redsox3624

i'm hutning in maine where teh shots and close and i think i might just use my 12 gauge for deer. can anyone tell me what is the effective range of a slug for deer? i don't have a scope for it. any sugestions?

BOWHUNTERCOP

smooth bore with rifle sights= 75yds at the most

rifled barrel with rifle sights= maybe 100 yds at the most

bead sight= 50yds

mule1028

I think this is a little underestimated. With a rifled barrel and sights, with practice, I would not hesitate to shoot 125-150. 200 yds if he aint moving and looks big. With a scope 150-175 is a snap. But need good slugs and alot of trigger time.

johnch

With a scope or red dot a smooth bore with the right slug is good for 100 yds
With A scope or red dot a rifled barrel with the right slug is good for 150 yds
A bead barrel or vent rib barrel 50 yds MAX probely less
Iron sights with either smooth or rifled is 75 yds
I shot 10 -15 different brand or type of slug till I found the 1 that grouped for my barrel (every barrel shoots differently,so what shoots good in my gun may be bad in yours)
A slug will kill efectivly farther but you will not be able to put it in the kill zone

UncleNorby

Without knowing your exact setup its difficult to say. You may have a gun that will shoot to 75 yds, but my experience in Maine was that a 75 yd shot was a long one. 25 - 30 yds was more common. Just about any shotgun meant to shoot slugs will work fine for "short range" shooting. But even so, I prefer a rifle if I can use one. You may need to shoot through a tiny hole at 40 yds, and that's easier with a rifle than a shotgun.