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12 Gauge Deer Slugs

6K views 16 replies 6 participants last post by  wyogoob 
#1 · (Edited)
Here's a 1 oz, 12 gauge deer slug taken out of an Illinois whitetail I shot below my tree stand some years ago.

front view of slug:


rear view of slug:


The mushroomed rifled slug is approximately 1 1/16" wide!
It came out of an open choked smooth-bore Remington 870.
 
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#2 ·
Prime example of why I say "the difference between modern cartridges and the old blackpowder rounds is as subtle as the difference between a sledgehammer and a dumptruck."
Sure, a slug is 'modern' too, just same size chunk of lead.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Recently there's been some talk here about shotgun slugs. So I did a search and found a lot of threads on the subject. I started this thread back in 2007. Let me add some pics to it:

12 gauge Copper Solid sabot slug at 186 yards - Illinois deer


12 gauge Copper Solid sabot slug at 77 yards - Illinois deer


This comparison of projectiles is pretty cool. The .243 looks pretty wimpy next to the others, but it did it's job.


The Foster-type slug on the far right mushroomed out to 1 1/16" wide! The 44 Mag is also a copper solid bullet.

When the copper solids first came out they didn't open up very well. Today rifle and shotgun copper solid projectiles open up well at a wide range of distances and energy levels and retaining their original material extremely well.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Slugs have been legal in Wyoming for a long time but few use them. Wyoming has a special shotgun/muzzy-only hunt area for bison and elk. The butcher that took care of my bison gave me these slugs he dug out of a elk and a bison that were harvested in that special hunt area:


I don't know any details i.e. distance or where and how the animals were hit with the slugs in the above photo.

They didn't open up much; not as advertised anyway:
 
#5 ·
Slugs have been legal in Wyoming for a long time but few use them. Wyoming has a special shotgun/muzzy-only hunt area for bison and elk. The butcher that took care of my bison gave me these slugs he dug out of a elk and a bison that were harvested in that special hunt area:


I don't know any details i.e. distance or where and how the animals were hit with the slugs.

They didn't open up much; not as advertised anyway:
It looks like I could put my mouth on the base of the accutip that went into the bison and blow into it and it would pop back up and be ready for another shot. Yep. Not as advertised.
 
#6 ·
You got to love the new all copper stuff. I haven't shot any critters with a monolithic from a rifle yet, but I shot a Nebraska whitetail doe with a 325 grain (I think) Knight red hot which is just a Barnes copper bullet in Knight packaging. That thing opened up beautifully into six neat petals and had to have caused some serious devastation as it was passing through. I should post up a pic of it on here. Barnes could use a photo of it in their advertisements; it was textbook!
 
#9 ·
Yeah, I might do that, maybe shoot an Illinois whitetail and see how they do. Although I'm pretty happy with the slugs I'm using now, Remington Premier Copper Solids:


I've tried the Hornady SSTs and my brother's Lighfields at the range. There OK, but not as accurate as the Copper solids. I really want to try the Core-Lokt Ultra Bonded Sabots next; flatter shooting with more (relative) down range energy.

There's a bunch of fast shooting and effiecient shotgun slugs out there these days. I don't stay up on them like I use to.
 
#12 · (Edited)
...................................

...................................I really want to try the Core-Lokt Ultra Bonded Sabots next; flatter shooting with more (relative) down range energy.

There's a bunch of fast shooting and efficient shotgun slugs out there these days. I don't stay up on them like I use to.
Got some Ultras to try out. Check out the ballistics of the Remington Ultras compared to the Copper Solids I've been using:


Ultra Bonded have 700 ft lbs more energy at 100 yards with a 2 3/4" shell. the Copper Solids are 3" shells. The trade-off will be in recoil I'm afraid. We'll see.

.
 
#11 · (Edited)
#17 ·
Lightfields are still popular back home. My brother used them for a number of years. I have little personal experience with them. I have a box of 3 1/2" slugs though; they're yellow. Might be 10 gauge
 
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