Slug Guns For Deer hunting

As mentioned in this blog previously I have taken the larger percentage of all my whitetails with 12 gauge slug guns. I started hunting deer at 16 and have only missed a couple of years since then when I served in the US Navy from July 1965 to August of 1968. I was 17 when I joined the Navy out of high school and got an early out for college in the fall of 1968. I was what the Navy called a Kiddie Cruiser.

In any event from then until NYS approved rifles in most counties including the ones I hunt in, most of my deer had been taken with either 12 Ga shotguns or .50 Caliber muzzle loaders or archery gear. Even today where I hunt the most, I would NOT feel disadvantaged by using my Ithaca Storm Model 12 Gauge which is a dedicated slug gun and does not take a replaceable barrel for bird hunting. I had the stock shortened to fit me and a trigger job done by the gunsmiths at Ithaca Gun and the barrel pinned to the receiver.  At the time of my purchase they were operating out of King Ferry, NY not far from where I live. On the original Ithaca Deer Slayer model was I believe a straight cylinder bore which was designed for FOSTER SLUGS. That gun wore an OLD Weaver K2.5 scope. My Deer Slayer II Storm model with the trigger job and other changes was designed for the newer saboted rifle slugs. That gun wears a 2X7X32 Mueller Red Dot rifle scope.

The earlier model Deer Slayer made a few 100 yard plus shots, however for the most part deer were taken under 85 yards and the foster slugs worked fine for many years. Prior to the development of the saboted rifled slug, we didn't know any better, so we used what we had.

If you are either forced by hunting regulations to use slugs, or choose to do so, you should consider a dedicated slug gun and use the more accurate saboted slugs. While it is certainly possible to use a Remington 870 with a slug barrel for deer and then switch barrels to use during bird season, rabbit season, turkey season or to hunt ducks etc., you will NOT obtain your best accuracy with such a set up.

The primary reason is that a dedicated slug gun will likely have the rifled barrel pinned to the receiver, a trigger job done (or an after market trigger kit) and a quality scope on board. That means your down range slugs will hold a group on the target as opposed to a pattern. My current set up is entirely capable of calling your shots out to 150 yards which handles 95% of N/E woods and farm field hunting. Being a 12 gauge pump makes follow up shots fast in case they are needed.

I still have a supply of Federal copper saboted slugs on hand should I decide to break mine out of the safe for a whitetail or baited bear hunt.

Something to think about!

Dan