Can I shoot a slug out of a single barrel 12 gauge that's not a slug barrel? I've heard I can and can't. What your opinion?

Yes, and No. The rifled slug barrel on a shotgun will ONLY shoot sabot slugs. They have rifling on them. A smooth bore shotgun will shoot regular lead slugs. It is recomended that the barrel be "improved cylinder", but you can probaly get by with a modified choke. I hunted with a old winchester full choke for years without problems, and it shot wonderful. But it is not recomended. In south minnesota we are restricted to shotguns only.

Be carefull...Dont ever shoot a slug out of a rifled barrel,unless it's a sabot.Also do not use ANY slugs in a shotgun that has a choke tube...It will blow-up the end of the barrel and could cause you harm.

Really? I didn't know that.

So if I take the Mod choke out of my 870 it will work fine with slugs, but not if it has the choke in?

He is wrong. They actually make rifled tubes so you can shoot sabot slugs out of a smooth bore. Or you can buy foster style rifled slugs and shoot them out of your smooth bore. Like mentioned before use the most open choke you have and don't expect rifle accuracy performance. Go shoot your gun at 50 yards and find out where you are hitting then go hunt. You will be fine.

Most slug ammo makers recommend using an improved cylinder choke for foster style rifled slugs. I have a break action single barrel 20ga with screw-in choke. Removed the modified choke and replaced with an improved cylinder choke and threw 18 rounds downrange with no incident earlier this month...other than a very sore shoulder as the shotgun weighs 5 lbs.

Don't shoot slugs without a choke installed, if it has a removable choke, as this may very well damage the threads near the muzzle.

Sabot slugs will not damage a smoothbore, just make sure you have a choke in place, preferably IC or rifled choke tube.

I hunted with a guy that had a choketube on his 12 gauge...It blew up the barrel and scared the bejeebers out of him.I wouldn't do it.That's all.

He probably had a very tight choke in. It is perfectly safe to shoot a foster slug out of a smoothbore with an IC choke (every slug box i've ever seen has RECOMMENDED it). Like others have said, if you want to use a sabot slug, get a rifled choke.

They make slug guns with rifled barrels for shooting slugs, so you are saying don't shoot a slug out of a rifled barrel????

dont shoot foster slugs out of a rifled barrel. You'd need sabot slugs.

Ok, I will be the jerk. You are going down the wrong road here. Shooting a a single shot smooth bore shot gun is basically like throwing a rock at the deer. You are never going to be that accurate. You owe it to the deer and yourself to know that when you pull the trigger that you will hit where you are aiming. Thrust me on this, I did that and missed the biggest buck that I have ever saw at maybe 15-20 yards many moons ago, not to mention a few wounded ones I have never found. One shot, one kill.

I would suggest that you get a cheap muzzleloader http://amzn.to/v7Mx0j with a scope. You will be able to drive tacks and learn to make one shot count.

If you are shooting a gun that you don't know if you are going to make the shot, then stay home until you get the right equipment, which doesn't cost that much.

Always equipment error when you miss and great skills when you hit. I'm sure plenty of people kill deer with single shot shotguns and I will too

The old single shots are good to 100 yards with foster slugs and smooth bore, but like everything else...praCtice. Now if you have a rifled barrel ONLY SHOOT SABOTS.
Shot my second deer with an old H&R single shot is 1973 with a 2 3/4 slug at about 70 yards. Dropped him deader than a door nail.
Now I have rifles, and a slug-gun, so whatever I shoot, they tend to die!!!!
But practice makes perfect!!!

Dont let em scare ya! All we were allowed to use in N.Y. was slugs for deer and believe me when i say u can out to 100yds with foster type slugs.

TO the OP there is alot of misinformation about shooting sulgs out there.

Most any slug can be shot through a smoothbore or rifled shotgun barrel.

For accuracy you are intended to shoot a

Rifled slug through a smooth bore with improved cylinder choke.

-or-

A sabot slug through a smoothbore with a rifled choke tube

-or-

a sabot slug through a rifled barrel.

I have shot rifled slugs through rifled barrel and sabot's through a smoothbore ipc choke and never had a problem. It isnt to say you cant do it, but best accuracy is achieve using as intended which is how I have stated it above acording to my results and what the ammo manufacturers recomend. Sabots slug in rifled barrel is most accurate for me.

matt

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What he said.