Bolt action shotguns- slug guns?

[45Badger]

Impending move to the Land of Lincoln has brought another harsh reality to my brain. If I'm gonna deer hunt there, I have to used a shotgun, muzzle-loader, or straight walled pistol cartridge. I'm all set, but looking for a good solution for Sam. He's got some fine motor skill impairment, so operating a pump or auto-loader is not a first choice. He's super accurate with a bolt rifle - one shot one kill

I'm considering a bolt action shotgun with rifled barrel. Anybody here use one- Marlin, Savage, Mossberg, other? What do you like? what could be improved?

[justinvan]

I have not personally used it myself, but have heard GREAT things about the Savage. The 3 people that I have spoke with say that the 20 gauge outperformed the 12 gauge and that the savage was a better gun at a better price than the Browning. Like I said this is not my own conclusion but it came from 3 seperate sources that I very much trust and respect.

[yuppiejr]

A Ruger 44 magnum bolt action 77/44 is another option, pair it up with some Hornady LeverEvolution and a quality 4x or low power variable scope for a handy brush gun within the limits stated.

[smurfman]

I found my Savage 220 to be very accurate with the Remington Accu-Tips and the Federal Tru-balls (even though the Tru-balls are meant for smooth bores). I have tried Federal sabots- the inexpensive line, the Hydra-Shok and the Barnes Expander, Hornady SST, Lightfield Hybreds, Remington Buck Hammer and all copper sabots, and the silver/grey Winchester Sabots with generally poor results. The Hornady were decent enough but not something I would want to count on at 100 yards. The rest tended to be a good 6" groups if not more.

I owned a Mossberg and a Marlin bolt action slug gun at one time too. Both were 12 ga and they were not around long. I could not find a slug which would group well in either of them much past 50 yards. I did not try everything on the market but I did try what was readily available at the time. As I could get better groups with the Beretta 390 with a slug barrel and the inexpensive Winchester sabots, I stuck with that.

I also owned a Browning A-Bolt for a while. It was very accurate but not any more so than the Savage I now have. I sold that gun when I was made an offer I couldn't refuse.

All that said, I think I would go with an inline muzzleloader if I had to do it over again. I don't do a lot of hunting in slug zones but do a fair bit of it during the muzzleloader season. That way I could use the same gun for multiple seasons. I can't believe I just wrote that- getting one gun for multiple seasons.

[goalie]

H&R handi in 44 mag would git er done.

[45Badger]

I wasn't specific enough on the "straight wall pistol cartridge". It's a handgun limited to a straight walled pistol cartridge. There are barrel length and cartridge length restrictions. Effectively limits you to .44 mag and smaller.

[RyanK]

I've used the Savage 12ga bolt gun for a few years and have had a very positive experience with it. 3in Barnes expanders seem to group best with this particular gun. It has been plenty accurate to take deer out to 125 yards for me. I think the trigger is better than most other slug guns as well. Not the most handsome looking and has a gigantic bolt throw, but I would absolutely deal with that and recommend one.

[RAGGED]

I have been hunting with my Bolt Action Savage 210F Slug Warrior for the past 4-5 years, it has served me very well. I tried most of the high quality Sabot slugs and found Hornadys 300gr SST to shoot best with mine, close second would be the Remington Accutips but I can normally get the SST’s for a bit less at fleet Farm, $8-9 for 5 which is reasonable for high end Sabots. My Savage did not like any of the Barnes bullets that Winchester and Federal use, even the blue pointed TTSX or whatever they are, shot horrible, like 3-4” groups. With the Hornadys I can easily throw a 5 shots into 2” group @ 100 yards, I’ve had many 3-4 shot groups that were much much less than that but I always seem to get a spoiler that opens it up to , might have something to do with the lack luster trigger on mine. The new Savages have the Accutrigger and it is light-years better than mine, my buddy has been hunting with a 20 ga Accutrigger Savage for the past few years and has been just as happy, very nice trigger and the recoil pad is also great, so great that I put one on mine, really takes the bite out.

I also see a bunch of them roll through during sight in days at the club and best I can tell they all seem to be shooters, easily the most accurate Slug setups I see, once in a while some guy will have something else that’s really dialed in but 99 out of 100 times most guys I see struggle to put 5 rounds into 5” @ 100yards, a feat that is pretty easy for these Savages. If you get it shooting really good with a particular ammo then you should easily be good out to 150 yards, I took a big buck at close to that this year and that 300gr SST anchored him wonderfully, he might have went 15 yards at most but like anything it all depends, 5 hours later I shot a small doe @ 30yds, perfect shot, completely took out the heart and most of the lungs, nothing but goop and wouldn’t you know it that little ***** ran 50 yards.

I don’t have any real complaints other than once and awhile I’ll forget to pull back on the bolt with some authority and the empty wont eject, it takes a nice tug to get that big ass plastic case to exit, have only ever had this happen when sighting in, so far haven’t needed any follow up shots while hunting, not that I’d get one anyways as shooting is done in lanes only.

I’m running a 2.5-10X Weaver Extreme, side focus, 50mm object lens, I happen to love this combo, 2.5 is plenty low for my needs and the 10 is nice for the longer shots and checking racks, low light performance of the 50mm glass is superb, a new Savage 212 with a similar scope would be mighty hard to beat for a killer slug gun……, but with all that said I’m looking to build an AR pistol in 6.8 SPC , just because I really miss hand loading the pills that make the kills, the switch has everything to do with that and nothing to do with lack of performance, the old trusty 210 will not be sold.