I have been invited to hunt deer in Minnesota this coming season. In checking the regulations for the area I will be in, only shotguns with slugs are permitted. I won't attempt to try and figure the logic, or lack thereof, of this, but it is what it is. I have a couple of shotguns and the one I want use is a Rem. 870 12 ga. 3.5 in. magnum. I am as of now unsure of the expected shooting distances, but I would guess 100 - 150 yards or so. I have pretty much decided I need to add a scope of some sort, but my main question is if I really need to also get a rifled barrel? Rifled replacement barrels are nearly the same cost of the whole gun the last time I checked prices. Is getting a rifled choke tube a good alternative? What slugs are good choices for either smoothbore barrel and with which choke tube or with smoothbore barrel and a rifled choke tube? Or, is this a waste of time and money and should I bite the bullet and get a rifled barrel? Any suggestions as to scope and mount? Thanks for the response and advice.

Get a rifled barrel and try the Remington Copper Solid sabot slugs. You should be able to get a 2-4" group fairly easily at 100 yards, even using the 2 3/4" slugs. If you don't get a rifled barrel, you will do lucky to shoot a 6-8" group at 50 yards.

CFR gives great advice.

There are some smooth bore guns that can shoot a pie plate at 100 yards. I had an SKB auto with a scope that would. I grew up in Indiana and that is all we could use there too. Say the ground is too flat, cover to thick and rifle bullet goes to far to be safe for everyone. That is their excuse though.

I never shot mine over 100yds...that was the max and most of the places I hunted I couldn't see much over that anyway.

Key to the smooth bore is to buy a rifled slug...my gun like the clear shells, they began with a B and I haven't seen one in over 10 years and can't remember the name.

Something else to look at, some states will allow you to use a muzzle loader even in shotgun season. The last few years I hunted up there that is what I used just because of the accuracy and I had a buddy that wanted to buy the SKB pretty bad so I sold it and hunted with my Knight.

Good luck and have fun, I think they actually hunt them up there and don't sit on feeders waiting for the corn to drop

A rifled barrel is a must have for 100 yard + shots.I have hunted in states that are shotgun only and with a rifled barrel and sabot slugs have killed deer at 150 yards +. They are just like rifles and some brands will group better than others.

I never hunted with a shotgun with slugs for most of my life and always used a rifle.

Last year I got on a deer lease that the owner would only allow shotguns wit slugs and bows only because of the location some farm houses near the area.

I'll tell you I gained a lot of respect for the shotgun slug after seeing what it can do.

I already had a single shot Handi Rifle in a rifle caliber, so I bought an excessory barrel for it in a rifled 20 guage, and using 3" Buckhammers I took two deer, with one at 40 yards and one at 60 yards, and both deer went less than forty yards with a blood trail that looked like someone emptied a 5 gal bucket.

A 20 gauge can do anything a 12 gauge can do without beating you to death, and those sabot slugs shoot as good as a rifle out to 100 yards and beyond, but keeping it under 100 is really more practical and gets the job done.

Rifles make big holes, Shotgun Slugs make Realy Real Realy big holes.

20 gauge.......BETTER all the way around.

I've got a 12ga marlin slugmaster scoped ready to go for 225.00.I hunted with it for 4 years 2-3 inch from a rest at 100 yds and 6in at 200yds but the drop is about 2 feet,not sure if i would push it that far without a rest. These were with the remington copper solids.

Best way to hunt in my eyes. Shotguns are great. I will admit I've never owned or hunted with a Rifled barrel. Used my 870 pump and rem 1100 plus my saiga 12 when on private land. A little input on my trip to the range recenly trying out 3 inch magnum rifled slugs by Remington. Usually I shoot the 2 3/4 rifled 1oz and can get quite good results at 50 and 75 yards. Hundred Yds requires a little tuning of the scope to get into the 12 inch target but it's do-able. Rifled barrel with sabot would probably be 10 times better. Remember ultimately what a shotgun can do for you though using either slugs, buckshot or even birdshot. Having the options are great. Stuck out there using birdshot or even 00 through the rifled barrel- I don't think this good for the barrel. If I want perfection at long range I use my savage 3006, no brainer there!

At 50 yards and my 870 with nikon scope using magnum slugs(7/8 oz rem slugger in 12guage 3 inch) I felt the magnums did not work for me as I thought they would. they were all over the target and there was no real control even at 50 yards. Some didn't even hit the target at all- totally uncontrollable.
In my humble opinion I think the rifled slugs in 3 inch(1860 fps) are moving way too quick for their own darn good and they get the wobbles, even happened from my Remingtons 26 inch barrel. The 2 3/4 slugs in 1 oz rated at 1560 fps have always been good for me and maybe this is the fastest these slugs were meant to go.

I bought a rifled barrel for my .12 ga after missing the biggest buck ever with a regular barrel with just a screw in rifled choke tube. Got it scoped and all. Now I just have to get drawn again.

Distance is everything. We are Limited to max 100 yds with the regular barrel and rifled slugs. Sure do leave a large blood trail and will totally destroy a hogs skull. Awesome to watch though, crazy sh$t!

It's probably heavily wooded or hilly, and you won't be shooting past 50 or 75 unless you are on a clear cut or river.

Thanks for all of the replies! I have checked with my local gun shop, Bass Pro, Cabela's, Numrich Arms, and Gander Mountain for a rifled slug barrel with scope mount for my 870 Remington. Cabela's has the best price by a substantial amount @ $229.99. Remington also offers this with a "Remington" branded scope for an additional $30.00, but from several customer reviews I have read, it is a junk scope. I am as yet undecided on a scope, but I am strongly leaning towards a Nikon Pro-Staff 2-7x32mm. Anyone have any experience with this scope?

Have a Nikon on my 870 pump(sold and labelled as a shotgun scope) don't know which exact model it is? maybe prostaff but i can check for you. Never had a problem over past couple years, fired many rounds with it. Be-aware of the recoil and the ring/scope mounting screws vibrating loose. Use the lock-tite red or blue(whichever one says removable)on all the screws when you mount the scope. First get it sighted good, then remove 1 screw at a time and apply the LT. Dont overtighten as you will more than likely strip the threads if you later try remove the scope. I made this mistake; HUMAN!

The Nikon Pro Staff is marketed for shotgun mounting. I assume this is the only one Nikon specifically offers for shotguns? Is this what you have? I found a factory refurbished one at a very attractive price.

Checked it And it's a prostaff, don't know the exact specs but there probably arn't too many variations for shotgun use. I would buy this one again, don't know about refurbished scopes though, I'd be careful unless it's coming from a friend or someone you know.

Thanks for the reply! A reputable company, Natchez Shooters Supplies, has them for sale @ $89.95 (factory refurbished).

Here's a link to couple photos, I will be honest though. If I could do it all over, I'd get a semi-auto with the trijicon reflex sights and the magazine blocker for public hunting lands(regardless of barrel type). It's hard to get a good follow up shot with the pump action. With the rifled barrel though, you probly won't need the follow-up shot
Enjoy your new venture and don't forget a good buttpad


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One of my slug guns had a Mossberg/Bushnell barrel and scope combo from Cabelas. Now the scope was nothing to get excited about, but when I sighted in, I had no more than 2" groups and I'm talking about drawing a circle around the outside of the actual holes. This is not bad, and plenty workable for hunting! I think the whole combo is currently around 175 or so, still cheaper than buying the Remington barrel only.

I currently use an 870 with open sights and shoot the Remington Corelokt Ultra Bonded sabot slug. This slug is the most accurate from my gun, and I would not hesitate to take a shot over 100yd even with my open sights.

You may find yourself being drawn to the darkside once you actually kill something with your 'poor mans express rifle'!

Couldn't agree more, nothing better than a kill with fixed sights. My saiga 12 is perfect for this on private land as it's not approved for public gamelands. Good feeling

My favorite local gun shop has a used excellent condition Remington 11-87 with a rifled slug barrel and rifle type sights for $550.00. If I did not already have an almost new 870 Express Supermag, I would buy the 11-87 and mount a scope on it and get a smoothbore barrel to use for birds. I can get a rifled slug cantilever barrel from Cabela's for $229.99. This is the best route for me.

According to Winchester's website, their 12GA Supreme Partitian Gold 385 gr. sabot slugs are rated at 2392 foot pounds of energy @ 100 yards with an almost flat trajectory. That looks incredible! That is almost identical to the energy level of the .30-06 load I use with just about twice the caliber diameter before expansion of either one. This should be interesting.