# Shotgun slugs



## massmanute (Apr 23, 2012)

Just out of curiosity, does anyone on this forum use rifled slugs or other shotgun slugs for hunting, especially here in the mountain west?

I recently bought a rifled barrel for my 12 ga Mossberg 500, though I haven't fired it yet.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I've got 28 (as of 2012) whitetails with slugs out of 20ga, 16ga, and 12ga shotguns. Here's an old 12 gauge Foster-type slug that hit a whitetail backbone. Shot at close range out of a smooth bore shotgun from a tree stand:




They are a formidable weapon at close ranges. I now use a hopped-up rifled-barrel 12 gauge Remington 870: I put a Timney trigger in it set at 3 lbs. With copper-solid sabot slugs the gun groups an amazing 2 1/2" at 100 yards. I took one whitetail with it at 186 yards:


With the cantilever scope mount I can swap barrels and have a bird gun in about a minute.

Be prepared for some substantial recoil.


----------



## Last Man Standing (Dec 7, 2011)

I've hunted many a melon with slugs before. You know... watermelons, cantaloupes, whatever is on sale  but that's about all for me. Never actually used them for taking game, just for kicks.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Here's a Remington Copper Solid taken from the neck of a whitetail shot on a dead run at 77 paces:


The Rem 3" 12 ga Copper Solid slug has about 1600 ft/lbs of energy at 100 yds, the solid lead Foster-type slugs about 1000 ft/lbs.

Shotgun slugs can be used to take big game in Wyoming. I don't know if they are legal in Utah.


----------



## Last Man Standing (Dec 7, 2011)

wyogoob said:


> Shotgun slugs can be used to take big game in Wyoming. I don't know if they are legal in Utah.


I don't think shotguns are legal for big game in Utah. Could be wrong...


----------



## Moostickles (Mar 11, 2010)

The 2012 Big Game Field Regs Guidbook (pg. 31) states: 

"Rifles and shotguns
Utah Code § 23-20-3 and Utah Admin. Rule R657-5-8
You may use a rifle or shotgun to take big game, but your firearm and ammunition must meet the following requirements:
• Your rifle must fire centerfire cartridges and expanding bullets.
• Your shotgun must be 20 gauge or larger, and you may use only slug ammunition or buckshot that’s 00 or larger in size."


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

"Felt" recoil is relative to many things, but note that a magnum 3" 12 gauge load has well over twice as much recoil as a 165 gr 300 Win Mag.

see:
http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

http://www.chuckhawks.com/shotgun_recoil_table.htm


----------



## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

Oh how I don't miss having to hunt with a slug gun. Grew up hunting whitetails with shotgun...those 12ga 3" slugs are brutal on the shoulder. Wised up and scaled down to 20ga...anything you hit with it went down.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Yeah, I hear ya. Each year the ammo people came out with a flatter shooting slug, each one of which had more muzzle energy.

We use to run slugs thru fixed full-choke shotgun barrels on single-barrel shotguns without a recoil pad and "open" them up a little............ouch


----------



## 90redryder (Oct 10, 2011)

Last Man Standing said:


> wyogoob said:
> 
> 
> > Shotgun slugs can be used to take big game in Wyoming. I don't know if they are legal in Utah.
> ...


I would think they are legal in Utah, considering the fact that I was with a fish cop looking for a moose that was possibly alive but wounded and his weapon of choice was a shotgun loaded first with 00 buck shot and that was followed up by slugs. He told me that he uses slugs when he has to put an animal down that has been hit by a car. If they arent legal to hunt with I wouldnt think the wildlife officers could use them on big game animals either.


----------



## Last Man Standing (Dec 7, 2011)

90redryder said:


> I would think they are legal in Utah, considering the fact that I was with a fish cop looking for a moose that was possibly alive but wounded and his weapon of choice was a shotgun loaded first with 00 buck shot and that was followed up by slugs. He told me that he uses slugs when he has to put an animal down that has been hit by a car. If they arent legal to hunt with I wouldnt think the wildlife officers could use them on big game animals either.


As UHD pointed out, the proc says they are legal. But I think that a "because a fish cop can do it then so can we" attitude isn't a very wise mindset to base your personal hunting practices on. There are a LOT of things fish cops can do that we can't. They are trained law enforcement officers and as such they have privileges entrusted to them that aren't granted to just anyone. A fish cop can bust an unethical hunter on the basis of probable cause. If I tried that I would be in as much trouble as the poacher. If I was ever considering using a shotgun for big game, I would have certainly checked the proc first.


----------



## Kdub (Sep 6, 2010)

Most all leos in Utah have a 12 guage shotty loaded with buck and backed with slugs in their car. That's probably why he chose it. A little more umph than a .223.


----------

