Sabot slugs for 870 express fully rifled cantilever barrel?

[TroutYammer]

Hello. I am having a hard time finding sabots that shoot well out of my new barrel. It seems that the larger, slower slugs shoot really well but that the lighter,faster slugs don't group very well. Anybody having any luck shooting the lighter (300-390gr) faster (1700-2000fps) sabots?? I would love to set this gun up for a fast/light sabot but so far only having luck with 1-1.25oz sabots with slower velocity (1300-1450fps).

Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

[PurpleFloyd]

Slug guns are a fickle bunch. Much of it has to do with the length of barrel and the twist rate,which is similar to rifles. But I believe the lower velocities of slugs distort our expectations of what they should do.

What types have you tried?

[candiru]

Is it a Hastings barrel by chance? I used to have one of those and it did not shoot anything well. I like Cabelas return policies.

I currently shoot the 23" heavy contour Remington barrel on my 870 and am happy with it and Hornady SST slugs.

[96trigger]

What slugs have tried? I like hornady sst's. I have used partition golds with good succes. I have a new hastings cantilever mount for my beretta, the guy Ibought it from says it shoots the remingtons the best so Iwill have to pick up some of those. I have also heard good things about lightfield's and the federals. What type of groups are you looking at/for? Are you shooting from a bench? 2 3/4 or 3 inch, all of this makes a difference. I have found 2 3/4 to give the most consistent groups. You have to find the sabot for your gun and barrel, but once you do,they are money.

[pike79]

I have a hastings barrel and shoot winchester super X 3in and they group great. This year I might try the hornady's because of performance and cheaper.

[TroutYammer]

I have tried these with very good results (sub 1" groups at 50 Yards):

Remington Premier Copper Solid 1oz

LightField Hybred EXP 1.25 oz

Winchester BRI (XRS12) 1oz

I have tried these and got very bad results (all over the target at 50-yards):

Winchester Super Elite XP3 300gr

Federal Vital Shok Barnes Expander 328gr

I would like to shoot the lighter/faster slugs because they shoot flatter and stay supersonic longer...but so far having no success with the flatter shooting light/fast slugs.

My next test will be with Winchester Partition Gold 385gr sabots. They are a little heavier and a littel slower than the other fast slugs I have tested. Hopefully this will work. Otherwise I have to go back and sigh in with the 1OZz+ sabots that move slower and don't shoot quite as flat.

I'll let ya know the results!

[TroutYammer]

Hate to be whining but with a $20 range fee and the sabots at about $13.00 per 5-pack I've got almost $150 into this little experiment and I still ain't sighted in yet!

[TroutYammer]

The barrel I have is a brand new Model 870 Remington Super Slug Deer Barrel with a cantilever scope mount. It came with an inexpensive 2 X 7 32mm scope but I replaced the scope with a nice Leupold VariX-II 2-7 power scope.

[candiru]

I do have a Leupold 2x7 shotgun scope on mine. The fault I found with the scope was that I had to shoot it to move the crosshairs after making an adjustment. I would make the adjustment and the recoil of the gun finished the job. It took a couple of trips to the range to figure this one out because I was always one shot behind. It seemed to help if I "tapped" on the scope or gently "dropped" the stock on the bench with the barrel in the air.

I also had my trigger adjusted by a place called accuracy speaks That made the trigger much more crisp and rifle like compared to what it was.

[PurpleFloyd]

I know the trend in slugs is smaller and lighter,and if you intend on regularly taking deer or bear at ranges in excess of 110-120 yards that is a good way to go, but some years back I came across a little company in Georgia called Polywad. They make a segmented slug called Quik Shok and I have found it to be devastating on deer.

The slug is 68 caliber instead of 50 caliber and it is scored so that it breaks into 3 separate petals upon penetration and they make a tremendous amount of internal damage when they hit the vitals. Since switching to them I find that deer rarely go anywhere after being introduced properly to these slugs.

I have 2 shotguns with rifled barrels and one shoots them very well while the other one doesn't like them as well. They are only about 1.30 a round.

[TroutYammer]

OK Folks! I went to Bill's Gun Range again tonight and now have a clear set of winners for MY Remington 870 Express with the Remington Cantilever Barrel. Here is the listing (works for my gun...may be radically different with your gun):

50-Yard Range Results benched down:

Lighter Sabots with Faster Velocity:

Winchester Partition Gold (SSP12) 385gr 1725MuzzleVelociy; .75" Grouping

Heavier Sabots with Slower Velocity:

Remington Premier Copper Solid 1.00oz 1450MuzzleVelociy; 1.00" Grouping

LightField Hybred EXP 1.25oz 1450MuzzleVelociy; 1.25" Grouping

So after 3-nights at the range (spread out over three weeks), 50-rounds, a very sore shoulder and an empty checkbook I will now go buy a bunch of Winchester Partition Gold (SSP12) and finish sighting in the gun!

And I appreciate the input from all! Especially the idea of taking the gun in and getting the trigger worked over. I don't think I will be able to get any tighter grouping without some trigger work.

Thank You and Good Shooting

-TroutYammer

[picksbigwagon]

.75" groups with a 12 ga. slug at 50 yards? Looks like you are done sighting in.....I used to shoot the partition golds with my 870 but I switched to the hornady sst's because they were cheaper and group just as nicely.....

.75" at 50 yards is definitely Minute of Deer accurate out to 100 yards and depending on where you are slug hunting, you might not ever get a shot out to 100yds

[TroutYammer]

picksbigwagon: "Minute of Deer Accuracy" LOL!!! That is too funny! I almost spit a mouth full of coffee on the keyboard when I read that!

In the old days smooth bore days we were happy when we could knock a 5-quart icecream pail off a fence post at 50-yards. We thought that was pretty good shooting and good enough for deer hunting.

Now that I have the gun pretty well dialed on the bench I want to shoot a few more rounds without the bench and see just how bad my free hand really is!! I am sure that will increase an inch or two to my groups at 50-yards!

[96trigger]

I am with Picks on the SST's, I shot the partition golds and switched to the SST's for cost. I do love the hornady's, I have also found that the hornady's and the partition golds shot very similar out of my guns.

[candiru]

Maybe I am just having a run luck, but I am impressed with the number of deer that the Hornady SST's have dropped in their tracks.

[SCORE]

Partition Gold's would be my choice. I usually buy in bulk when Fleet Farm has them on sale, otherwise they can get spendy.

However, Once sighted in, it's hopefully just one shot, along with checking it yearly to make sure the scope didn't get bumped.

[Mr Special]

i shot the Hornady SST when they first came out and experienced complete pass tru shoots on game w/o much damage, entry and exit holes were similar size. i did a write up on it a few yrs bak.

i now use the Partition Golds and love them. ive nvr have had a deer go far, if at all with them

here's a slug i hit a deer last yr at 80yrds, quartering away from me. it entered left side, tru chest cavity, broke front right shoulder and stopped just under the hide.

Hornady SST were very fast n accurate, i even thought about not switching since the bullet went exactly were i wanted it to hit, but that was before they implemented the FlexTip. however, the FlewTip's are supposed to have better expansion and more tissue damage then the first SST's.

ive thought about switching back, but its hard to leave a good round and i have 11boxes of partition golds left. lol

i do the same as you SCORE, when they are on sale at FF, buy them up. plus they're apart of the same batch. different batches can affect performance as well

i think u will be happy with the Partition golds

[96trigger]

The only reason I switched from partition golds to SST's was the price. 3 boxes of SST's for about the same price as two partition golds. I have experienced the SST pass through, but I have had more get dropped in their tracks. I would definitely consider going back to the partition golds if their price drops, which it might with their new XP3 slugs out. I do prefer the partition golds over the XP3, even though they are cheaper. Partition Golds are darn good sabots.

[walleyewess]

I love remington accu tip bonded sabot slugs... they are the only thing I shoot. At fifty yards I was shooting a little bit less then .5" groups. But the down side they are around $10 a box, but in my mind they are worth it.

[Whoaru99]

Is it a Hastings barrel by chance? I used to have one of those and it did not shoot anything well. I like Cabelas return policies.

I currently shoot the 23" heavy contour Remington barrel on my 870 and am happy with it and Hornady SST slugs.

I have one of the Hastings barrels and for me none of the fast, light sabot slugs shoot all that well out of it. I think the rate of twist is too slow for optimum performance.

Picked up a about a dozen boxes of Hastings "Laser Accurate" sabots some years back and those do shoot to my satisfaction.

Hastings is gone or no longer makes ammunition, anyway. Maybe both. That said, Rottweil looks to be making them now with allegedly with the same formula.

I understand it matter not to you anymore, but perhaps someone else reading may want to give them a try. Also, never did try the Lightfield slugs out of the Hastings barrel but I think those are more similar to the Hastings than they are to the light, fast ones so they might do OK as well.