Savage 212 slug gun

[MJ1657]

I'm thinking of selling my Benelli Nova Slug gun and purchasing a 212.

Does anyone have one and how do you like it?

I should have posted this on the shooting forums. I'm going to post it over there.

[PurpleFloyd]

Nice looking gun. Hopefully it feeds better than my Marlin Slugmaster. In the end I tried the bolt action deal and ended up going back to my winchester ranger 12g pump.

[MJ1657]

Can you explain a little more what you didn't like about it PurpleFloyd?

[PurpleFloyd]

About the marlin?

The clips ( I have 2) didn't feed very reliably and it was rather bulky. I actually removed the stock and re profiled it considerably to make it fit me better and it does now but it still doesn't fit as well as my other shotguns do.

On the plus side it is accurate as heck. If I were to be sitting in a tree stand and if the area I hunted gave me the luxury of waiting for a deer to wander by and a scope would be of any benefit I would use the gun in a second. But we need to make drives in this area and the bolt action just ends up being a liability when I need a follow up shot.

[MJ1657]

Ok thanks.

Most of my hunting is from a stand over fields or openings in the woods. I have a scope on my Nova.

[trolloni]

Mj i purchased a 220 savage wich is a 20 gauge version of the 212 dont know about the 212 but i had to wait 4 weeks to get one, very hot item last fall put a leupold shotgun scope on it shot 6 differant brands of slugs through it, and went with federal 3 inch with the barnes bullet it is awesome out to 200 !super light easy to carry and got 2 deer with it 1st time out !i wouldnt say the bolt action is difficult just a little differant , didnt take much to get used to ,with the accuracy one shot is really all ya need !American made also out of a firearm icon !I have a sbe 11 with a benelli slug barrell and it is awesome but after missing a big buck that i was after for 3 years at 50 yds ill grab my little savage from now on!!

[MJ1657]

I was at Scheels saturday and he told me that the 220 was a hot seller last fall.

They had a 212 in stock when I was there.

[bigbucks]

I bought a 210, the old non clip 12 gauge version, last season. It shot well also with the 3" Federal Barnes Expanders. I killed 3 deer with it & then the bolt locked up on me, so I returned it. I'm planning to purchase a 212 sometime before deer season.

[someday]

My first rifled barrel shotgun was the marlin bolt action many years ago. I have killed many deer with it over the years, most at long distances 200 yds or better. All the deer were shot out in the open field. I agree the Marlin box magazine was junk but it could have been a single shot for the few times I had to take a second shot. I replaced the stock with a nylon and have tried several scopes, it now has a leupold. It is heavy and I only use it as a stand gun. I also liked the Federal 3in sabot at first the sabot would really grove into the rifling, but if the copper bullet didn't hit bone it would just poke a little hole straight through the deer with little shock value. That made for some long tracking jobs. I used to impress people by shooting pumpkins with it set 300 yds. out in the field. I remember I couldn't wait to get the Hornady H2k and thats all I've used in it since. The speed makes the trajectory flatter and the shock from the SST bullet usually drops them where they stand. I have a friend who hunts Wyoming every Fall, and sometimes their group has people who don't shoot much. He always tells me I can shoot that shotgun better than most of them shoot with rifles.

[PurpleFloyd]

That is some great shooting if you are taking out pumpkins at 300 yards. I will take shots out to 150 and if the situation was right I might try 200 but according to the Hornady ballistics calculator that bullet you are shooting drops 13.7 inches at 200 and over 52 inches at 300. I would absolutely need a rangefinder and a much better scope with mil dots to make that kind of shot on a consistent basis.

Input Variables

Firearm type Rifle Sight Height 1.5

Bullet Weight (grains) 250 Ballistic Coefficient .146

Muzzle Velocity (fps) 2000 Temperature 70

Barometric Pressure (hg) 29.53 Relative Humidity 78%

Zero Range (yards) 100 Wind Speed (mph) 0

Ballistics Table in Yards

250 gr., .146 B.C. www.hornady.com

Range (yards) Muzzle 50 100 200 300 400 500

Velocity (fps) 2000 1754 1532 1184 993 885 804

Energy (ft.-lb.) 2220 1708 1302 778 548 434 359

Trajectory(100 yd. zero)0.7 0.0 -13.7 -52.0 -123.4 -234.8

Come Up in MOA -1.3 0.0 6.5 16.6 29.5 44.8

[someday]

The terminal energy for pumpkins is way less than what is needed for deer and this was a ranged distance into a side hill. If you shoot often, have a steady rest, use a ballistic scope, and have a good idea of the distance the bullets elevation should be close. The problem with any sabot is if there is much crosswind before the sabot is shed, the angle of deflection can get huge with distance. I think the Hornady sabot is about the same as shooting 3 pellets of pyrodex. If you hunt shotgun from a stand where you can shoot 200 yds safely, use a ballistic scope and the right sabot with practice it's a pretty sure thing.