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how far wiill a slug kill a deer?

29K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  Model12fan 
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#1 ·
Hey all,
I just wanted to know how far a 12 ga. 2 3/4 rifled slug would be lethal on a deer. Also, what range should I sight in my sights for? Last, has anybody ever had any experience with the hi-viz triangular sight system? Does moving the rear sight fowards and backwards along the rib really change the elevation?

Thanks
 
#2 ·
A 2 3/4 slug will probably be good out to 75-100 yards. Adjusting the rear sight will change the point of impact. Simply move the rear sight in the direction that you want the bullet to strike. -Matt Latham
 
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#3 ·
Using a Remington 11-87 and a 3 x 9 scope and using Winchester 2 3/4" Partition Gold slug I had two guys in my party kill deer over 200 yards with one shot. We used a range finder on one of them and it was 235 yards. I don't reccommend taking a shot like that with a slug unless you have had plenty of practice at the range at that distance.
 
#4 ·
My Father routinely takes deer at 50- 100 yards with iron sites with his Remington 870. Uses 1 ounce slugs in a 2 3/4" hull that I load for him. Dad sites in 4" high at 75 yards. On paper at the range that puts him on target from barrel out to about 150 yards. His longest shot was 137 yards (with rangefinder). It hit about 4" lower than where he aimed. VERY easy to get the range- deer (large 7 point buck) dropped exactly in its tracks!
 
#5 ·
Hey, this really depends on what equipment you have and how much you practice with it.I dont like to go past 50 yrds. because thats where I can hit what I aim at. Ive seen scoped weapons with practiced folks shooting them that can routinly kill way past 100. A 12 or 20 slug has enough energy to drop a 125 pound white tail out way past that.The Hammer man
 
#6 ·
This answer to the original question depends on the specific load. Generally, saboted slugs (designed to fired through a rifled barrel) carry somewhat more downrange energy than Foster slugs (which people erroneously refer to as "rifled slugs".) This is due to several factors - velocity, projectile mass and projectile aerodynamics (ballistic coefficient) - being the major factors. The general rule for a clean, one-shot kill on a deer - sized animal is about 900 ft-lbs of retained energy at the point of impact.
Most saboted slugs (commercially loaded) carry at least this amount of energy out to approx. 125-150 yds. Most Foster slugs, however, only have this amount out to about 100 yds. This does NOT mean, however, that these slugs will be lethal to a deer ONLY to those ranges ! There are TONS of exceptions - such as the 235 yd. shot mentioned by someone in a previous post. Unfortunately, the question has NO absolute answer. For myself, (as I think it a matter of common sense), I consider 125 yds for sabot slugs and 100 yds for Foster slugs as maximum distances - for practical considerations. Actually, in fact, as I shoot Foster slugs through a smoothbore barrel - I use 70 yds as a practical maximum for these - but this is due to accuracy considerations.
 
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#7 ·
How far will a shotgun slug kill a deer?

A .357 Magnum usually generates 535 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle with a 158 grain bullet.

Most fish and game depts require that a viable big game cartridge be able to generate 1000 foot pounds of energy at 100 yards.

Depending on what 'slug load' you choose and use, when does that load fall to 500-1000 foot-pounds of energy?

If you can hit them that far, that's how far you can kill a deer!

The short answer however, is up to 200 yards if your shotgun can group as tight at 3-4 inches at 100 yards with the right load your gun happens to like. Of course it would help to have a scoped, fully rifled-barrel like a cantelever Remington or Hastings as well.
 
#8 ·
This is no B.S. story... back in the early 90's when Remington first came out with the copper solid (2 3/4") , I went and bought a fully rifled barrel for my 1187 and sighted them in. Shot 1 - 2" at 75 yards. The next week I had a shot at a nice 8 point that I knew wasn't going to get any closer... I estimated it at 125 - 150 yards. I aimed 12" above his front shoulder and let one go. All I saw in my scope (after I flinched) was the buck made a slight hump in his back and he was off running... I watched him enter in a thicket and I assumed for some reason that I missed :cry: ... I walked up there and there he was standing there trying to catch his breathe. :shock: I sat down and waited him out... after 15 mintues he got up and started walking towards a pretty good sized crick (5' deep, 20' wide) so I finished him off. The first slug went into the little spot of short hair right in his "arm pit". After I gutted him that slug was just 1 - 2" into his lung (went between the ribs) and was not expanded at all. I walked that shot off at 151 large steps (so 150 yards +) I would say that slug was maxed out on that shot. Now I shoot a Benelli SBE 24" barrel w/ 3" Federal Barnes expanders. I would think this slug would do much better and just as accurate. :wink:
 
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