Preferred shotgun sabot?

[SuperMag]

I'm just wondering what you guys prefer to shoot. I've been using plain old federal rifled slugs out of a fully rifled barrel on my 870 ever since i started hunting just because sabots are outrageous price wise. I decided to switch to sabots this year because i recently got a lead sled DFT so it will be much easier to sight in and a lot cheaper. I also understand that each gun is different on which ammo it likes. i just want to see what you guys like. Also if anyone has used a lead sled i would like to know how you like that also because i haven't had the chance to get out and use mine yet. Thanks!

[NYBuckHunter27]

Hornadays! great FPS and never had to track one when using them

[NYBuckHunter27]

The lead sled is also a great tool, you will easily be able to sight in your gun from 100-200 yrds just depends on your preference.

[ants]

I have been using Lightfield 2-3/4" slugs for years. They are amazing out of my rifled barrel. Very accurate and devastating on deer. They are an ounce and 1/4 so they hit real hard. But all guns are different. yours may not like them.

[SuperMag]

The sst's? I've been leaning towards those but i've also been looking at remington accutips.

[NYBuckHunter27]

Yes the sst's i shoot them out of a mossberg 500, like previously stated every gun is going to be different. Dependinng how much of a hardcore hunter you are it will be worth it to try a few different brands of slugs.

[Zhe Wiz]

I use Remington 3" Accutips. Shot 3 deer at over 125 yards with them this year.

I have to say though, that my gun doesn't shoot well out of the lead sled. I have a tough time getting good groups unless I let it pound my shoulder.

Zhe Wiz

[SuperMag]

I use Remington 3" Accutips. Shot 3 deer at over 125 yards with them this year.

I have to say though, that my gun doesn't shoot well out of the lead sled. I have a tough time getting good groups unless I let it pound my shoulder.

Zhe Wiz

Have you shot any rifles out of the lead sled?

[silent death]

Remington accu-tip 2 3/4

[WNY_Whitetailer]

Lightfield Hybred EXP 2 3/4" sabot slug...Shoots great out of my H&R 1871 Ultra Slug Hunter Deluxe. They used to be relatively "inexpensive" when it came to sabot slugs, that is no longer the case.

Sent from my ADR8995 using Tapatalk 2

[WNY_Whitetailer]

Lightfield Hybred EXP 2 3/4" sabot slug...Shoots great out of my H&R 1871 Ultra Slug Hunter Deluxe. They used to be relatively "inexpensive" when it came to sabot slugs, that is no longer the case.

Sent from my ADR8995 using Tapatalk 2

[WNY_Whitetailer]

Double tap...

Edited February 24, 2013 by WNY_Whitetailer

[LIAF]

Lightfield Hybred EXP 2 3/4" sabot slug...Shoots great out of my 870. They used to be relatively "inexpensive" when it came to sabot slugs, that is no longer the case.

Sent from my ADR8995 using Tapatalk 2

X2

[noodle one]

Lightfield 2-3/4 for me. never had a deer go more than 10 yards after being hit.I shoot a Mossberg 20ga. My gun shoots 2-3/4" or 3" I found that my gun shoots better with the 2-3/4" than the 3' That is another thing to look at when shooting sabots Which shoots better in your gun? I also have a lead sled that I use and it works great. The thing you need to make sure of is that your gun is seated the same way every time. I hope this helps.

[Uncle Nicky]

My Mossberg 500 likes Winchester BRIs best. It only cost me about $200 in ammo to reach this conclusion.

[Zhe Wiz]

Have you shot any rifles out of the lead sled?

Lightfield 2-3/4 for me. never had a deer go more than 10 yards after being hit.

...

I also have a lead sled that I use and it works great. The thing you need to make sure of is that your gun is seated the same way every time. I hope this helps.

Hmm. Never more than 10 yards? You must always hit the shoulder.

I've fired many bolt action rifles from the sled: .204, 22-250, .243, 7mm-08, .17 HMR, also my Savage smokeless ML. All are bolt action (except ML). 12 gauge is obviously the biggest kicker (excepting the ML) and its also the only semi auto. It also has the cheapest scope (Bushnell Banner vs Sightrons and one Bushnell 4200 on the 22-250).

I have no major issues shooting groups with any of them from the sled EXCEPT the shotty. I shoot BETTER with a bipod or front rest and my shoulder, but they are all acceptable except the shotty which is all over the place in the sled. I tried so many different slugs, wasted a lot of money before I figured out the lead sled/shotty combo was the issue. And honestly there's only so many ways you can "seat" the gun in the sled. Believe me I've tried everything - holding it tight, loose and not at all. I've tried LOTS of weight on the sled and just a bare sled. Nothing helped until I replaced the sled with my shoulder.

Which only serves to remind me why I like my 243 so much. :-)

So am I saying its the sled? No. It's something with the combination of the sled and my gun and scope. Not sure what it is, don't really care now that I have a solution and a gun/scope/slug combo with which I am confident to 150+ yards. I may upgrade the scope someday, but I'm so in love with the circle-X reticle that I can't bring myself to change it yet. And hopefully by that time Tompkins county will allow rifles so I can retire the shotty altogether. :-)

Now come on noodle...10 yards, really? :-)

Zhe Wiz

[Early]

I tried inexpensive Fiocchi Aero Slugs in my Rem. 870 20 ga. w/rifled barrel; they produced great groups at 50 yds.

[noodle one]

Hmm. Never more than 10 yards? You must always hit the shoulder.

I've fired many bolt action rifles from the sled: .204, 22-250, .243, 7mm-08, .17 HMR, also my Savage smokeless ML. All are bolt action (except ML). 12 gauge is obviously the biggest kicker (excepting the ML) and its also the only semi auto. It also has the cheapest scope (Bushnell Banner vs Sightrons and one Bushnell 4200 on the 22-250).

I have no major issues shooting groups with any of them from the sled EXCEPT the shotty. I shoot BETTER with a bipod or front rest and my shoulder, but they are all acceptable except the shotty which is all over the place in the sled. I tried so many different slugs, wasted a lot of money before I figured out the lead sled/shotty combo was the issue. And honestly there's only so many ways you can "seat" the gun in the sled. Believe me I've tried everything - holding it tight, loose and not at all. I've tried LOTS of weight on the sled and just a bare sled. Nothing helped until I replaced the sled with my shoulder.

Which only serves to remind me why I like my 243 so much. :-)

So am I saying its the sled? No. It's something with the combination of the sled and my gun and scope. Not sure what it is, don't really care now that I have a solution and a gun/scope/slug combo with which I am confident to 150+ yards. I may upgrade the scope someday, but I'm so in love with the circle-X reticle that I can't bring myself to change it yet. And hopefully by that time Tompkins county will allow rifles so I can retire the shotty altogether. :-)

Now come on noodle...10 yards, really? :-) Yes ,10 yards. The first gun I bought was a single shot 410 ga and I learned that if I wanted get game I had to learn to take my time and make every shot count, because I didn't have the money to buy more ammunition. I bought that gun. for $10.00 and it took me three months to pay for it. I came from a family of nine (9) kids and if I wanted something I had to earn it. That was 58 years ago when I was eleven years old. That is how I learned to hunt then and to this day I still hunt that way. Make the first one count .

Zhe Wiz

[Zhe Wiz]

Noodle, I don't doubt you kill them with one shot. HOWEVER, I've shot a lot of deer and seen a lot shot. The ones that go 10 yards are the exception. I double-lunged a small buck this season with th 243, he took off on a dead ass run and piled up 100 yards away. I've shot them in the heart with a 12 gauge and had them go 50+ yards. I double lunged a doe with my ML this season, she JUMPED A FENCE and went 50-75 yards before expiring.

So you must be hitting the shoulder, because it has been my experience (and I'm not young) that vital shot deer, when the shoulder is NOT targeted, go WAY over 10 yards MOST of the time regardless of caliber or bullet. Very hard for me to believe that ALL of your deer have gone less than 10 yards no matter how good of a shot you are, UNLESS you're targeting the shoulder, which I don't like to do.

Anyway, this is obviously off topic, so I'll quit now. :-)

Zhe Wiz

[mtbuck]

i shoot a mossberg 500 and have tried a few different slugs and the best whens i found for me are the remington buckhammers 3", which have become difficult to find locally so i order them now from sportsman guide

[robw]

Remington copper solid 2 3/4" are what shoot the best out of my Rem 870, hastings rifled barrel. Have shot many deer with them with excellent results. Although was at Gander Mountain yesterday and see they're $21/ box, so will be changing up this summer. Winchester partition gold shot well before, and do a great job on deer, used to be the expensive slugs, but $15 / box is doesn't look so bad anymore

[WNY_Whitetailer]

Winchester partition gold shot well before, and do a great job on deer, used to be the expensive slugs, but $15 / box is doesn't look so bad anymore

Crazy, isn't it?

I forgot to mention that I shoot 2 3/4" Brenneke KO Sabots out of my 870 with a fully rifled Hastings cantilever scope barrel. They group awesome in that gun.

Sent from my ADR8995 using Tapatalk 2

[hunter49]

Sst's & Hornadys, out of a NEF huntsman 20ga rifled barrel I get 1.5" groups at 100 yds.

[SuperMag]

Lightfield 2-3/4 for me. never had a deer go more than 10 yards after being hit.I shoot a Mossberg 20ga. My gun shoots 2-3/4" or 3" I found that my gun shoots better with the 2-3/4" than the 3' That is another thing to look at when shooting sabots Which shoots better in your gun? I also have a lead sled that I use and it works great. The thing you need to make sure of is that your gun is seated the same way every time. I hope this helps.

Hmm. Never more than 10 yards? You must always hit the shoulder.

I've fired many bolt action rifles from the sled: .204, 22-250, .243, 7mm-08, .17 HMR, also my Savage smokeless ML. All are bolt action (except ML). 12 gauge is obviously the biggest kicker (excepting the ML) and its also the only semi auto. It also has the cheapest scope (Bushnell Banner vs Sightrons and one Bushnell 4200 on the 22-250).

I have no major issues shooting groups with any of them from the sled EXCEPT the shotty. I shoot BETTER with a bipod or front rest and my shoulder, but they are all acceptable except the shotty which is all over the place in the sled. I tried so many different slugs, wasted a lot of money before I figured out the lead sled/shotty combo was the issue. And honestly there's only so many ways you can "seat" the gun in the sled. Believe me I've tried everything - holding it tight, loose and not at all. I've tried LOTS of weight on the sled and just a bare sled. Nothing helped until I replaced the sled with my shoulder.

Which only serves to remind me why I like my 243 so much. :-)

So am I saying its the sled? No. It's something with the combination of the sled and my gun and scope. Not sure what it is, don't really care now that I have a solution and a gun/scope/slug combo with which I am confident to 150+ yards. I may upgrade the scope someday, but I'm so in love with the circle-X reticle that I can't bring myself to change it yet. And hopefully by that time Tompkins county will allow rifles so I can retire the shotty altogether. :-)

Now come on noodle...10 yards, really? :-)

Zhe Wiz

Thanks guys, i plan on buying some slugs and going out this weekend to try it out. Hopefully i can find some ammo. I went to Gander Mountain today and they only had a few boxes of sabots. They were $21 copper solids. I dont really feel like paying $21 for 5 slugs. They also only had 2 boxes of 30-06 and they were completely wiped out of 22 LR.

EDIT: Also Wiz you have a ML that kicks more than your slug gun!? What ML are you shooting?

Edited February 25, 2013 by SuperMag

[SuperMag]

Remington copper solid 2 3/4" are what shoot the best out of my Rem 870, hastings rifled barrel. Have shot many deer with them with excellent results. Although was at Gander Mountain yesterday and see they're $21/ box, so will be changing up this summer. Winchester partition gold shot well before, and do a great job on deer, used to be the expensive slugs, but $15 / box is doesn't look so bad anymore

Crazy, isn't it?

I forgot to mention that I shoot 2 3/4" Brenneke KO Sabots out of my 870 with a fully rifled Hastings cantilever scope barrel. They group awesome in that gun.

Sent from my ADR8995 using Tapatalk 2

Prices today are outrageous. Hornady seems to be the best deal at $11.99 at Herb Phillipsons but i will try different kinds to see what my 870 prefers, even if that means spending a little more than $12 but there is no way i will ever pay $21 for a box of slugs! hahah