20 Ga. Slugs

[EMSFlyer]

My wife is intending to use slugs in her Rem 870 20ga smoothbore when we go hog hunting. My question is, would this be enough to take a hog in the 150 lbs and below class, at 50yds or less? I intend to mount a red dot on it once I get the appropriate mount, but I just want to make sure her shotgun has enough umph before I go through the trouble. Thanks!

 

[SFHOGWILD]

EMS, This is out of a Outdoor Life Forum and I have never used a 20 gauge slug but heres what a 20 gauge hunter had to say in Outdoor Life Journal,"At 1:30 PM, 10/17/2006, Taylor said:a 20 gauge is Plenty good for deer. You shouldn't have to worry. I Shot a 250 pound 9 point scoring at 165 from 75 yards away with a sawed off 20 gauge shotgun. So I know 20 gauges will do the trick. I have shot 8 or 9 deer with a 20 gauge. " Hope it helps, let us know how it went. I hope applesauce becomes a side dish at your table soon....

 

[larrysogla]

EMSFlyer,
Nic Barca of Hawaii uses a 3" 20 gauge Magnum Remington Model 870 with good results on Hawaiin feral pigs and goats. The Hawaiin feral pigs are smaller than some of the bigger Mainland feral pigs. The bigger Hawaiin feral pigs that I see posted at JHO run around 200+ lbs. Some of the bigger Mainland feral pigs I see posted at JHO run 500+ lbs. The Winchester ammunition website lists the 3" Magnum 20 gauge as having 2,359 ft. lbs. of Impact Energy at the muzzle and 1,208 ft. lbs. of Impact Energy at 50 yds. So if your wife could use the 3" Magnum 20 gauge slugs, then if it was my gun I would feel confident in knockingdown a 200 lb. or less wild pig at 50 yds. or less. I could put my 2 3/4" 12 gauge rifled slugs inside a letter size paper at 100 yds. with just using the bird gun barrel with just a bead front sight. Using a luminescent open sight from Viz-glo??? and a benchrest I could make 3 shot 4 inch groups at 100 yds. with the rifled slugs and the smooth bore bird barrel. Those shotgun slugs have good stopping power at close ranges. Much better than squeaky calibers. God Bless, good buddy.

 

[Speckmisser]

That 20 ga will do great as long as she manages the range and puts it where it belongs. It'll make a pretty good thump on just about anything you hit.

 

[Redneck75]

The 20 guage is more than enough to drop most any hog if the ranges are kept within reason. Just like anything else...shot placement is key. No gun will give you a good clean kill with a misplaced shot. Hell, I watched a guy get a 1-shot kill on a moose with a .410 slug so a pig with a 20 shouldn't be a problem at all.

 

[EMSFlyer]

Thanks guys!

I sort of thought it might be enough, but I wanted to consult you guys to verify--I've heard conflicting information. As for my wife's accuracy, she's pretty sharp when it comes to shooting, but with the single bead on the 870, it kind of throws her off and she's not as consistent even within 50yds. With you guys' blessings, I did a search for scope mounts and found some very affordable ones for her 870. I think adding a red dot would help her tremendously, not to mention she'll be that much more equiped for turkey season, and her groups should tighten up to a reasonable spread at 50yds (and maybe just a bit more). I'll probably order the mount after the Holidays and have her start hitting the range after the upland season ends.

I really appreciate the tips!

 

[Nic Barca]

Oh yeah, 20 guage slugs kill'em no problem at all! My gun has a three inch magazine but my slugs are 2 1/2". Seems like everything I hit with shotgun slugs either makes it 10 yards on average or drops on the spot depending on where hit. It's all up close too, except for a 70 yard shot on a goat which ran 20 feet. It's a good up close round and doesn't do a whole heck of a lot of meat damage in my experience.

 

[larrysogla]

At close ranges, the shotgun slug is tops in knockdown power. Hit 'em in the the shoulder, armpit, ribs, boiler room and the shotgun slug does a marvelous job. A short barreled shotgun loaded with slugs is the thing to take when wading through the brush searching for a wounded boar that escaped into the thickets. It can and it will STOP a charge when the fan hits the ceiling. That is why when we hunted with Frank Morasci his assistant Keck was carrying a short barreled shotgun loaded with slugs for going after wounded boars lost in the thickets. 'Nuff said.

 

[boarcrz]

 

[hogwild757]

Shot placement is the the key to any weapon used to harvest an animal ethically. My wife uses a remington 20 gauge 1100 and I put a Hastings rifled slug barrel on it. She gets 1 1/2 groups at 75 yards.

 

[hntnnut]

No problem at all your looking at about the equivelent of a 444 Marlin shooting 240 gr. slugs.


Richard