payhayokee Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 Hello everyone, I need some input.. I'm trying to decide to get a slug barrel for my Browning gold 3.5 or my Thompson encore.. I don't have any exp. with slugs.. Any help in terms of accuracy or anything else would be greatly appreaciated.. Thank's Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stcif Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 (edited) If you are going to buy a slug barrel you need to decide if you want to buy a rifled barrel or a smooth bore slug barrel. Rifled barrel is designed to shoot sabot style slugs and smooth bore shoot foster style rifled slugs. For example a 12 gauge rifled slug is about .73 caliber. A 12 gauge sabot is .50 caliber. The plastic sabot makes up the difference as that is what engages the rifling to impart spin on the slug, therefore making it more stabile in flight and more accurate. Shooting a rifled barrel will deliver better accuracy. The barrel and ammo cost considerably more than a smooth bore. If you want the most out of the gun accuracy wise I would buy a quality rifled barrel and try different brands of sabot slugs until you find one that shoots good. If you plan on short range slug shooting (under 50 yards) a smooth bore is fine. Actually a smooth bore may produce acceptable accuracy well past 50 yards, depending on many factors. The rifled foster style slugs are heavier and usually have more energy. Do not confuse a rifled slug and rifled barrel. They really are not meant for each other. Rifled slugs are for smooth bores. The rifling on a rifled slug also is not there to impart spin. It is there to basically fill the barrel. Hope this little bit helps. Any specific questions just ask. We can get much more in depth. Edited March 25, 2009 by stcif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
payhayokee Posted March 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Thanks stcif, Now what about barrel length?? The encore is a 28" barrel and the browning is a 22". What is your thought on that??? I want to be as accurate as possible as far as possible... I'm sure the encore will kick like a mule and give me only 1 shot @ a time.. The gold is heavy but I will have 5 shot's... What about the auto being less accurate?? Auto's usually are... Thank's Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stcif Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 A 28" barrel is a long barrel for slug shooting. I don't know how much more accurate if any it will be compared to the auto loader. In general auto loaders tend to be less accurate as I believe their lock-up design is less secure. I shoot a Remington 870 Wingmaster with a 22" Hastings rifled barrel and Lightfield Hybred EXP sabots. It is quite accurate. I've never even shot an Encore, but I know they are high quality as are Brownings. I'm assuming you are deer hunting. I would buy a rifled barrel for the Browning, top it with a quality shotgun scope (not crazy expensive) such as a Leupold or Nikon. I would then go out a buy a few different brand of sabots, such as Lightfields, Hornandy's or whatever and see what shoots best. I like having more that one shot in my shotgun while deer hunting. Keep in mind that accuracy may suffer shooting 3 inch shells as opposed to 2 3/4 with little ballistic advantages. Look the charts over well and shoot over a chronograph if possible. I am happy with 2 3/4 shells for what I do and I am not willing to have my shoulder pounded more for a few feet faster and maybe a few more foot pounds of energy. Not needed for what I do. What are your plans for this shotgun? What are you going to hunt and at what distances do you anticipate your shots to be? It will be easier to carry a shotgun with a 22" barrel through the woods than a 28" barrel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
payhayokee Posted April 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 Thank's again stcif, You are right.. I'm deer hunting,the places I hunt have alot of open land and I can shoot as far as I feel comfortable shooting.. I need the most flat shooting setup I can get. On another forum people have been talking up a 20ga barrel for the encore as being a flat shooter.. What do you think??? Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHISKEYSWAMP Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 Thank's again stcif, You are right.. I'm deer hunting,the places I hunt have alot of open land and I can shoot as far as I feel comfortable shooting.. I need the most flat shooting setup I can get. On another forum people have been talking up a 20ga barrel for the encore as being a flat shooter.. What do you think??? Joe I plan on buying a 20ga slug barrel for my encore sometime before next season... 20 gauge is more than enough to kill a deer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stcif Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 Thank's again stcif, You are right.. I'm deer hunting,the places I hunt have alot of open land and I can shoot as far as I feel comfortable shooting.. I need the most flat shooting setup I can get. On another forum people have been talking up a 20ga barrel for the encore as being a flat shooter.. What do you think??? Joe The ol' 20 gauge. We used to tease our hunting partner as he uses a 20 gauge for deer. In all these years I have yet to see him wound a deer and lose it. I have lost them with a 12 though. Two years ago I bought my son a 20 gauge 870 youth model. He loves it and so do I. As WHISKEYSWAMP said, a 20 gauge is more than enough for a deer. And pleasant to shoot. As for a 20 gauge being a flat shooter, compared to what? I don't really think of a shotgun 12 or 20 gauge as a flatshooter. I would say with a 20 gauge you are pushing it if you plan on shooting a deer much farther than 125 yards or so. Yes it will kill past that, but it pushes the limits and increases the odds of wounding an animal. That goes for the 12 gauge also. If you plan on shooting longer than that it will take a good deal of practice, and a good barrel bullet combo. Plus a good understanding of wind drift. It doesn't take much of a breeze to knock a slug off course several inches. Good luck and have fun. Do you really want to be limited to one shot with the Encore though? Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHISKEYSWAMP Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 Do you really want to be limited to one shot with the Encore though? Just curious. I primarily use my encore muzzle loader during our gun season... but would like to have the slug barrel just for ease of loading another round just in case another shot is needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
payhayokee Posted April 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 I'm thinking of a different gun alltogether... I can buy a Remington 870 slug gun off gunbroker new in the box for the same price as a barrel for either of my guns.. Then I will have more than 1 shot and a new gun to boot.. He who die's with the most guns WINS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Check out Remington's website there is a new 870 sps super slug in camo with a 1:35 twist barrel... NICE !!!! Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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