Sabot slug recommendations

[SpacemanSpiff]

Where are you located?

Edited August 17, 2022 by SpacemanSpiff

[SpacemanSpiff]

1 hour ago, wolc123 said:

That can be good or bad, depending on where they hit.  I put a couple thru a buck’s chops, mid way back, a few years ago (due to a busted scope) and I was very surprised at how little meat was destroyed.  
 

Tracking is definitely tougher on center-lung hits, because the expansion is negligible and the exit hole is small.  A plain old, full-diameter foster slug leaves much better blood trails on hits like that.  
 

I usually try to aim for the shoulder blade with the 12 ga SST’s.  They are DRT every time, if I hit it.  The meat damage on those shoulder blade hits, with that 12 ga SST, is no where near as bad as when a .243 hits there.  

The reason the sst slug leaves less damage is because most of the time they don’t expand. Generally they punch a clean hole at relatively low velocities. I have seen a pile of the 12 gauge flavor ( few 20’s) at the neighbors butcher shop. Usually found in the opposite hip or shoulder. Most of them were just bent, sometimes missing all or most of the red rubber tip. However, i use them with great success because that’s generally all i can find. I only use the 1100 on occasion as a novelty on a sunny day, so my stash will last a lifetime plus. 

[surmn8er]

I used to use Federal Barnes Expanders but I think they have been discontinued as well.

[suburbanfarmer]

Another vote for SST but every gun likes different ammo.

My pump mossy loved Winchester Bri sabots , when I switched to remington 1187 the only ammo it liked was SST and I would get a clover group at 75yrds with it.

I was a little anal about SST , matching batch numbers when buying boxes and then bringing them home and sorting shells by weight for each season.

All deer were one shot kills with SST and usually didnt take a second step. 

[wolc123]

49 minutes ago, suburbanfarmer said:

Another vote for SST but every gun likes different ammo.

My pump mossy loved Winchester Bri sabots , when I switched to remington 1187 the only ammo it liked was SST and I would get a clover group at 75yrds with it.

I was a little anal about SST , matching batch numbers when buying boxes and then bringing them home and sorting shells by weight for each season.

All deer were one shot kills with SST and usually didnt take a second step. 

I don’t go to quite that extreme with them, but I do write the purchase date on the boxes,  and use the oldest ones first.   The SST’s  also grouped better than any other slugs that I tried in my Marlin  512.  
 

I always carry some off/brand “finishers” in case a point blank finishing shot is needed, but it seldom is.

[Judoka95]

2 hours ago, SpacemanSpiff said:

Where are you located?

Sodus.

[Hock3y24]

I had two deer drop, get up and run with sst slugs. I don’t recommend them. Fusions we’re the best slug I ever used. 

[doebuck1234]

1 up for remington copper solid's here.shoot great out of my mossberg

[Otto]

12 hours ago, surmn8er said:

I used to use Federal Barnes Expanders but I think they have been discontinued as well.

My buddy just bought me 5 boxes in Ohio.  12 gauge 

[Daveboone]

Impossible to recommend a slug without you finding out what your gun shoots best. No substitute for the most accurate round for your gun. Bench resting 12 gauge slugs isnt fun, but it was very worthwhile when I did. One box (five rounds) at 50 yards is what I did, at the time about five different sabot slugs from Brenneke (okay, not really a sabot), winchester, remingtons, federals...ultimately my shotgun vastly preferred winchesters. If they are tougher to find...shop early and grab them when you can. 

[Five Seasons]

19 hours ago, phade said:

SST are a love or hate. I know several who like them and many who don't. I'm going to generalize here because this is my opinion, but every single person who has ever said they like the SSTs have been people who aren't as serious or don't put time in. It's a weird observation but everyone I know who likes them are a few rounds down the lane kind of guy and are always running low so they're on the lookout for them. I don't get it. Even my FIL loves them, but he shoots maybe 2-3 slugs a year and calls it done. I only ever seen him hit the broadside of the barn once - and of course it was a long range dart, lol. All other times...not sure he'd hit Lake Ontario if he aimed at it.

haha totally fair. I'm in the weird spot where some of my hunting land is rifle country and some is shotgun, so admittedly I do not shoot my 12 gauge a lot, but I always check the zero. Honestly it's just not a fun gun to shoot. That said, I have good glass on it and I do consider myself a decent shot and spend some good time and money at the range shooting all sorts of guns that I used to own before my boat tipped over this spring. 

I am the kind of hunter that will look for any advantage and generally want the best of the best. But I will also say that for upstate NY shotgun hunting, I can't imagine any decent slug offered out there in the hands of a capable shooter wont group in the large vital area of a deer at 100 yards, and even with a novice shooter you should still get pie plate groups. I have shot them 3 years in a row and every year still getting 3" groups. So i'm happy. 

disclosure. I have no stock in hornady lol

19 hours ago, Judoka95 said:

It was a new gun and scope so we started with the laser bore sight and moved to 25 yrds to get it on paper. after that we moved out to 50 and 75. We would have a good group, then a bad group. it was frustrating to say the least. He was using an 870 with a rifled cantilever barrel. 

I typically stick with my Mossberg 535 ATS, and I do believe that certain guns like certain ammo. What works well for one may not work well for the other. I also hunt thick woods, so I do not need 150-yard accuracy. I prefer a heavier bullet for the "knock down" and most of the deer I have taken on the property have been within 40-50 yards.

yeah that's why I liked the lightfields. I've never even taken a shot at 100 yards and preferred the weight to the distance. 

You are also absolutely right. Every gun is different. Is your 535 rifled? 

[Five Seasons]

15 hours ago, SpacemanSpiff said:

The reason the sst slug leaves less damage is because most of the time they don’t expand. Generally they punch a clean hole at relatively low velocities. I have seen a pile of the 12 gauge flavor ( few 20’s) at the neighbors butcher shop. Usually found in the opposite hip or shoulder. Most of them were just bent, sometimes missing all or most of the red rubber tip. However, i use them with great success because that’s generally all i can find. I only use the 1100 on occasion as a novelty on a sunny day, so my stash will last a lifetime plus. 

idk man, the SSTs I thought were a lot faster flying round and that's where you could argue they wouldn't expand because of speed. They would be more likely to expand at a slower velocity. 

[Judoka95]

10 minutes ago, Belo said:

haha totally fair. I'm in the weird spot where some of my hunting land is rifle country and some is shotgun, so admittedly I do not shoot my 12 gauge a lot, but I always check the zero. Honestly it's just not a fun gun to shoot. That said, I have good glass on it and I do consider myself a decent shot and spend some good time and money at the range shooting all sorts of guns that I used to own before my boat tipped over this spring. 

I am the kind of hunter that will look for any advantage and generally want the best of the best. But I will also say that for upstate NY shotgun hunting, I can't imagine any decent slug offered out there in the hands of a capable shooter wont group in the large vital area of a deer at 100 yards, and even with a novice shooter you should still get pie plate groups. I have shot them 3 years in a row and every year still getting 3" groups. So i'm happy. 

disclosure. I have no stock in hornady lol

yeah that's why I liked the lightfields. I've never even taken a shot at 100 yards and preferred the weight to the distance. 

You are also absolutely right. Every gun is different. Is your 535 rifled? 

Yes, I purchased the 24" rifled, cantilever barrel for it when I bought the gun. It was my first Mossberg and is my preferred gun for hunting almost everything. I also had a tragic boating accident where all of my other firearms were lost but, I still preferred it over many of my rifles. There's just something comforting about using a .50 cal. slug.

[SpacemanSpiff]

1 hour ago, Belo said:

idk man, the SSTs I thought were a lot faster flying round and that's where you could argue they wouldn't expand because of speed. They would be more likely to expand at a slower velocity. 

I ment the slug is going significantly slower that a .243 Winchester or any rifle round for that matter. 

[DDT]

1 hour ago, Judoka95 said:

Yes, I purchased the 24" rifled, cantilever barrel for it when I bought the gun. It was my first Mossberg and is my preferred gun for hunting almost everything. I also had a tragic boating accident where all of my other firearms were lost but, I still preferred it over many of my rifles. There's just something comforting about using a .50 cal. slug.

Sorry to hear about the boating accident.  Had the same thing happen to me. I mentioned that to a trooper friend who was a diver. He wanted to know where. I said it was over 200 feet deep. Later he caught on...

[Five Seasons]

1 hour ago, SpacemanSpiff said:

I ment the slug is going significantly slower that a .243 Winchester or any rifle round for that matter. 

ok gotcha. Still slower velocity rounds should expand, while the knock on some brass rifle rounds is that they're going to fast and sometimes punch pin holes and don't expand. 

[Moho81]

My 12ga 1100 love's the SST's. Tight pattern at 100 yards and never failed to drop a deer. Now that we are a rifle area she only comes out to play once a year.