I know this is a bow hunting first website, but it's a Deer hunting website 2nd. I'm in the market to purchase an actual slug gun this year. I live and hunt mainly in IL, so my only option is a shotgun. I have a Charles Daily 12g auto that I’ve been using the past several years and have harvest a good number of deer with it. Unfortunately, they’ve almost all died from the 2nd shot. I practice with the gun and after 30 yards the holes in my target seem to space farther away from each other. I do not have any gun with a Rifled Barrel, so I’m looking at my options. I would love to have a Savage 220 bolt action, but not sure about spending the $500 to $600 on a single use gun. I’m still considering the H&R single shot. I read articles that list it as one of the best (top 5) slug guns and they are cheap. Most people that I’ve talked to say stay away from single shot’s, because you never know when you need that 2nd shot. But seriously, how long can it take to put a new shell into the gun? Fractions of a second? I mean it’s not like you’re reloading a muzzle loader right??? I’ve never fired a single shot, so this why I’m asking for help. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks Sorry if this is in the wrong forum/section. I’m at 62 hours for the week and I have to work again tonight, so my mind is a little off track.
I bought the 20 gauge Savage bolt action slug gun for my son last year. Where I have slug hunted in MN for over 20 years is slug only so I have shot my fair share of slugs. You will be extremely happy if you buy that gun. It is a tack driver like I have not seen before. I even used his gun during slug season and I have a Ithaca Deerslayer with a rifled barrel and a Browning Gold with a rifled barrel.
I purchased the Savage 220 last year for me and for my kids to use in the future. This thing is freakin' amazing out to 200 yards. That's right 200 yards. The best deal I found on the gun was at ****'s Sporting Goods. I ordered it thru them while they had a $30 rebate on guns offer going on which obviously brought the price down even further. Pricey....yes, but way more accurate and nicer to my shoulder than my 12 ga Rem 870!! I took one shot with it during the WI rifle season and dropped a decent 8 pointer in the spot.
Can you use muzzleloaders during slug season? If so, I would get a ML instead of a slugger. We can here in MD so the ML is good a couple months instead of a couple weeks. I want the 220 in a bad way but can't justify it for only 2 weeks.
Yep, you can use ML for the regular shotgun season in IL (10 days total over 3 weekends) plus a 3 day ML-only season. I guess that is still less than 2 weeks a season! I use mine during both IL and WI gun seasons. I love my .300 WSM for WI gun season, but that gun just causes way too much damage on whitetails.
The H & R in 20g seems to be the best combo of accuracy and value. A lot of Bang for your buck or a buck!
Browning maxus with rifled choke tube is all I have to comment on this post. 1,500 rounds of anything I feed it and she gobbles them all up without a single jam to date. 2.5", 3", and 3.5". Bird shot, steel, buckshot, and slugs. It's an amazing autoloader that is worth the coin. I liked my first one so much that I bought a second so she doesn't get lonely all be herself.
H&r/NEF I think it is same company make vary good break actions. My first gun was a break action .410 and I still have it. Im from Ohio and you can only use shotgun and muzzle loader during gun season. Im a big fan of remington 870. It has many uses and you can get one pretty cheap with a field barrel and fully rifled deer barrel. Mossberg 500's are great. A model 500 20 gauges is probablly my favorite. Dead accurate killed my first deer with it and lethal. Turkey shoots when I had it only let me shoot 3 times with it with the field barrell because we allways one with it. The only thing I dont like about the mossberg's is the safety. I love the location on the top of the reciever so you can slide it up with your thumb. I had the gold edition or whatever you call it in 20 gauge. And after a few years the safety which rides on a plastic slide with ball bearings broke. They may have fixed that issue by now. But bot the remmy 870 and mossberg 500 are great guns with many uses. I had a Winchester 1300 loved the gun and it would group amazing but only after about 15 slugs were through it would it match up to my sights on where I wanted it to hit. Different slugs in a fully rifled barrell allways hit about 8 inches to the right, sucks when you shoot a deer thats running. In my opinion go with a 20 gauge. Has plenty enough knock down power and more accuracy then a 12 gauge. Hope this helps you out.
Okay, assuming by you being on a bowhunting board you're like me and a lot of others...you'll bow hunt 90-95% of the entire season and may pick up a gun here and there. If that's the case the H&R Ultra Slug and the other H&R offerings in rifled barrel shotguns would do you just fine. I'm a fan of 1 shot and done...if you have time for a second it's because you hit the deer the first time bow, shotgun, rifle or ML...unless you're one of those keep shooting type of guys (IMO these types shouldn't be allowed in the woods...just my opinion though). I have a Mossberg 500a with a rifled barrel and a smoothbore barrel, but haven't picked it up for deer hunting in years...I only use my ML now during all firearms seasons in IN, which is legal for us to do here (and I usually only gun hunt maybe 3-5 days in a year). Go with your price range and willingness, if it's the Savage or the H&R with practice and finding the right ammo to the gun either can and will be tack drivers out to 80-100yards.
I have an H&R Ultra Slug Hunter in 20 ga. that I use for deer. Used to use my Mossberg 12 ga. with a rifled bbl, but picked up the 20 ga so my daughter could use it too. It is a sweet shooter. The Ultra Slug Hunter has a heavy bbl, so the recoil is not bad, and I have an after-market recoil pad on it for my 10 year-old. I have it shooting an inch high at 100. Most of my shots are 100 yds or under, but I wanted to be ready should a little longer shot present itself. As was said above, 20 ga. is plenty for whitetails, and I've heard of some guys who use them for black bear. That's good enough for me. It is so accurate that one shot should be enough. I got a $4 stock wrap that holds 5 or 6 extra slugs. Using that only adds an extra second or so to my reload. Even in the past when hunting with a pump, I'd take my first shot, rack the action to load a second round, then assess the situation to see if the deer needed a second. Not much changes with the sigle shot.
selfbros actually if you find good deal on a Mossberg 500a but it doesn't have a rifled barrel I'll make you a killer deal on the one that just sets for me...I only use the smoothbore now for birds, turkeys and whatever else.
What about a .44 magnum pistol cartridge? Are those legal in Illinois? I have a Ruger 77/44 rifle that shoots this round and it is amazing! Its bolt action and is zero'ed in at 100 yards, but I can shoot 125 comfortably with it. My brother shot a mature buck last season with it and the damage was rediculous. It wasn't so much the damage to the hide, but what that round did once it was inside the animal was amazing. The top half of his heart and lungs were completely gone, nothing there. I would look into this gun if you have that option. It is a nice small rifle too that is very light for carrying around the woods and it produces minimal re-coil. Just a thought for you, but I absolutely love this gun.
I believe Illinois has shotgun only seasons. That .44magnum cartridge is a great round, but the damage you saw was probably more about what bullet was used as with anything. Right bullet from that gun is going to do insain damage inside an animal...kinda like the buck my dad shot last year with his .50cal ML...things lung on entrance side was pretty much "gone" and part of the heart with it....
How long can the barrel be? I think the barrel on my .44 is only 18 inches long. Or is it strictly hand gun only?
I actually used a Charles Daly 12 ga. for quite a few years and then this last year bought an H&R 12 ga. with the thumbhole stock. Awesome gun! I have it sighted in to 100 yards and it's within 1-1/2 to 2". I love the gun and you shouldn't need an extra shot if the gun is accurate. You'll love it too if you get it.
