Can I shoot slugs out of my New England break action shotty?

[Joey_the_Wolf]

Hi,

I was given a New England Firearms Pardner Model SB-1 single shot 12 gauge shotgun as a gift about 2 years ago. I love it and it's a handy gun to have. At the moment it's the only shotgun that I have, and I've put just about everything through it, except for slugs. Heh I even put one of those 3 inch magnum shells through it...once. That thing kicks like a mule

Well, here's the question. Someone told me that I should never fire slugs out of my break action shotgun because the barrel had a Modified Choke on it, and I can't shoot slugs out of a shot gun with a choke on it. I'm not much of a shotgun guy (I shoot mostly pistols and the occasional rifle) and I'm a fairly new shooter, so I don't know if that's true or not, which is why I wanted to ask here.

So is it safe to shoot slugs out of my shotgun or should I avoid that and stick to buckshot and birdshot?

 

[sm]

My Serious Shotgun is NEF Youth 20 gauge single shot with fixed Modified choke.
I prefer slugs - so that is what I use.

Shoots groups tighter than pair of tight fittin' jeans on a long legged Texas Gal, and just pisses off the low spark of high heeled boys...

That answer your question?

 

[Joey_the_Wolf]

Yup, thanks

 

[Zero_DgZ]

Foster style rifled slugs (that would be every rifled slug in current production for many years) can be fired out of a shotgun with any choke, all the way up to full. I've never heard of anyone doing it with one of those uber-full turkey chokes, but I imagine it could be done.

Foster style slugs are hollow and the skirt portion of them compresses and expands with pressure behind it to fit your barrel as it travels down. When it hits the choke (which is very minimal bore restriction in reality, even with a full choke) it will just squish down a little more. It might not do it evenly, which will lead to accuracy loss. Also, I have seen cheap Foster slugs come apart in more tightly choked guns and hit the target in two pieces, head and skirt. I've never witnessed or heard of a gun being damaged due to a slug through a choke.

Start messing with things like pumpkin balls (solid lead balls) or solid copper slugs or other nonsense and there may be trouble. Regular old rifled slugs, though, will be fine.

 

[SW1911PD]

Weatherby

Sorry for being a Newbie, but I take it then that Foster slugs will work OK in my Weatherby Semi-auto 2.75" 12-gauge smooth barreled shottie? I have no idea what choke it is, if any.

Any suggestions for an inexpensive make to start with?

Thanks

 

[foghornl]

Can I shoot slugs out of my New England break action shotty?

Yes, but with slugs it will be a serious thumper on both ends...
Never mind HOW I know...I just know
...Something about trying this with "Pops" old Savage 94B 16-Ga with the "Tenite" stock....a sort of synthetic stuff, waaaaay too light for a shotgun.

The plain lead rifled slug (Foster?? or is it Forster?? style) should give you decent accuracy. Sabot slugs won't work too well in this, because there is not any rifling in the barrel to spin the slug.

Some of the less-expensive slugs that come to mind...Rem "Sluggers", Winchester in the silver/grey box, PMC brand, and sometimes, with carefull shopping, the Brenneke "KO".

My shotgun (Maverick 88) prefers the PMC brand, followed very closely by the Brenneke "KO", and then the rest. Rem "Sluggers" are practically useless in MY shotty, but Your Mileage Will Vary. Buy a small box of as many brands as you can find locally, and test them out. When you find one that drops the tightest group, go buy a mess of them, preferably from the same lot number.

That is why I bought all 250 PMC's my local Gander Mountain had on the shelf a couple of years back.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Forster style slugs will work and have for decades. Various shotguns here like the Fed Classic and the Winchester 1 oz HP, but of course YMMV.

Get some 5 packs and bench test. Since there's no ineffective 12 gauge slugs, go with wahtever groups tightest.

You may also want to try the KO Brenekke. It's worked well in ALL 3 of my slug shooters.

 

[Zero_DgZ]

I always thought it was "Foster." Shows what I know.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Common mistake, Zero. Fuggetaboudit....