Awesome group, Joe!!! Loks as tho you should be good out to around 200 yds with a little holdover at that range!!

vint2 wrote:

Sniper, The round is manageable, but it does have a little recoil. It is not for soft shoulders or weak hands, but it's advantages far out weigh the negs!!!!!! Muzzle stats are 2000fps/2664ft/lb for a 300 grain bullet. It is accurate, awesome, and the best I have found.

I guess "manageable" is a relative term. I actually like to shoot my Mossberg quite a bit before the season starts. There is a HUGE difference shooting one-r-five rounds before the season starts, and settling in behind it for an afternoon of practice. I'll usually fire 30-40 rounds in a practice session (at least 10 3-round groups, but as many as 15). I have heard that 12 gauge shotgun slugs are similar in recoil (dependant on the gun its self) to rounds in the .375 Mag class, but I have never fired a shoulder held center fire rifle caliber that large. I have a .300 Win Mag barrel on order for the T/C that I'm gonna use for a warm-up for shootin the Mossberg.

As far as having a "little recoil", I know three other "slug guys" who have had rotator cuff work, with the slugs bein the main culprit. I myself am due to have it done, but I'm puttin it off as long as I can. I've also HEARD (although I don't personally know of anyone) of people suffering from serious eye problems from firing rounds with excess recoil.

The only thing I've fired that hit me harder is 3 1/2" Turkey Loads (2 1/4 oz. of copper plated lead) through my Benelli Nova.

I've never attempted using Point Blank to calculate the recoil of my slug loads, does anyone know if inputting shotgun loads will result in accurate calcs?

Vince wrote:

Love to try these SST's but unfortunately my shottie is a smoothbore. Cheers, Vince

What ya gun??

Rifled barrles (at least here) aren't cost prohibitive.

[quote="hunterjoe21"]vint2,

I never thought I would say it, but it's now cheaper to fire my muzzloloader ($2.20) than it is to fire my shotgun ($5.00 projected)!

I'd rather shoot my front stuffer than a shotgun, especially a single-shot. After all isn't it supposed to be one shot, one kill?

[quote="d_hoffman"]

hunterjoe21 wrote:

vint2, I never thought I would say it, but it's now cheaper to fire my muzzloloader ($2.20) than it is to fire my shotgun ($5.00 projected)! I'd rather shoot my front stuffer than a shotgun, especially a single-shot. After all isn't it supposed to be one shot, one kill?

Yes it is SUPPOSED to be one shot one kill, but we all know that's not always the case.

I suppose you load your muzzleloader at the truck (or house/camp) and don't carry any additional powder/bullets/sabots/primers then?

By your rationale, you shouldn't need any more than what's already loaded. I guess you would go on a dream elk hunt and only carry one shell?

So everyone else who carries a gun capable of loading more than one shell(levers,pumps,bolts, etc) should only put one round in the gun?

Does that mean I should shoot the shotgun once at the range and if I hit the target, call it "killed", and go home?

Why do we shoot 3-5 round groups at the range and measure the average group before we decide on a loads accuracy?

If I only shoot a 1 round group, wouldn't it's center-to center average distance be 0.00"?

I too would rather use my ML rifle but sometimes, due to certain circumstances, a shotgun with three slugs is a better choice. We put on a lot of deer drives around here, and many times a second or even a third shot may be needed. If I did all my deer hunting sitting in a tree stand or a ground blind, and only fired at deer that were standing broadside, on days with little to no precipitation, I wouldn't need a shotgun.

We put 5 deer in the freezer last year, all shot with T/C muzzleloaders, but I DID carry the shotgun on more than one occasion.

hunterjoe21 wrote:

What ya gun??

Gidday HJ. My shotgun is an Italian Fausti Stephano O/U. A very nice sporting piece that I also use to bust a few clays every now and again.

I carry it in the field often when hunting, or its not very far away. I always carry a mix of loads.....4 shot for rabbits, 2 shot, BB and 00 SG for anything bigger and Slugs for pigs. As a general rule though I'm loaded only for what I expect to meet.

Don't use the shottie on deer....have my most illustrious and magnificent Mod 94 in 30.30 WIN and a Weatherby in .243 WIN.

Cheers, Vince

Hi,Vince!
You know, I bet that the SST would be a terrific load on pigs, too! It would be nice to hear from some one who has used them on pigs to find out!

I don't doubt that you are right Vint, but unfortunately I don't think that they would be anywhere near as impressive from a smoothbore as they are from a rifled barrel.

Cheers, Vince

Right!! Not sure you would get any kind of positive results for accuracy!! I have a 1 in 28 twist for superlative accuracy, but no twist maybe like throwing rocks!!

Actually Joe, I was agreeing with you so you don't need to get testy with me!!!!!!!! Yes, I do load at the car simply because I stalk to my stand and have gotten deer on my way in. I also carry 3 extra loads just in case. It's called being prepared.

It doesn't matter if your gun holds one or 100, if your any kind of hunter you should be able to pick the right shot to make a one shot clean kill.

The reason you should go to the range and shoot 3-5 round groups is to be sure of your equipment so that you can do a one shot, one kill.

There's only one time I've ever had to shoot a deer more than once and that was to walk up to it and finish it off with a head shot. I was using a borrowed gun at the time.

BTW, it only costs about $1.30 per shot with my muzzle loader.

Hey Vint, I know of a guy that tried a sabot out of a smooth bore just to see how accurate it was, the result was not good.

Hi,d_hoffman,
I have not really figured costs, but think you are in the ballpark for my shooting. The smoothbore and sabot does not surprise me.
I have built my own firing range as I believe that familiarity with ones weapons is key to success in the field. Like any tool they have to be used properly and the shooting mkes a huge difference. Every weapon is different and I need to get used to each one.

I've not gotten testy with anyone. I think it sounds a bit elitist to imply that anyone who might need a second shot is less of a hunter than someone who doesn't. My 13 yr. old neice has killed one deer in her life, with one shot from a shotgun, at 35 yards. I was with her, and put her in position to make the shot. I have had several instances where I've needed a second shot over the years. Does that make her a better hunter than I?

In many areas of the country stalking in to a treestand and watching over a foodplot with a gun is frowned upon. Does that make it wrong for you to do it? I say what ever works for you! Because I decide to carry a repeating firearm to hunt with at times, I no less a hunter than you are.

Vince wrote:

Gidday HJ. My shotgun is an Italian Fausti Stephano O/U. A very nice sporting piece that I also use to bust a few clays every now and again.

I guess a pair of rifled O/U barrels is outta the question??

Imagine busting off 2 heavy slugs in a row with that thing!

It is the enjoyment of the hunt and the ethics that count here, not the indvidual differences!! We all have our personal preferences and dislikes, but that does not make right and wrong.

vint2 wrote:

It is the enjoyment of the hunt and the ethics that count here, not the indvidual differences!! We all have our personal preferences and dislikes, but that does not make right and wrong.

Well put vint2 couldn't agree more
Joe