Has Anyone Ever Tried Deer Hunting With A Smoothbore Single Shot Shotgun?

[13BVET]

If so, what rifled slugs did you use, and what would you say the max effective range is?

[greensider]

they are acualy very good guns we used to have a couple of them we shot brennekes out of them the old style not the ones with the plactic wad you could easily shoot 100 yards with a decent scope u should put a slip on recoil pad they usualy dont have one aned they are a light gun and you will feel the recoil

[Pygmy]

Probably THOUSANDS of deer have been killed with single shot smoothbores and foster type slugs.

A couple were killed by me in the 60s with a M 37 Winchester 12 gauge and an Eastern Arms Co. 16 gauge. My uncle killed quite a few with a Win M 37 20 gauge and an Ithaca M 66 12 gauge.

Maximun range depended on the gun... With a simple bead front sight, it was tough hitting a deer's vital zone beyond 60 yards or so. With rifle type sights such as the ones that came on the Ithaca 66 guns, 100 yards was not a bad shot..

[TreeGuy]

Remington sluggers... cheap and they work!

[13BVET]

they are acualy very good guns we used to have a couple of them we shot brennekes out of them the old style not the ones with the plactic wad you could easily shoot 100 yards with a decent scope u should put a slip on recoil pad they usualy dont have one aned they are a light gun and you will feel the recoil

How'd you manage to mount a scope on one?

[13BVET]

Treeguy-how about the Tru Balls? Are they any good in them? My wife bought me two boxes of them today.

[arrow nocker]

thought it said "blue" at first.

[verminater71]

my wife shoots a encore with a 12g smooth bore barrell and loves it good to 100 yds no problem

[Guns&ReligionCop]

Probably THOUSANDS of deer have been killed with single shot smoothbores and foster type slugs.

A couple were killed by me in the 60s with a M 37 Winchester 12 gauge and an Eastern Arms Co. 16 gauge. My uncle killed quite a few with a Win M 37 20 gauge and an Ithaca M 66 12 gauge.

Maximun range depended on the gun... With a simple bead front sight, it was tough hitting a deer's vital zone beyond 60 yards or so. With rifle type sights such as the ones that came on the Ithaca 66 guns, 100 yards was not a bad shot..

I agree with this 100% also treeguys statement about the sluggers. The buck in my pic was taken with a old smooth bore and sluggers.

[TreeGuy]

If they were free, shoot em. But ive tried a bunch of rifled slugs over the years, sluggers arent "amazing" or ingenious. They are cheap and consistent. Just pick up a box and shoot them when ur sighting in, they may shoot different than the blueballs...i mean the tru balls;). And u can have the barrel drilled for a scope mount. Seen it plenty of times

[13BVET]

If they were free, shoot em. But ive tried a bunch of rifled slugs over the years, sluggers arent "amazing" or ingenious. They are cheap and consistent. Just pick up a box and shoot them when ur sighting in, they may shoot different than the blueballs...i mean the tru balls;). And u can have the barrel drilled for a scope mount. Seen it plenty of times

Thanks! I figured the steel was thick enough to get drill and tapped, but honestly wasn't sure. I have had good luck with the sluggers in the past. Just never tried them in a single shot.

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[phade]

Truballs are the best rifled slugs out there imo - save for any ACTIV slugs you can find in the old shops.

Truballs are cheap, too. I like them MUCH better than the sluggers across any smoothbore I have ever shot.

[Meat Manager]

+1 sluggers and smooth, I currently use a fiber optic bead...I stay inside 60, but usually get much closer shots anyway.

Only deer I've ever missed with a gun was the first time I hunted with sabots and a rifled barrel for my mossy 500 12g...it also happened to be the biggest buck I ever saw and was inside 20 yds. 12 gauge is too much power for rifling IMO.

First deer gun was a break action 20g. I used to hunt .243 in PA...now I stick with the mossberg and sluggers in both states.

Edited November 12, 2012 by 7J Everyday

[papabear]

I used Remington slug's. A singe shot to me was just a quick lodding muzzle loader works good took a nice fat doe with one

papabear

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I had to take adeer with an old smooth bore single before my father would let me have any other gun. (he gave me 2 slugs...lol)I hunted deer with smooth bore from 81 until 98. the single liked theSluggers better but my 1100 smooth bore deer gun liked the federals better.

Edited November 12, 2012 by Culvercreek hunt club

[Guns&ReligionCop]

First Buck I ever killed with a gun was them same smooth bore shotty that I shot the buck in my pic 18 years later

[MikeP]

My first gun was an Ithaca m66 20 gauge took plenty of deer with it. Shot tru balls and winchesters real well.

[greensider]

slugers have most likly killed more deer than any other slug but the reason i never liked them is they rattle in the shell becouse they are not the same size as the barrel they are not acurate beyond 50 yards i like slugs that fit tight in the shell snd barrel back then the only one i found that did that was the old breeneke that had the cardboard type wad screwed to the back of the slug which added stabilaty and they put a monster hole in a deer you have to walk along side of it or get blood all over your boots

[Pygmy]

Back in the days when I used a smoothbore for deer ( probably a 25 year period) I used several different guns and tried most of the slugs that were available..One gun preferred Winchester, one preferred Federal, and the gun I used the very most, a Rem 1100 20 gauge skeet gun mounted with an old Weaver K 2.5 scope, preferred Brennekes.

I got acceptable accuracy from Remington slugs from most of them, but they never were the most accurate in any of the guns I used them in.. Probably just luck of the draw.Every gun is an individual.

Once rifled shotgun barrels became common, I said goodbye to smoothbores with slugs, and went to sabots in a rifled bore..Since then, rifles have become legal in my area and I haven't used a shotgun for deer since.

[coonhunter]

Definitely buy a box of a few different brands. Accuracy can vary greatly by the gun. I had a winchester 12 guage that absolutely would not shoot Federals at all. I mean you could throw rocks just as or more accurate than that gun would shoot a federal slug. The same gun, I had no issue at all taking 75-100 yard shots with Winchester slugs. Later on I bought a Remington 870, and it shot Federals best of all. Remember, just because it is a big ball, doesn't mean you can shoot it through brush. Make sure your first shot is clear, and make it a good one.

[deerpassion]

Truballs are the best rifled slugs out there imo - save for any ACTIV slugs you can find in the old shops.

Truballs are cheap, too. I like them MUCH better than the sluggers across any smoothbore I have ever shot.

i agree the truballs seem a bit more accurate to the sluggers!

[hunter49]

All I ever used was a smooth bore 12 ga.870 until about 5yrs.ago when I went to a 50 cal. ML. Tried a rifled 20 ga last yr. & was zeroing in one today & still am not sure they are cracked up to what people say they are. I may stick with my 870 & the 50 cal. ML. took many a deer with the 870. Best was a 92yd. shot with sluggers.