I am in the process of buying a purpose built slug gun. I have slug barrels for several of my shotguns but just ain't happy with the way the shoot. Since I am in a shotgun only part of the state it would seem smart to buy a gun that will shoot well. I found a used Browning A-Bolt for a good price and plan to pick it up next week. I have also bought some different kinds of slugs to see what it likes to eat. With the cost of these slugs I have thought about loading some of my own which could also improve accuracy. Anybody on here have experience loading their own sabotted slugs? I thought Striker might but wasn't sure. Is it worth the investment? Anybody have experience with the older A-Bolt and know what slugs they like to eat?

Hope you all have a great day!

Regards,
Vic

Vic, I found myself hunting in shutgun only quite a bit for several years, and rather than invest a lot in a decent shotgun settup, I used my mzl instead. You can get more distance at better accuracy with a mzl, the tradeoff being single shot. I never regretted the decision.

Neill,

I understand the sentiment. I have used my MZL during shotgun and it works well. In the state I can just pull the cap out and leave it set up for the next hunt. However, when I hunt in some areas I have to empty the MZL completely. I can either shoot it, blow it out, or pull the breach and push it out. Since I hunt there quite a bit I am getting tired of unloading the MZL all the time and a cartridge would make it much simpler. The shotgun I am looking to buy is supposed to shoot 2" groups at 100 yards. That is quite comparable to my MZL and with it being easier to unload and having a follow-up shot think it will suite me better. I am trading a rifle I don't use for most of the price so it will only cost me about $250.

Vic

I have not reloaded shotshell at all much less slugs. However I do know where to go to get started

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/

Is the Browning A bolt the Bolt action shotgun that they don't make any more?

I am thinking of buying either a 12 Gague or 20 Gague slug barrel for my TC Pro Hunter.. I hear they drive tacks at 200 yds ..

I converted my old 1100 remington a couple years ago to slug.. but I am not happy with the way it shoots either.. missed a nice Eight point this year with it at 150 yds ..

I have thought about a slug barrel for one of my Encore frames myself. However the darn Savage 220 keeps calling my name!!! http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/prod ... s_id/64356

Two years ago, I started building my slug gun. It's an H&R Ultra Slug in 20 gauge. When I say build, I bought the components (frame/receiver (SB1), barrel, and stock) of another forum classifieds and fitted everything together. Put a Bushnell Banner 3X9X40mm with 6" eye relief on it. After researching the 12 v. 20 debate on the interent quite a bit, I went with a 20. I haven't had a lot of range time with this gun yet, but I can say that it is a ton of fun to shoot. I'm fairly certain it will be a 1 1/2" to 2" gun at 100 yards. Slugs are expensive, especially the sabot slugs. So far, my gun likes the Hornady SST slug. According to the sales pitch by Hornady, these little slugs are effective for deer sized game out to 200 yards. I've only got about $270.00 in this gun overall and I hope to have it completely dialed in this coming summer. Primarily want to have a decent slug gun if I get drawn for my Radford Arsenal buck hunt in the near future. So far the only draw back I see is the cost of the slugs....

TScott, Thanks for the link. I will check it out. I started down this trail talking to a friend who owns a gunshop if he had a 220F on the rack. He said he had 2. I was interested in buying one and that is when he mentioned that I might be interested in this other slug gun, the Browning A-Bolt. I told him I didn't have a thousand dollars to spend and he said he had it on the rack for $680. I asked if he would take a trade of a Browning BLR in .308 and he said he would. It is a nice gun but for some reason I just don't like it. Anyway he said he would give me $450 for the trade so all I need is about $250 and the Browning A-Bolt will be mine. I still like the 220F, but have heard of feeding issues and that the stock is so so. I hear the Browning's feed and shoot well. My research shows they shoot almost all the modern slugs at 2" or less. Since I live in a slug only area and think I will for the foreseeable future I thought it worth the investment.

Randy, Yes, the Brownings were discontinued after 3 years of production in the 90s. They are supposed to be the best commercially made bolt slug guns. They were selling for upwards of $1500 until this year when Browning re-released them. The new ones can be had for $900 to $1000. The only change from then to now is the ROT from 1:32" to 1:28". I would rather have the 1:28" ROT but don't have the $300 needed. The gun I am getting comes with 2 extra mags and rings and bases. Things I would have to buy for a new gun. If you are interested in a slug gun I think the prices on the used market have come down a lot since Browning came out with the gun again. That is why I am getting mine for this price. The price of the rings, bases, and 2 mags is around $200 so I think that adds to the value of this gun.

Dale, The USH is a fantastic slug gun. I have several friends who have them and love them. I decided if I was going to go with a purpose built slug gun I wanted to have a follow-up shot. If not I would have used my muzzle loader. It was just a personal preference on my part. I have seen them shoot quite well, as good or better than the Browning. My friends did have trigger work done by H&R for around $50 because some of the original ones were heavy with creep. To me that is one of the reasons I wanted to get a better slug gun because shotguns usually have crappy triggers. My 870 isn't too bad since I took it apart and polished the sear, but it is still around 7 to 8 lbs.

Vic