[tanksoldier]

What sort of effective range can I expect with rifled slugs out of an 18" cylinder barrel?

What choke would be a good compromise allowing me to switch between shot and slugs on the fly?

 

[gregarat]

Around 100y, maybe 80Y max? Maybe a rifled choke might help? "18 just isn't that long.

Chokes arent important when it comes to SD shooting, when it comes to shooting shot. Just make sure its either improved cylinder, modified or special.

If I were you, I would stick with shot for defence inside the house. Sluggs for everything else.

 

[CombatEffective]

Don't use the rifled tubes with a rifled slug. The groves on the tube and the grooves on the slug will not match up.

Tubes make a huge difference with shot. With cylinder bore my 18" 870 barrel will always have at least one flyer off of the body sillouhette at 20 yards plus. At 25 yards with my modified choke in the same weapon/barrel I get patterns that can be covered with an outstretched hand. Sure, at 10 yards or less it might not be an issue, but can you tell me that absolutely certain you won't have to make a longer shot with your combat shotgun.

I did lose a little bit of slug accuracy when I went to the modified choke, but it doesn't start to show until out about 50 yards, and then I use a little KY windage to guide them in. Plus, I do believe that recent changes to my weapon configuration and shooting style will rectify some of that. I just haven't fired any slugs since then to prove it. I also need to test my patterns and slug accuracy to see how well they work with an IC choke.

You will still be effective out to 100 yards or so.

 

[P95Carry]

I have made little use of slugs but - have a rifled choke for my 870 - any thoughts as to how best to exploit that?

 

[CombatEffective]

If you are going to use a rifled tube you need to use slugs that are not rifled. To be honest, I don't see how a rifled choke tube will put enough spin on a slug to stabilize it, but your testing may prove otherwise. Personally, I'd use a regular tube so that I could shoot slugs and shot through it.

 

[P95Carry]

Thx Lee - certainly is time I did some testing to check this out.

 

[CombatEffective]

Sure thing. I'm curious to see the results.

 

[HotGuns]

Hey Tank...
My last S.O. qual was with a 14 inch barreled cylinder bore Remington 870 "entry gun".

We shot B27's out to 40 yards with 00buck and with slugs went to 80 yards with "pepper poppers", which are steel targets that fall when you hit them.

Those targets are 9"diameters. I had no problem hitting them, using just the bead on the shotgun.

If you read the directions on the boxes of most slugs, you'll note that they reccomend a"full" choke for the best accuracy. Having tested many chokes in my various shotguns, the full choke always comes up with the tightest groups.

Something to consider though...not always is full choke the best for buckshot. Some guns prefer a modified or an improved modified for the best patterns. In a case like that, I would go with the modified choke as a compromise for both.

What sort of effective range can I expect with rifled slugs out of an 18" cylinder barrel?

That depends on the size of your target. :silly:

You should have no problem on a man sized target out to 100 yards.The thing about shotguns is you have a rather coarse sight when using a bead, unless you have rifle sights or a scope. I would say that you are more limited with the sighting arrangement than you are with the shot itself. FWIW...most slugs will shoot approx. 10 " LOW at 100 yards.

 

[AutoFan]

Re: will a rifled choke stabilize a slug? I remember reading that it only takes a couple of inches of rifling to spin stabilize a bullet (snubbies stabilize the rounds shot out of them, after all).

 

[CombatEffective]

SAFETY CHECK!!

Make sure to read the box of the particular slugs your using. After reading the above post I checked my slug boxes and it suggest using IC, but it also says that they can be shot through any choke. IIRC, I too have read boxes that said full would work best, but I believe they were non-rifled slugs. I don't curently have a box of those to check. I wonder if there is any difference in this regard between rifled and unrifled slugs.

I hold a police shotgun instructor certificate. When I attended that course the instructors there said to never go tighter than modified when shooting slugs.

 

[HotGuns]

The slugs are sized to go though a full choke.

Its a liability issue with the ammo companys to ensure that they dont trash out a gun because someone didnt read the instructions. Most slugs are rifled.

Some slugs arent. Technically, the rifled slugs dont spin when they go down the barrel, they spin in the air when the rifling engages the air.

I own a Mossberg 835 with a 20 inch rifled slug barrel. Its very accurate using saboted slugs. With shot though, 20 yards is about the max that you have anything resembling a pattern.


Hey Combat ! What kind of slugs does your agency shoot ?

 

[CombatEffective]

My agency doesn't shoot slugs in our 870s. However, I shot a good many of them at the instructor class. I shoot them in my personal 870P.

 

[acparmed]

I have a Mossberg 590 with a 20" barrel, cylinder bore, and ghost ring sights. When at the NRA Law Enforcement Instructor Development Course I fired the shot group you see below. That is 8 slugs fired from 50 yards in standing, sitting and kneeling positions. Before the class the instructor told us that slugs were effective out to 50, maybe 60 yards max. After firing this target I asked him again what the effective range was. his reply? "I would say a little more than 50 yards."

I have gone out to 100 yards with it and have had some good 4" patterns. So I guess, as with any gun, 'maximum effective range' depends on the shooter.