Here's the deal... The love of my life is my Ruger Red Label over/under 12 ga. For the last 10 years or so, I've made it a point to use it as my only "grocery getter". Everything I kill, I want it to be with only that gun, and I've kept a running count of all the kills it's made. In fact, the very first time she ever spoke she spilled blood (fox squirrel.. yummy). I know it's kinda weird, but it's just a thing I have. The ONLY exception has been deer. I've always been afraid to put a deer slug through my barrels. Is this paranoid? Could there possibly be any damage to the barrels? They're back bored with very long forcing cones and chokes. Would the backboring lead to the slug "rattling around" on it's way out and possibly damage the screw in choke? Or worse? I'd hate to cause my baby any injury. Perhaps a sabot round would work? I dunno... Anyone have definitive knowlege in this area. I'd really like to put some venison on the table with it, but not at the expense of damage. Just as an aside, she's also killed: Gray as well as fox squirrel Cottontail Rabbit Bobwhite Quail Chukkar Partridge Ringneck Pheasant A ton of Mourning Doves Many species of Duck Canada Geese Eastern Turkey (only one though) And a groundhog that was tearing up the garden. One of these days I'm gonna take her Sandhill Crane hunting. She's a seriously bloody babe
DO NOT send a slug thru a choke with any constriction to it, the odds are in favor of damage to the barrels. Ruger should be able to supply you with an open choke that is safe, and possibly a rifled choke as well for use with punkin balls or sabots. (Briley is another possible source.) Back bore should be no problem at all. If your's is ported, watch that the ports don't get too gummed up. My Citori fits me way better, or I'da had a Red Label a few years ago. The RL I tried just did not come up for me, and bloody heavy too. I give you full marks for hauling that beast in the field. The Rugers I have (handguns) are brutally stout, and I love 'em to pieces for shooters. (Sandhill Crane, indeed ---)
Oh heaven's no I wouldn't dare use anything but an open or rifled slug choke. I've been looking for an excuse to buy a couple briley tubes No porting, my ears are bad enough as is (tinnitis). Agreed it's heavy, sometimes I wish it were a bit lighter, but then after a couple boxes of shells after doves or some 1 5/8 oz. magnums for geese, I'm kinda glad that extra weight is there to absorb recoil. I went with 26" barrels to lessen it just a little. It's amazing what a couple ounces off the end will do as far as handling is concerned. Lotta respect for the Citori! Very nice double. My final decision was between the Ruger, the Browning, and a Beretta. It took literally months to make my decision but in the end, the Ruger fit me like I was born with it attached. I really am in love with her.
For deer hunting, I would go buy a cheap rifled slug gun. For a few days a year, it just seems like it wouldn't be a bad investment. On the other hand, a non-rifled sabot would do the job, too.
The Foster type slugs will swedge down to work through any choke, it just deforms the slug less to shoot them through an open choke. Generally the less the slug is deformed, the better it flies. Since you have the interchangeable tubes, try a couple of boxes of buckshot to see what patterns best. A slug fired from a gun with no sights will limit the effective range, so the buckshot would give almost as much range. A friend of mine bought the first 3 1/2 " 12 gauge he could find, and some of that 18 pellets of 00 buck. He said it would knock them down in their tracks at 100 yards. You can get 15 pellet 3" 00, pattern it with your different choke tubes to see what it does. Standard dispersion for buckshot from a cylinder bore gun is 1 " per yard, or 25 " at 25 yards. Somewhere around modified or even full will give you the best patterns. My 590 will shoot big patterns with the smaller sizes, and 9 pellet 00 in half that size patterns, that's why you have to pattern them.
I live in Indiana, buckshots not legal for deer... kinda dumb I know. We can't use rifles either. Only bows, muzzleloader, shotgun/slug.
BlackJack Ghrit nailed this one. The only thing I could add would be if ya love the O/U that much love it for what it can do. Ya may love fuel economy and Nascar but ya don't put your Ford Fiesta in the Indy. But I also understand that you would like to see it take somthing bigger for the game pot. Try the open choke but in the same token this gives you a reason for a nice slug gun and hey every gun deserves a good home, your just trying to do your part. Take care Be safe Poacher.
Well, I cant speak to how it would work in that specific gun. I do however have a couple 20 guages one is a NEA pardner modle with modified choke and the other is a Charlse Daley pump with screw in choke tubes that are about 4 inches long. I have fired rifled slugs from both includeing through a full choke screw in tube in the pump and have seen no signs of damage to the choke tubes or barrels or differences in the way the guns shoot. If it has the removable chokes then I would say it would be better for accuracy and such as well as further reduceing any possible risk to the gun to use a slug choke but if it is a modern shotgun then I have never talked to anyone who has personaly had a modern shotgun damaged by fireing slugs in it.
All Foster type slugs will work in any choke,hence the grooves on the sides of all Foster type slugs(they're not for imparting spin to the slug,but for squeezing through different sized chokes!). The best results will be with cylinder or improved cylinder bore though. Try different brands and keep your shots under 50 yds with your bead sights just to make sure you get clean kills. Don't be surprised if there's a big difference in impacts using your bead sights. Some guns will shoot way low(2-3 ft!!!) and others may shoot real high or off to one side. Your gun was designed to shoot shot.......slugs will work.....but....keep it in mind that slugs are only an after thought in shotguns unless your shooting the newer sabot types(hugely expensive $2-$3 /shot!!!!) or shooting them through a rifled barrel. (Even rifled barrels are no good after 5-10 rds in a row as they foul up quickly with sabot residue or worse.....LEAD!! if you use Foster types!) Good luck.......post your results for all to see.
