in at 50 yrds and shoot 3 inch groups with open sights. This gun will shoot very accurate with a scope at 150 yrds im sure, you could probably drive nails if you had too.

i shoot a marlin bolt action slug master,holds 3 rounds,i put 1.5-4.5 power scope on it, as close as a rifle as you can get looks like one and shoots like one..

I have two slug guns zeroed for 100 yards. One is an 870 with a Hastings Paradox rifled barrel, and a Super X2 Winchester with a Hastings barrel. Both guns are fitted with Ultra Dot lazer dot scopes. Each can hold groups the size of your fist at 100 yards. I have tried other barrels with the same guns, and the Hastings is far superior in my estimation. I use Federal Sabots in the Barnes expander variety, 1 ounce of lead.
Tuck

I shoot an 870 express. Pretty guns are wasted on me , if they shoot straight I really dont care what they look like. I dont like long shots so I top it with a red dot and feed it Remington Coper Solids . Well I guess I might be picky ,I dont care for the looks of the Mosbergs much.

Mossberg 500A, rifled barrel, red dot sight.

Still shoots fine when it looks like this.

Ithaca Deerslayer Storm. Built like a rifle. Single purpose shotgun, shooting sabots. Barrel is fixed, therefore no “slop” and no having to re-sight after removing the barrel. I shoot 4″ groups at 150 yards with this thing, and I am no marksman. I used to hunt with an 870, I couldn’t get that thing to shoot consistently. 3 out of 4 would be on target and the 4th would be off the paper. No, I wasn’t flinching. The thing just wouldn’t shoot. My Dad’s 870 shoots nice groups out to 75 yards, but after that those traditional slugs start “walking”. Sabots are much more aerodynamic. IMHO-the Ithaca is the best slug gun under $500 you can buy. I ended up spending around $600 for mine at Gander Mtn. in Baraboo. I walked out the door with it the same day. 2.5 to 7.5 extended relief scope also included in that price, as was mounting it, bore sighting it, and spending some time with me. VERY happy with the guys there. Unbelievable service and knowledge. NOTHING like the Gander at east Madison.

I shot a 130 class with mine last December at 85 yards, held right on, shot through an opening about 6″ wide. Only shot I was going to get. With the 870 I wouldn’t have tried it. I hit EXACTLY where I was aiming. I will never slug hunt with anything else. Sorry for the long post, but I am very happy with this gun, and want everyone to know how much better slug hunting can be with a weapon like this.

I use an 870 Wingmaster with a Hastings 24″ rifled barrel with cantilever scope mount. I have a Simmons 4x on the barrel.

I’m zero’ed in @ 100 yards too.

This gun will give me a 3″ grouping @ 100 yards. I would have no hesitation taking a 200 yard shot with this gun, if the conditions allowed me to make the shot.

In other words, the gun shoots perfect. The only reason I would hesitate for a long range shot is the conditions I would be under to take the shot. If I had the proper rest and comfort to take a long range shot, I would be all over it.

Thus far, the longest shot I have made with the gun to bring down a deer is 140 yards.

I shot Federal Barnes Expander, 2 3/4 inch, 3/4 oz sabot.

I’ve tried the 3 inch to see if it would give me better distance, but I’ve only found my groupings to open and I found no gain in distance.

My nephew has a Browning A-bolt slug gun. This gun actually shoots tigher groups than my 870. It is amazing accurate and smooth to shoot. It is the best slug gun I’ve ever had in my hands……..

Look into the winchester supreme partition gold slugs and 870 with a hastings barrel awesome combo!

My Hastings barrel wouldn’t shoot those Wichester Partitions for anything. I sprayed two off the paper at 100 yards, went back to the Federal/Barnes, and it was right back to tight groups.

Left-handed 870, 26″ barrel, open choke, red dot, and Remington Sluggers. Works for me. Can’t hit a pie plate that well at a 100 yards, but put 2 running deer down at that distance in the last 2 years. Must need to have blood in it.

Was it just a couple or did it do that consisstantly? Never had a problem with mine!

I only bought two boxes of 5 to try, and at 10 bucks a box I wasn’t trying more!!

Not surprising they shoot well in one gun and not another. That is a pretty common thing with guns. Some guns just don’t like some ammo. I have no doubt they work well for you, just relating they didn’t work at all for me.

I like to think there are about three types of deer hunting situations, and for each type of hunting there are several “best guns.” Shooting from an elevated stand, a hunter probably wants a good scope (depending on your eyesight and some other factors–probably at least 4X, and maybe a variable) on a fully rifled barrel with possibly a bolt action being the ultimate in accuracy. This set up is more than $500 and is going to be almost worthless if your hunting involves mainly conducting drives where you walk through thick brush where you could jump a deer at any moment. For that type of hunting you probably want a light (easier to carry) shorter barrelled (easier to swing) shotgun with multiple shot capability (semi-auto or pump action) and open sights. There are many very suitable firearms in this category that are well under $500. Since that type of hunting generally involves shots at less than 50 yards, a smooth bore works just fine.

Finally, the third category of deer hunting can involve a combination of long open shots and short quick shots. A hunter may spend some time on a stand and some time doing drives and some time “posting” while others drive. Three different guns could be ideal, but will not be attainable for under $500, so you may want more of a compromise set up. A red dot style scope can work very well (almost as well as open sights) for quick shots in heavy brush and it still provides pretty good potential for long range shooting accuracy when properly set up on a fully rifled barrel. There are a couple of other compromise possibilities: a 4X scope on a cantilever fully rifled barrel (with lots of practice you can use this for close range shots in heavy brush) The advantages of the cantilever mount are many, but one is that you can switch barrels if you know you are going to be mainly hunting in heavy brush. Both Mossberg and Remington offer combos–guns with two barrels. There are really lots of options, but maybe you need to think through what type of hunting you will mainly be doing…

Best of luck with your decisions–Remember guns are like jewelry–you simply cannot have enough.

I have a 2-7 Vari_X on my shotgun and have never not been able to find running deer on 2 power. Just another option for the “all-around” category.

Here are my two kids. Both with red dots. The only thing about red dots that I don’t like is sighting them in. It is very hard to get it dialed at 100 yards because the dot takes up the whole bullseye at that distance. But once it is on…Look out! What I like is that you look past the scope when firing. Meaning you don’t look through the scope to aquire the target. You look with both eyes open, and the dot dances in the air. Your eyes focus on the vitals, and that is where the dot will go. I have shot running deer with ease with this setup. I have also shot many standing deer with it at long range as well.

Here is the 870 doing what it does best!

Just bought a new Mossburg 500 (Fleet Farm) scope, rings, and mounting bracket. I have $350.00 into it. If it is anything like my older one, you can’t buy a gun that inexpensive that patterns as good as a $500 gun. Will take her to the range this weekend.

That’s some nice iron there A-Mack! I second your thoughts on aluminum. About 10 years ago while sighting in a Mossberg Model 500, all 4 screws pulled out of the aluminum receiver, and smashed the scope into my forehead, right between the eyes! Cost me 9 stitches, and a scar I see every time I look in the mirror. Cantelever or a setup like yours is the safest wat to go!
Tuck

I have a couple questions concerning some of the replies thus far. So what some of you guys are saying is that you can use a smooth bore barrel with a rifled choke tube? Can saboted slubs be shot threw a set up like this? What exactly is a sabot? Is it the plastic piece that encases the slug? I’m assuming rifled slugs are only to be fired threw smooth bore barrels with no rifling in the barrel or the choke tube, correct? I am pretty new to the slug gun thing. Thanks for any help?