First Slug Gun - What do I need?

[Overwatch326]

Walked into Dick's in Frederick (I know, I know) last Friday night and spotted a Remington 870 Fieldmaster looking lonely next to all the Winchesters and Stevens. It was on sale, so I couldn't help myself.

This'll be my first 870 (I'm generally a Mossberg guy), and my first slug gun. 23" cantilever fully-rifled barrel, so I know I'll need Sabots and I already slapped a spare red dot on it for now, but beyond that, any must-haves for an 870? It came with a plug, so I'm guessing there's some DNR rule for slug guns and capacity; presently sitting at the standard 4-round, considering adding an extension, but I thought I'd ask for recommendations first. Anyways, I'm excited.

Not gonna lie, for all the fellow weabs out there, reading "An Active Hunter in Hokkaido Has Been Thrown into a Different World" probably motivated the purchase a bit. lol

 

[delaware_export]

I have slug barrels for a couple guns, and a dedicated slug gun

870 smooth bore, irons. Good with sluggers and brenneke ko. And up very close with buck shot

mossberg 695 iirc, rifled bolt action. Good with the old remmy copper solids sabots and brenneke gold (see note below about both) both good to and easy 100+. Dropped longest shot at 110y. has a scope, forget power/objective. Been a while… the brenneke goods were the full diameter slugs designed for rifled barrels. They’ll stop a truck

1187 with rifled barrel, iron sights. Same rounds as the mossy above. Good to about 100, with the irons

also, the bird barrels / beads on the 870 and 1187 are good to about 80y with the sluggers or KO’s. Used this for deer / pig hunting in Georgia for a number of years.

the brenneke slugs models have changed names over the years. And the copper solids have been ?renamed?redesigned?changed as well.

you can check current catalogs for info on both , Current versions.

Not sure what the current similar model is. I still have stock of both old models. not much SG deer/pig hunting where I am now.

edit: always left plug in. After the first shot, if not hit, they didn’t stick around for more than 1 or 2 follow attempts.
good luck!

 

[Harrys]

I use Brenneke Black Magic 12-gauge slugs in my single shot H&R slugster.

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[Mini14tac]

My 870 slug gun with the same setup cantilever rifled barrel likes the Remington Accutip 2 3/4 slugs.

Buy Accutip Sabot Slug for USD 24.99 | Remington

Shopping for the Accutip Sabot Slug - Learn more about the latest AccuTip Sabot Slug and other hunting or shooting gear at Remington.

www.remington.com

 

[dieselfarmboy]

Your going to needs lots of slugs. I remember working at a shooting range and you could have 2 of the same gun, but each one liked a diff slug. Once you find a slug it likes buy as many as you can from the same lot if possible.

 

[dist1646]

I have an 870 w/ cantilever slug barrel. Winchester Supreme 3" high impact hollow point sabot slugs are excellent.

 

[outrider58]

For ammo, start out with one box of maybe four varieties of deer slugs to find out what works and what won't. If you aren't satisfied with those offerings, buy four more different brands, one box each, until you find a good, consistently accurate ammo for your gun. You may get lucky and find something right away. Or it may take a little more searching. When you find your 'perfect' deer slug for your gun, buy a bunch of it. It will likely all disappear from the store shelves before opening day of gun.

Buy a sling and eventually a fixed 4 power shotgun scope. That scope will help identify whether that doe you want to kill is really a spike buck. That's all you really need for the gun IMO.

 

[calicojack]

If you have a rifled barrel, I believe you want sabot rounds and not sluggers. I think sluggers are for a smooth bore shotgun.

Rifled Slugs vs. Sabot Slugs - The Lodge at AmmoToGo.com

What's the difference between a sabot and rifled slug? Let's look at the advantages of each, barrels you can use and why you might pick one over the other.

www.ammunitiontogo.com

 

[calicojack]

My 870 slug gun with the same setup cantilever rifled barrel likes the Remington Accutip 2 3/4 slugs.

Buy Accutip Sabot Slug for USD 24.99 | Remington

Shopping for the Accutip Sabot Slug - Learn more about the latest AccuTip Sabot Slug and other hunting or shooting gear at Remington.

www.remington.com

Yes. this ^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[calicojack]

For ammo, start out with one box of maybe four varieties of deer slugs to find out what works and what won't. If you aren't satisfied with those offerings, buy four more different brands, one box each, until you find a good, consistently accurate ammo for your gun. You may get lucky and find something right away. Or it may take a little more searching. When you find your 'perfect' deer slug for your gun, buy a bunch of it. It will likely all disappear from the store shelves before opening day of gun.

Buy a sling and eventually a fixed 4 power shotgun scope. That scope will help identify whether that doe you want to kill is really a spike buck. That's all you really need for the gun IMO.

I also needed to raise the comb height with a gel pad but I bought a 2-7X scope. I agree that a 4X is sufficient and would be smaller and less bulky.

 

[magnumpi]

The plug is for bird hunting. For deer you can load up to 8 rounds no plug required.

 

[traveller]

You can hunt those counties with a straight wall cartridge rifle now. Why buy a new slug gun ?

 

[Growler215]

If you aren't aware of it, the standard magazine tube on an 870 has a couple of "dimples" that prevent the spring from going past the end cap. These would have to be "ironed out" to use a tube extension (with a longer spring.) They make a tool for doing this.

Extension tube is really of no use for deer hunting anyway. A 12 ga slug does a great job putting deer down. I've never had to fire more than one. In fact, before straightwall became legal I switched to a single shot 12 ga - the H&R Ultra Slug Hunter. More accurate than my 870.

 

[Overwatch326]

My 870 slug gun with the same setup cantilever rifled barrel likes the Remington Accutip 2 3/4 slugs.

Buy Accutip Sabot Slug for USD 24.99 | Remington

Shopping for the Accutip Sabot Slug - Learn more about the latest AccuTip Sabot Slug and other hunting or shooting gear at Remington.

www.remington.com

I use Brenneke Black Magic 12-gauge slugs in my single shot H&R slugster.

BrennekeUSA Ammunition For Sale | Brenneke Ammo For Sale Online - Ammo Deals

Brenneke ammunition for sale online at cheap discount prices at TargetSportsUSA.com. Our inventory includes Brenneke handgun ammo for sale, Brenneke r

www.targetsportsusa.com

Yeah, that's what most the research I've done already indicated, too—figures it'd be the most expensive one. lol I was looking at Brenneke, too; might be an excuse to head down to GreenTop in the near future.

For ammo, start out with one box of maybe four varieties of deer slugs to find out what works and what won't. If you aren't satisfied with those offerings, buy four more different brands, one box each, until you find a good, consistently accurate ammo for your gun. You may get lucky and find something right away. Or it may take a little more searching. When you find your 'perfect' deer slug for your gun, buy a bunch of it. It will likely all disappear from the store shelves before opening day of gun.

Buy a sling and eventually a fixed 4 power shotgun scope. That scope will help identify whether that doe you want to kill is really a spike buck. That's all you really need for the gun IMO.

Got the sling and a few boxes of Hornady SSTs, gonna try them first. Any recommendations on a scope? My red dot will have to do for range testing for now, but I can look into some straight 4x—no point to a 1-4x, I assume?

The plug is for bird hunting. For deer you can load up to 8 rounds no plug required.

Ah, okay. Good to know.

You can hunt those counties with a straight wall cartridge rifle now. Why buy a new slug gun ?

Well, I've been wanting an 870 for a while now anyway, and I've been watching a lot of Taofledermaus lately, so I guess I caught the bug to pick up a rifled barrel and some sabots. It'd cost almost as much to get a Mossberg barrel these days, so I figured I'd just spring for the 870 instead since it was on sale; if it proves too expensive, I figure I can always swap the barrel to smoothbore later on, since there's a lot more Carlson's options available for 870s.

If you aren't aware of it, the standard magazine tube on an 870 has a couple of "dimples" that prevent the spring from going past the end cap. These would have to be "ironed out" to use a tube extension (with a longer spring.) They make a tool for doing this.

Extension tube is really of no use for deer hunting anyway. A 12 ga slug does a great job putting deer down. I've never had to fire more than one. In fact, before straightwall became legal I switched to a single shot 12 ga - the H&R Ultra Slug Hunter. More accurate than my 870.

Knew about the dimples, but thanks for pointing it out; I saw a video from Brownells about it just last night. Yeah, I kinda want to just keep this guy in stock condition, not add any of the usual "tactical" enhancements like I normally have on my Mossbergs; 4+1 should be plenty!

 

[outrider58]

To get a better glass, you'll probably end up getting a 1-4x scope. I've been shotgun hunting deer a long time using 3-9x scopes and I never move the power above 4-5x. You're not going to be shooting that far. The fixed scopes are reasonably parallax free, my reason for recommending them. Problem is, not many reputable companies are making them anymore. You choice of brand will be decided buy your budget.

 

[Mini14tac]

As far as scopes for a slug gun, I settled on the older Leopold Shotgun VXII 2X7.

As others have stated, my slug gun has been in retirement since I can use my Marlin 1895 45-70 Guide gun.

 

[Overwatch326]

To get a better glass, you'll probably end up getting a 1-4x scope. I've been shotgun hunting deer a long time using 3-9x scopes and I never move the power above 4-5x. You're not going to be shooting that far. The fixed scopes are reasonably parallax free, my reason for recommending them. Problem is, not many reputable companies are making them anymore. You choice of brand will be decided buy your budget.

As far as scopes for a slug gun, I settled on the older Leopold Shotgun VXII 2X7.

As others have stated, my slug gun has been in retirement since I can use my Marlin 1895 45-70 Guide gun.

Yeah, I think I might go for a 1-4x; I'm a bit paranoid, so if I don't have access to irons, I prefer a scope that can give me 1x as well—just in case of a unexpected close quarters encounter.

 

[AlBeight]

Whatever scope you choose, make sure it is marketed as a “shotgun” scope, ie...has very long eye relief, at least 4” or even 5” (unless you don’t mind being a pirate).

 

[traveller]

Well, I've been wanting an 870 for a while now anyway, and I've been watching a lot of Taofledermaus lately, so I guess I caught the bug to pick up a rifled barrel and some sabots. It'd cost almost as much to get a Mossberg barrel these days, so I figured I'd just spring for the 870 instead since it was on sale; if it proves too expensive, I figure I can always swap the barrel to smoothbore later on, since there's a lot more Carlson's options available for 870s.

'I wanted an 870' is a perfectly good reason.

 

[Slackdaddy]

To get a better glass, you'll probably end up getting a 1-4x scope. I've been shotgun hunting deer a long time using 3-9x scopes and I never move the power above 4-5x. You're not going to be shooting that far. The fixed scopes are reasonably parallax free, my reason for recommending them. Problem is, not many reputable companies are making them anymore. You choice of brand will be decided buy your budget.

I have found 2-7 to be the sweet spot for my H&R USH (20 gauge) guns and my Muzzle loaders. These are 100 yard guns,, 2-7 is perfect.
I leave it on 2 power unless I have one out past 50 yards.

I have both Bushnell and Nikon 2-7 "slug" scopes on 5 guns,, they have all worked flawless over 15 years for various family members. I never paid more than $100 for each.