Deer Slug Gun - 12ga. vs 20 ga.

Been hunting deer the past few years with a borrowed slug gun and now want to get my own set up.

I have two guns I can convert a 12 ga. 870 or a 20 ga. 1100. To be fitted with a Leupold scope. I like to use the 20 ga. Set it up with the scope and use it only for this purpose and let it be. It's only purpose as I don't hunt anything else with it.

But .. some guys say to use the 12ga. Better knockdown and longer range.

Any thoughts ?

Unless you are VERY recoil sensitive or limiting yourself to shorter range shots, go with the 12 gauge. The ballistics are much better.

The 20ga. will do just fine. Just use 3' mags and limit your shots to 100 yards. The Federal Premium slugs with Barnes sabots hold over 1000 foot pounds of energy at 100 yards but energy drops off fast after that. With the 12ga. you would perhaps add another 40 yards in range, but if your hunting in the woods most shots are taken at less then 70 yards.

I've used both setups you are thinking about and both work fine. If you are truly going to dedicate one of the guns to slug only, you may want to consider having a gunsmith pin the barrel. This permanentely mounts the barrel to the receiver and will give you better accuracy. You can also use shims if you don't want permanentely mount the barrel to the receiver.

Good luck,

Any slug is a lot of lead to get hit with. Question is, can you get a rifled barrel with the 20ga?. I wouldn't worry too much about recoil as I always say 'there is no recoil if you don't miss'. Layne

I would go with a 20 ga. with Sabots they are very accurate to 100+ yds. and most 20 ga. guns are lighter to carry around all day while hunting. I used a 20 ga. for years until it was stolen and now use a SS XP 100 and a 45 cal. muzzleloader only.

go with the 12GA - it will be a much, MUCH better choice. Slug gun is a short-range proposition - why hinder yourself with less gun? Plus, it is easier to get 12GA slugs. If you stick with smoothbore barrel I'd say go with some of those Brenneke K.O. slugs, by Kent. They're cheap, and they work just great.

I have never used anything except a twelve in slugs. However I do note that anyone, (including me) that hunts for very long with slugs tends to go with the longer skinnier slugs like the BRI Sabot. You already have the frontal area so mushrooming is moot. What you need is penetration. I have seen deer get away from a very close shoulder shot with Foster style slugs, and with some of the ridiculous hollow point affairs available. At slug velocity, and against hair and bone, it is more like being hit with a bat than shot.

Patrick, While I agree many modern slugs seem to be favoring unneeded expansion at the cost of complete penetration, please describe in great detail the deer you've seen get away when shot in the shoulder with a 12 ga Foster-type slug. Good hunting! Michael

Hunted with 870 w/slug barrel for years until I changed to a 30-30. Highly recommend the 12ga. If you go with a smooth bore you can use foster style as well as Brenneke slugs, and where legal, with Buck-shot its one hell of a close range or swamp gun. as for a scope, if you are looking at less than 100yds I think a dot sight is a good way to go. It gives you fast target acquisition in any situation.

That's my take anyway.

Both are probably limited to 100 yards. The accuracy of most 870's with a slug barrel doesn't allow for much further. Trajectories will be very comparable. But with a rifled barrel and sabot slugs, the 20 gauge has plenty of power out to 100 yards, even a bit further with Partition Gold slugs.

Michael Courtney