Shotgun sabot testing...

shot many different sabots when testing my TC Encore 20gauge, the one it liked best was Lightfield Hybred Expanders, there pricey at 17.99 a box and are hard to find in the 20gauge but they are what my particular gun likes best, every gun definitely has a mind of its own. On a side note if anybody shoots a 20guage and shoots hornady sst's, shoot me a pm, i have a bunch of boxes sitting around--shed

I have also had issues with the Hornady SSTs. Slugs and muzzleloader. That said the SSTs seem to be accurate in most guns. I also like the partition golds. Only drawback is they don't expand much but have been very accurate. But they are .475 caliber which is a plenty big enough hole.

Personally I like the Winchester Partition Golds the best. They have been accurate in my previous slug gun (Remington 1100) and current T/C Encore. However for accuracy, the Hornady SST was the most accurate in the Encore. Just not a fan of that particular bullet after having issues using it in the muzzleloader. I know it's a whole different animal but they failed to expand at all. Luckily I was still able to recover those deer. The Partition Golds aren't cheap but they sure pack a heck of a punch and put 'em down.

Hornady is great and they're cheaper then the Remington. Haven't tried the Winchester so I don't have an opinion there. Federal also makes a Sabot. I would recommend Hornady, but I'm kind of a Fanboy for their ammo.

Sorry to say but there is no surefire way to save any money, unless you get lucky and find one of the three you buy holds a good grouping. If you're hoping that someone has the same gun as you and recommends Brand X, don't pay attention to it! Brand X may or may not be the one that YOUR GUN LIKES. Just remember this much: start @25 yards with each brand,then 50, then 100. You'll have to adust the scope at each distance. You may be surprised at what you see.

You may not even find the BEST slug this year. You may find one that is acceptable but there are always more to try. It took me years to find one that I truly would trust every time.

Best of luck!

Tim

I just bought a new 12 guage mossberg 500 pump with a riffled cantilevered barrel and bushnell scope. I'm going this weekend to pick up 3 different kinds of sabots. Just wanted to here everyones thought on my setup and what you guys would recomend for slugs. I know this can be pricey and im hopeing to get some feedback to save a little money. I was thinking about trying hornity, remington copper solids, and maybe winchester? Any thoughts?

The only reason I tried the 3" is because the Lightfield website stated they have a little flatter trajectory. I've had luck with the Lightfields in the past but was always looking for the flattest, fastest ammo I could shoot. Unfortunately, what I have found is my barrel doesn't like the fast stuff to much!

Mike, thanks for the advice on the Rem. ammo. I actually had excellent accuracy with their Accu-Tip sabots 2 or 3 years back, but the next year when I bought more boxes my 100yrd groups where 8-10" at best.

There really is no need for a 3" (or 3 1/2"!) slug, IMO. I noticed that you said recoil was A LOT from the 3" you tested. As a point of reference, I once cut open two Remington Sluggers. (yeah, they're not Sabots but you'll see where this goes.) One was a 2 3/4" and one a 3". Upon review, they each, of course, had a 1 0z. slug. Identical. Same "wad", same powder in each. However, upon weighing the powder from each the 2 3/4" had about 32 grains. About standard for a game load shotgun shell. The 3" had 48 grains! Half again as much powder! That really surprised me. Of course, I knew they would be the same expect for powder amounts but what will that extra 50% of powder in a 3" slug get you, besides a very sore shoulder? I can't believe it will get you any more range. Good luck on your testing. You're off to a good start!

Tim

Thanks for all the advice to everyone. I finally got around to doing a little testing. Here's what I found:

Target was on a 4ft x 4ft piece of cardboard set at 100 yards. I took the best three shots I could squeeeeeze off with each brand of ammo. I tried four different ammo brands this weekend.

1. Lightfield 2 3/4 hybreds - 3.25" group, 2 touching (solid recoil)

2. Rem. Copper Solids 2 3/4" - 2.0" group, 2 touching (lightest recoil)

3. Win. BRI Sabots 2 3/4" - 14" group (sabots where tearing sideways holes in the paper)

4. Lightfield 3" Hybred - 3.25" group, 2 under 1" (recoil... A LOT!!!)

So far that's what I got. Now I plan to thoroughly clean the gun and eventually get back to the range to test a few more brands.

I'll keep you posted.

also you can have a trigger job done on shotguns for about 60 bucks my 11-87 has a super crisp 4lb pull from what was a gritty creepy los of slack 10lbs the gunsmith at AK'S TRADING POST did wonders on mine shoots like a rifle now

the ammo manufactorers will change powder primers etc etc from time to time so you may have to shop for new sabot or slugs they just do it for econonomic reasons and don't tell anyone scews us over but thats the way it is.

I have tried several different slugs for deer hunting out of my Remington 870 with a Mossberg rifled barrel (ported) and cantilevered scope. After several hundred dollars seeing what slugs this gun liked the best, i found that the Hornady SST's were the best and able to keep a decent group at 100 yds. This is truely what I feel is the maximum effective range for this gun, and if I know there may be a longer shot required, I am generally bringing the smokepole along as well, as that is far more accurate over 100 yds. Just nice to have more than 1 shot if needed!!!

My whole family shoots Rem 870 w/ rifled barrels and scopes. We shot the BRI slugs till it was bought out by Winchester. The BRI manufactured slug shot better but the Winchester slugs shoot very well too. We all have mid-priced scopes so nothing ultra fancy. The best purchased we have made is a lead sled, also pay attention to your trigger pull. Video tape yourself or have somebody watch you shoot, you maybe surprised. But some barrels just don't shoot, may just be a barrel. Good luck.

Winchester Supreme Partion Gold 3" shoot good out of my 695. Haven't shot a deer with this slug yet, so I cannot tell you how they perform terminally.

Anyone have any words of wisdom for finding a decent slug for a Mossberg 695 bolt action slug gun ?