Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I believe I've made up my mind and will get the H&R single shot. Not sure which modelor gauge. Is there a difference in accuracy, distance with the 12 and 20 G?
Accuracy is going to come down to you in the long run, breathing control, trigger squeeze, sight picture and body aliment. I think the 20. gauge will offer you more accuracy. Its recoil is not going to be as bad. Here are some specs of 2 slug's, one 20 and one 12 gauge from hornady. http://www.hornady.com/store/12-ga-Slug-300-gr-FTX/ http://www.hornady.com/store/20-ga-Slug-250-gr-FTX/ Both slug's have a .200 coefficient if you dont know coefficient its basically how good and accurate the bullet is a coefficient of 1 is perfect. The ammo I get with my sniper rifle's here in the army is around .495 and thats match grade amazing ammo. You will get a little more drop at farther ranges and a little bit more loss of kinetic energy but thats just because there isnt going to be as much powder pushing that round. In my opinion if I was going to buy a slug gun solely (sc) for the purpose of whitetail deer. Id go with the 20 gauge and a red dot sight or maybe a 4x scope.
I bought a Tc Encore muzzleloader 6 years ago and havent touched my slug gun since !!! The Tc is a tac driver out to over 200yrds.and have never needed the second shot.I use it for the main gun season and then you get the extra muzzy season !!
Yeah, I don't think a .44 is as accurate at 200 yards. Jussayn! I have a gun that's good up to 30 yards already. But it would be awesome to shot any thing down Dirty Hairy style. Jussayn again.
I actually considered a muzzle, because one could use it with so many other game. Plus they are so much more fun to shoot. I haven't fired one in like 18 years and don't really remember, but the one I fired was my Grandpa's who was American Indian and a WWII vet. So needless to say it was old school for real. Didn't like all the work it took to fire a shot, but I understand muzzys have come a long way since then. But i really don't want to carry all of the crap you need just to reload q muzzy.
I shoot a marlin model 512 slug master topped with a nikon bdc200 slug gun scope. Gun is a real shooter when it comes to shooting long distances. I shoot it quite often to keep myself up with how it shoots. My fiance shoots a mossberg 500a with the rifled/ported slug barrel and it has more than enough umph to put down big mature whitetails at 150 yards. My neighbors have since switched from smoothbore slug guns to single shot h&r 20s because of the performance difference.
That is the exact set-up I just finished for my daughter and me to use. Glad to have the approval of an Army Sniper. As bohica said, the 20 ga is plenty for deer. It is lower recoiling, and is acutally a more accurate round than the 12 ga, simply because it is a flatter shooting round. The 12 ga has a lot more drop, due to the higher weight projectile. While there is also a higher powder charge, it is out of proportion (lower) than the projectile weight difference. Inside 50 yds or so, the drop is not significantly different. Get out to 100 or farther, and the drop is very noticable - some rounds the drop is 10 inches or so. Only really becomes a problem if you sight your red dot at 100, then try to shoot a deer a 35, forget to add the drop back in, and it goes right over his back. I went with the 20 ga mostly for the reduced recoil, but that's because I will have a kid shooting it. I still have my rifled 12 ga, and will probably still shoot it some (still got 2 boxes of $15 ammo!). That's my $0.02.
Ill give you guys a pointer that I learned from some guys that no way more than I do which is perfect for this setup with a scope. I bet your scopes are a basic duplex which is fine. Me I use scopes that have milling reticles inside of them with mil adjustments. So basically where I see the round impact if its not on target I just measure with the scope and either hold or dial for the adjustment. You can zero your scope at the top part of the vertical line in the scope, Doing this gives you 3 aiming point's. The top part of the vertical line, the actual cross hair, and the bottom part of the vertical line. Ill attach a picture so you can understand. But zeroing at the top at lets say 50 meters or yard's whatever you use, you have your scope set to that. Then just shoot further with the cross hair till it hits and groups as close as you can to the bullseye, then that is your range for the crosshair, and then aim further with the bottom part of the vertical line, one you are grouping and close as you can to the bullseye you then know the rang of that. So basically you have your scope zeroed at 3 different ranges. I dont know if you guys have the black bar at the top and sides of your scope but you can still do it without. And remember backing off power or adding more on an adjustable scope will change your poi (point of impact) regardless of where you zero your scope at. But as you can see from the picture you zero at the top and then you have 2 other spot's you can aim and you know you will hit at consistently. Hope this helps some of you guys.
I own a Mossberg 695 bolt action 12ga with a leupold ultimate slam scope chuckin remington accu tip sabot slugs. Killed 2 deer with the gun and both were one shot kills @ 75yds and 100yds. Bolt is a little slopy but has never failed me. KICKS LIKE A MULE.
Well now I'm conflicted by the muzzys or H&R 20G. Those of you that have a muzzy. How much crap do you have to brring with you to hunt? Also, how much of a difference does the shot have compared to the slug gun. (shotguns)
Honestly you can get away with just a couple speed loaders (or just one) and a couple patches to clean the gun if you want.....honestly the new inline muzzleloaders are ridiculously easy to use as long as you take the time to clean it up good once the hunts done (if you fire it). Otherwise all you need is a speedloader and a primer (which some speedloaders have a primer spot in them). Speedloaders are smaller than most pocket knives and would have the powder and bullet in them all you have to do is get it started down the barrel (if you can do this with ramrod on the gun then you might need one of those small starters) shove it down, put in the new primer and BAM shoot again. I love ML hunting, and if legal to do in any firearm season in your state deadly accurate gun to be carrying!
^This^ I don't carry any more stuff with the ML than I do with the bow. Actually, less stuff. I don't use a treestand the majority of the time.
In my 20 ga I am using the Federal Barnes Tipped Expander sabots after going thru a TON of other ammo to find the best accuracy out of my particular gun. You asked about the actual shot....r u asking about the actual bullet? In the rounds i am using they come out to around 273 grains (5/8 oz) which is essentially the same as the ML equivalent bullet by Barnes. Best of luck with your decision! I was faced with the same decision in Feb 2011 and decided against the ML as everything I would need for the ML was going to add up to much more than the gun I finally decided upon. With a spouse not working and 2 kids at home we have to tightly budget for every purchase. If you are looking for a used T/C ML my neighbor is selling his. I know when he bought it then it was the top model they were selling! It is only about 2-3 yrs old and he has hunted with it maybe once. He did spend a lot of time at the range matching the amount of powder and bullet grain weight to ensure that he had the best possible accuracy. Message me if you are interested and I will see if he still has it available.
More info/advice/my .02 on ML's vs Shotguns Many guys state the expense of ML's as it's biggest knock...it may come out slightly more expensive than going the shotgun route IF YOU GO WITH A SINGLE SHOT H&R TYPE SHOTTY. If you choose any shotgun pump/bolt with rifled barrel, anymore these days they're gonna run you just as much as a good T/C Impact (what I use) or a T/C Omega (what my dad uses). Both can be had very cheap and the Omega is still sold at Walmart with a starter package for cheaper than any deer slug gun (save the single shots). So cost...I say is a split decision and can't be used against MLs. (Just an fyi, I bought my T/C Impact, sling for it, two different types of ammo, can of Triple 777 powder, two different brands of primers, couple speedloaders all for under.....$250 and everything was brand new....deals are out there just gotta look) Maintenance: This is one that no ML'er can argue is a knock against getting a MLer. They need attention more so than other guns when cleaning, but I must stress "when cleaning". Unless used ML'er need no more attention than other guns or shouldn't need more attention if cleaned and stored properly. The difference is when a MLer is shot, yes powder residue coats the barrel and unless follow up shots are planned or possible should be cleaned out in my opinion that same day...if left to fester it will simply erode the barrel, nimple and such. I'll admit though I've come to embrace the cleaning of a ML because it either means it was after sighting in the thing (which is a joy) or harvesting something (even better) or at worst case scenario after discharging the gun after 2 full days of being loaded and hunted with (my personal set limit for it to set loaded)...which still means I hunted for 2 days and that is better than working 2 days. Accuracy: Some will say 20gauge others MLer, all I can say is I've yet to find a 20 guage shooter who can put a shot inside a Solo Cup ring at 200yards consistantly...I've seen guys do this routinely with their MLer's...even out to 250 and 1 guy could probably due it 80% at 300yards. ML are accurate, just are. Just wanted to share those few thoughts...me personally I love the ML, however I've often thought about getting a 20 gauge H&R Slug gun just for something else to grab...and it would still have the one shot thing going for it which I'm a firm believer in!
I bought an 870 in 12 gauge then ended up buying a slug barrel with scope already mounted on it made by mossberg for 189. I shot a doe 2 years ago with the setup at ~180 yards. She dropped on the spot.
Not much to carry ?? 3 PRE loaded speed loaders =done..... I used to carry more extra slugs than that !!!
Damn all of you haha, this thread is making me want to buy a new muzzle loader now. This website is making me spend to much deployment money hahaha.
ML is an awesome way to hunt if you put your bow down (rare for me)...something I'm attempting to do a little more as I pick up more out of state properties where until I master the ground/deer movements, I want that extra 30-50 yards I can reach out (I don't shoot far with a gun even) and touch them.
I plan for my ML hunting to be aggressive and mobile, which is totally different than the way I bowhunt. I just want to have fun with a different style of hunting.
I was talking this over with my dad and brothers over the weekend, and my dad reminded me why he stopped using the ML for deer season. When it rain's you’re pretty much S.O.L. He had his ML get wet and it wouldn't fire, but the deer heard the loud CLICK and took off. This happened to him twice and he vowed to never do it again. Have things changed with Muzzy's were they are a little more durable in wet conditions.
