Are rifled choke tubes any good?

It’s common knowledge that rifled slugs are meant for use in smoothbore shotgun barrels, while rifled shotgun barrels and rifled choke tubes are meant to produce better results (meaning better accuracy) with sabot slugs, whose smooth outer surface can better engage the barrel’s rifling.

Can you shoot rifled slug through smooth bore?

Yep, that’s what rifled slugs are designed for. The sabot slugs are for rifled barrel shotguns. As stated, rifled Foster slugs are meant for smoothbore barrels.

What happens if you shoot slugs through a smooth bore?

Your gun won’t explode if you end up shooting sabot slugs out of a smooth bore barrel or, vice versa, if you shoot rifled slugs out of a rifled barrel. It just won’t be accurate.

Can you shoot sabots smooth bore shotgun?

Shooting sabot slugs through a smooth bore is a waste of money. They will “work” but accuracy suffers and there is no reason to spend the extra money for sabot slugs if you are going to shoot them through a smooth bore. Besides, if they are not flying straight and nose-first, they will not expand as designed.

How accurate are rifled slugs in a smooth bore?

Your expected range of accuracy for any box of slugs you grab in a store should be about 50 yards. This is an average range for the typical field gun with a smooth barrel and bead sight, shooting any brand of ammunition picked at random.

What slugs do you use in a smoothbore shotgun?

In almost all cases, you should only use rifled slugs in smoothbore barrels. If you have a rifled shotgun barrel, you’re going to want sabot slugs.

What’s the best slug for smooth bore shotgun?

Designed for smooth-bore barrels, Hornady® American Whitetail® Rifled Slugs are loaded with a 1-ounce foster style slug. The hollow point style slug features a tough, lead alloy core loaded to 1,600 feet per second. The compression style wad protects the slug at ignition and helps to seal the bore for maximum velocity.

How accurate are rifled slugs in a smooth barrel?

Can you shoot Foster slugs in a rifled barrel?

Foster slugs can be fired through a rifled barrel, and hunters who shoot rifled slugs through their rifled barrels claim to get good to excellent results. However, the lead fouling can be severe, and requires more frequent cleaning to maintain the level of accuracy.

What is the maximum range of a 12 gauge slug?

A slug also becomes increasingly inaccurate with distance; out to 100 yards, it drops approximately five inches and has a maximum range of approximately 400 yards. In contrast, centerfire projectiles from rifles can travel miles. Shotgun slugs are best suited for uses over short ranges.

How accurate is a smooth bore shotgun with a slug?

Bottom line: out to 80 yards or so, the right slug in a smoothbore gun gives you more than enough accuracy and power for whitetails. *some online readers may be surprised to learn that there is a print edition of Field & Stream. It actually predates this website by, oh, 100 years or so.

Are rifled choke tubes really that bad?

Obviously, such theoretical problems with rifled choke tubes must not be as big an issue as the detractors claim. If they were, rifled tubes probably wouldn’t sell well enough for major firearms and accessory manufacturers to justify their continued production.

Are there rifled choke tubes available for sabot rounds?

There are rifled choke tubes available for sabot rounds but I’ve never used one. Cylinder or Improved Cylinder are the way to go with rifled slugs, don’t shoot them through a Modified or Full choke especially in fixed choke configurations.

Can you shoot a full choke barrel on a pistol?

It isn’t so much that you can’t shoot them from a full choke barrel but from modern threaded full choke barrels…You have a cylinder bore to which you add a threaded constriction device but if you don’t use any tube the threads get exposed and then they get filled with the gunk of passing wads etc. and maybe they’ll plug the barrel sufficiently t…

What is the best barrel for a smoothbore?

Every barrel is different, but for smoothbore I have had good luck with the base model federals. Breneke slugs are also excellent. Rifled slugs are also called fostner slugs.