Will I damage a 12 ga. improved cylinder shotgun if I fire slugs through it?
September 6th, 2010 by eranio
I have a 12 ga. remington 1100 shotgun that I’ll be deer hunting with this season. I need to know if I need a rifled slug barrel or can I use my improved cylinder barrel.
Posted in remington shotguns
September 6th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Rifled Foster type slugs are fine in the IC barrel.
Sabot slugs need to be fired through a rifled barrel or rifled choke tube for stability.
September 6th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Your Remington 1100 can perfectly accept slugs with no problem…. They are usually referred to as foster type slugs or rifled slugs…..
The nice thing about improved cylinder barrels is they can shoot trap loads, bird shot, game loads, buckshot and slugs…….
Some shotgun slug info…..
http://www.chuckhawks.com/shotgun_slugs.htm
http://www.chuckhawks.com/more_slug_guns.htm
September 6th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Manufacturers recommend you ONLY shoot rifled slugs from a smooth bore shotgun using improved cylinder ONLY choke for best accuracy and so you don’t damage your shotgun barrel.* You do not have to or need a rifled slug barrel.* What you have will work just fine without getting a rifled barrel.*
September 6th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
You will be fine.Use the type of slug that doesn’t have a sabot. Practice with different types and remember it is a short range proposition. 50 yards or so. Maybe less.
September 6th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Most factory made slugs are designed to be fired out of any barrel unless you have what is called a super full choke that is made for turkey hunting.
Shotgun Slugs
By Chuck Hawks
The first shotgun "slugs" were probably round, lead "pumpkin balls." These were common projectiles for muskets and shotguns–any sort of smooth bore long arm–for a long time. Unfortunately, the accuracy of a lead ball fired from a smooth bore barrel is pretty sad. Hitting the target is problematical and precise bullet placement is nearly impossible except at very close range. Also, a lead ball has a very poor sectional density (SD), and consequently poor penetration. There had to be a better way.
The answer, of course, was the rifled barrel. Imparting spin to a projectile to stabilize its flight was a quantum improvement in accuracy. Rifled barrels also made possible the conical bullet, and later the familiar spitzer (pointed) bullets used by most hunters today.
But demand remained for some sort of solid projectile that could be fired from a smoothbore gun and used on medium game like deer. Some one-gun families did not own, and could not afford to buy, a rifle. What was needed was an improvement on the lead ball, both in terms of accuracy and penetration.
Foster type rifled slugs
The eventual solution to this problem was the Foster "rifled" slug. This is a short, blunt lead bullet that is solid in front and hollow in the rear, analogous to a badminton bird. And, like a shuttlecock, it is its weight forward balance that allows the Foster slug to fly through the air to its target with reasonable accuracy. Compared to lead balls, this was a big improvement in both accuracy and SD.
Heavy external "rifling" was cast into these Foster type slugs, allegedly to allow the air they flew through to impart a slow spin that would help stabilize the slug. Like most something for nothing schemes, the rifling proved ineffective, but it did provide some space for some compression if the slug had to squeeze through a tight choke. The name "rifled slug" stuck and is still in widespread use today.
Rifled slugs are offered by most of the major ammunition makers in a variety of shotgun gauges, including 12, 16, 20, and .410 bore. They used to be made under bore diameter to allow safe passage through any degree of choke, from full to cylinder. Cylinder bore guns are usually recommended for shooting slugs, but in some cases a full or modified choke barrel will give better accuracy with the undersize slugs.
This may not always hold true these days, however, as Remington advertises that their "Slugger" rifled slugs are made oversize for better sealing against the barrel wall and superior accuracy. Compared to rifle bullets, whose diameter is held to very strict tolerances, Foster type slugs are made to rather haphazard dimensions that vary from one manufacturer to another.
The use of slugs is best confined to single barrel shotguns, either single shot or repeaters. Double guns tend to crossfire with slugs due to the regulation of the barrels.
A smoothbore "slug gun" with rifle sights will usually shoot groups in the 3" (6 MOA) range at 50 yards/meters, making them satisfactory deer hunting weapons at short range. An occasional example will do better, and some do worse. Their effective deer hunting range is limted by their accuracy, but the slug itself is dangerous to other hunters at far greater distances, an important point to keep in mind.
September 6th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
should be okay
September 6th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Shouldn’t hurt the cylinder, but slugs can be hard on the barrel.
September 6th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
The imp-cyl barrel is fine with regular slugs. If you want to shoot sabot slugs, i recommend the rifled barrel, this can increase your useable range to 100 yards of so.