20ga effective range with a sabot slug?

chunks7mm

New member
what would the effective range be with a 20ga,rifled barrel 18.5" using a sabot slug....i want to buy a 20ga 870 with the rifled barrel for deer hunting.....would a 200 yard shot be effective?or stay in the limits of 100 yards?
 
I think it might have the energy but the more important question is: What can you hit ?
Check out manufacturers website for ballistics. I know Remington posts data.
Two days ago I was at the range trying out some Foster style slugs.
Very humbling experience. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
You will probably do better with the sabots but some time at the range is essential to find your limits.
Have fun.

PC

Edit PC
Check this ballistics info: Slug Ballistics
 
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usually the limit of shotgun slugs is the accuracy at distance.

What ever accuracy, or as stated earlier, what you can hit will determine how far you can shoot it.

Yes it will be effective out to 200 yds if you can hit it.
 
Stay with in 100 yards or less, look for comparison, a rifled slug 20 Ga has about the same range and effectivness as the early rifled muskets, just like a smooth bore shotgun with a slug is close to a smooth bore musket in effective range.
While the use of smokeless powder, and new slug designs has improved shot gun effective range, you are still launching a heavy projectile with a fairly low pressure round 1 OZ slug + 380 grains @ 1300 FPS aprox velocity. While a rifled barrel will impart spin to better stabilize the projectile it still don't really have the poop to get very far or to retain the needed energy when it gets there.
Figure a minimum 400 lbs/ft of energy at impact, to have a chance of stopping a deer sized animal effectivly.
 

I could be wrong, but the 100 yard range recommendations,
probably are in reference to Foster style "rifled" slugs,
and not sabot slugs, fired from a fully rifled barrel.
In a 20 gauge, the sabots are probably in the 45 to 50
caliber range. With a good match of sabot slug, in a
fully rifled barrel, and an experienced shooter, these
are plenty lethal out to 200 yards. I have shot scoped
12 ga. shotguns, with fully rifled barrels, shooting Remington
"Copper Solids" brand sabots, out to 200 yards, and held
a 4" group. I have a custom peep on my fully rifled
shotgun, for brushy forest shooting, and that does limit
me to 100 to 150 yards, accuracy wise, but with a good
set of optics, one should be good to 200 yards, with practice.

Squeeze
 
As of right now, I'm setting my max range at 160 yards with my 20g Ithaca DSII. I'm shooting under 5" groups at that range. I can't remember the exact numbers, but the 3" Federal Tipped Barnes Expanders that I'm shooting are still 900ft-lbs plus at 200 yards, but I haven't tried shooting at that range yet.

I highly doubt an 18.5" barrel is going to be effective out past 100 yards if even to 100. Muzzle velocity is really going to suffer with that short barrel, and the accuracy probably won't even be there anyway.
 
Your barrel length would not be a factor. The Federal loads in 20 gauge is very adequate for killing deer out to 150 and with a rifled shotgun barrel will hit deer kill zone at 200. So yes if you are restricted to a shotgun it will work with good shooting. I however would suggest you keep your shots out 125 yards and under.
 
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Your barrel length would not be a factor. The Federal loads in 20 gauge is very adequate for killing deer out to 150 and with a rifled shotgun barrel will hit deer kill zone at 200. So yes if you are restricted to a shotgun it will work with good shooting. I however would suggest you keep your shots out 125 yards and under.



Barrel length is definitely going to be a factor. Slug velocity is very much impacted by barrel length--slow burning powders. MFG stated velocities are with a 30" smooth bore. I'll probably see pretty close to mfg velocities with my 25" barrel, but an 18.5" barrel is going to see a big drop.

Also, why should I only shoot to 125 yards? I've practiced to 160 yards and can keep my groups inside of 5" at that range, so I see no reason to limit myself to 125 yards.
 
Being a long time shot gun shooter I beg to differ with you.

Longer shotgun barrels are generally best suited to hunting water fowl and sporting purposes, such as trap, skeet, and sporting clays. These longer barrels provide a longer sighting plane, which makes it easier to accurately aim the gun. This is because the sights are further apart along the length of the barrel, and it is more apparent when the sights are correctly or incorrectly aligned on the target, compared to a shorter barrel. Longer barrels also produce less noise and muzzle flash. This is because the pressure inside the barrel has dropped to lower levels by the time the projectile(s) exit the barrel. There is also less recoil on a gun with a longer barrel, since the added weight of the barrel reduces recoil.

Some people claim that longer barrels will result in increased muzzle velocity, but this is generally not the case. An 18 inch barrel is sufficiently long to allow the gun powder to burn and accelerate the projectile to its top speed, and for the pressure to drop to the point that using a longer barrel does not add velocity to the projectile. In fact, when shooting sabot slugs from a rifled barrel, excessive barrel length 26 inches or more could result in additional friction between the projectile and the barrel, reducing muzzle velocity.

It is great that you can place shots in a 5 inch group at 160 yards. That would correlate to about 8" at 200. For a humane kill I suggested under 125 yards. I did not say don't shoot beyond 125 yards, that would be the shooters decision.

It does seem you know all you need to know so you did not really want to have any other opinions. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

However the original poster wanted information on effectiveness of a 20 gauge. So that is what I tried to provide. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
I still don't understand why you're saying limit shots to 125 yards? The slugs I'm shooting have more than enough killing power to 200 yards (and beyond for that matter). And I'm only talking about shooting to the 160 yards that I have practiced to. 5" groups are more than good enough to kill a deer.

Your assumption that my groups would only grow to 8" at 200 yards kind of makes me wonder how much slug shooting you've actually done. Slug groups typically don't grow at a linear rate. From my experience, just about any gun will shoot
 
Remington Arms states their 20ga 2 3/4" 260 grain has a velocity of 1900 ft/sec. A muzzle loader with 150 gr. of powder and a 260 grain bullet would be close to the same on velocity and energy. Those are considered 200 yard guns but I would agree 125-150 is more realistic for a top end range without taking a chance of wounding a animal and losing it.
 
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