Slugs

[michaelchica]

I have a 12ga with a screw in choke, do I remove it to shoot slugs or just make it as open as possible?

[phill]

Cylinder bore or as open as possible. If you can find one they make a rifled choke. Near as I cam tell out to fifty yards there is little effective difference between the fancy slugs and the old rifled slugs.

[michaelchica]

Cylinder bore or as open as possible. If you can find one they make a rifled choke. Near as I cam tell out to fifty yards there is little effective difference between the fancy slugs and the old rifled slugs.

Cylinder bore? What's that? Open as possible meaning as tight as possible or as loose as possible? I am really new to shotguns. It's a side by side.

[badfish314]

You need to leave a choke in the barrel. Try an improved cylinder choke for the slugs.

[cLion]

From the federal ammo webpage:

Choke: Constriction in the shotgun's muzzle is referred to as choke. The level of constriction affects how wide a shot gun pattern spreads out.
Slug: A shotgun slug is a single projectile or bullet that can be loaded in shotshells. There are two main types of slug:
• Rifled or “Foster Slug” like the Tru-Ball® designed for smoothbore shotguns
• Sabot slug like Barnes Expander® designed for fully rifled barrels

you have a smooth bore shotgun. ONLY use slugs compatible with smooth bore.

An open choke vs. tight choke refers to the diameter of the barrel at the muzzle. the amount of 'constriction'
an open choke gives you a wider diameter(less constriction). a tight choke gives you a smaller diameter at the muzzle (more constriction).

in regards to birdshot:
open chokes let the shot spread out quickly at close distances, while tight chokes restrict the shot from expanding as rapidly thus giving you a tighter pattern at longer distances.

with shotguns, 'cylinder' refers to the barrel, 'bore' is the diameter of any barrel.
so, 'cylinder bore' means that choke tube has no constriction on it. the diameter at the muzzle is equal to the diameter of the cylinder (barrel). cylinder bore is the most open choke you can get for your shotgun.

in order of most open to most tight chokes, we have:
cylinder
skeet
improved cylinder
modified
improved modified
full
extra-full//turkey

hope that helps some!
ETA: as far as what choke to use, i would see the box or manufacturer's website for detailed information.

[bogey1]

how about this, i have a rifled slug barrel, can i use riffled slugs in it or should i ust the standard pumpkinball slugs?

[ruggerio]

in my full choked ithaca mod. #37 riot gun, in haste und in an unexpected combat situation fired two 1.0 oz slugs at a moving target. one through the corner of the passenger side window into and through the dash of a early 80's full sized chevy that went into the door on the opposite side but not through it and the second shot went through the door ,a seat and exited through the floor of the car. fired at the car from approx. 65-75 yds. the only negative was i knocked the original brass bead off the top of the muzzle.
did the lead constrict to fit through?
are slugs made to the lowest common denominator, i e: full choke?

BTW. i really miss that brass bead, can it be replaced with another of a larger tap size? i assume the treads were destroyed or stripped when the original was ejected

[Feddog82]

how about this, i have a rifled slug barrel, can i use riffled slugs in it or should i ust the standard pumpkinball slugs?

Neither of those are you best option, you should use sabot slugs to get the maximum performance out of your fully rifled barrel.

[bogey1]

Neither of those are you best option, you should use sabot slugs to get the maximum performance out of your fully rifled barrel.

thanks. a friend of mine said the same thing, i just wanted to double check...

[cms81586]

My Benelli M4 came with a modified choke from the factory and it's intended to be used with slugs. They lead a little be after 50 or so rounds but no ill effects. I've seen slugs shot though full choke barrels and the worst that happens is the bead is tore off or the choke tube is ruined...depending on the thickness of that particular barrel. Slugs are pretty soft and will deform to fit if needed. Not sure if I'd want to try it out of a extra full choke though. You'd probably shoot the choke tube right out of the muzzle and strip the threads as well.

CMS