RMP
FNG
I live in eastern Virginia and the areas I hunt most frequently are shotgun only. A little farther west, and riles are allowed. But nearer my home its a shotgun-only affair.
I sometimes hunt with smooth bores and foster slugs, which can actually be very accurate. They're killers, too.. But its usually my Ithaca Model 37 with a 24" rifled barrel and fiber optic sights. The slugs I've been using have been Federal Premiums with the BRI-type hourglass shaped slug. The Ithaca would print 4" croups at 100 yards, which I don't think was too bad considering it had open sights and the front fiber optic nearly covered the target at 100 yards.
So now I'm down to my last couple of boxes of Federal and I've not been able to buy more anytime recently. I'm on every "notify me" list I can think of and I never get any notices for Federal sabot slugs. What has been regularly available is Hornady SST slugs. They have a .50 300 grain FTX bullet in a muzzle-loader-type sabot. Those slug step out at 2000 fps. So I accumulated a bunch of boxes before taking them out and shooting them in my Ithaca. When I did, the disappointment is hard to understate. I was getting 4" groups at 24 yards, and 12" groups at 100. The sabots were disconnecting erratically, sometime flying through the target at 25 yards. Other times hitting the ground a few yards in front of the muzzle. So now I was down to a couple of boxes of reliable Federals, and whole bunch of boxes of Hornadys.
Not for this reason, but rather because I've been wanting a bolt slug gun since I foolishly sold a Marlin 15 Slugmaster years ago, I bought a Savage 212 slug gun. I put an inexpensive Bushnell Prime 1-4X32 on it in Warne QD rings. I bought it based on reviews and recommendation, never actually having handled one. I am thoroughly impressed.
The stock has an aluminum chassis.
The rear of the action has aluminum and has a steel pillar.
I figured the bottom metal would be aluminum. It's not. It's all steel. Trigger guard, too.
All in all it seems every well put together.
I took it to the range yesterday to see what it would do with these atrocious Hornady slugs.
It only took minor adjustment to get the slugs pretty much shooting through one hole at 25 yards. It took me a few more to walk it around at 100 yards (right) to get to where I wanted it. Last shot before final adjustment is on the left target, the on the upper right. Then down 2 and over 1.5 and that's where it printed consistently for the rest of the day.
So it's consistently shooting a sub 2" group (pretty danged close to 1") at 100 yards.
Gotta a say, I never expected this from a shotgun. I've got scoped centerfire rifles that can't do this.
The only issue is that Hornady SST slugs don't cycle worth a damned in this gun. They shoot great. But don't cycle well. It's hard to tell from this pic, but several of these shell are out of round and it makes them hard to chamber. They'll go in, but you have to man handle them. I've cycled Federal and Remington shell through this gun and they cycle flawlessly. But these Hornadys are rough on the outside. But there's no denying they shoot like a charm once they're chambered.
The Savage, scope, rings and two extra magazines came in at way under $1,000. It's a keeper.
I sometimes hunt with smooth bores and foster slugs, which can actually be very accurate. They're killers, too.. But its usually my Ithaca Model 37 with a 24" rifled barrel and fiber optic sights. The slugs I've been using have been Federal Premiums with the BRI-type hourglass shaped slug. The Ithaca would print 4" croups at 100 yards, which I don't think was too bad considering it had open sights and the front fiber optic nearly covered the target at 100 yards.
So now I'm down to my last couple of boxes of Federal and I've not been able to buy more anytime recently. I'm on every "notify me" list I can think of and I never get any notices for Federal sabot slugs. What has been regularly available is Hornady SST slugs. They have a .50 300 grain FTX bullet in a muzzle-loader-type sabot. Those slug step out at 2000 fps. So I accumulated a bunch of boxes before taking them out and shooting them in my Ithaca. When I did, the disappointment is hard to understate. I was getting 4" groups at 24 yards, and 12" groups at 100. The sabots were disconnecting erratically, sometime flying through the target at 25 yards. Other times hitting the ground a few yards in front of the muzzle. So now I was down to a couple of boxes of reliable Federals, and whole bunch of boxes of Hornadys.
Not for this reason, but rather because I've been wanting a bolt slug gun since I foolishly sold a Marlin 15 Slugmaster years ago, I bought a Savage 212 slug gun. I put an inexpensive Bushnell Prime 1-4X32 on it in Warne QD rings. I bought it based on reviews and recommendation, never actually having handled one. I am thoroughly impressed.
The stock has an aluminum chassis.
The rear of the action has aluminum and has a steel pillar.
I figured the bottom metal would be aluminum. It's not. It's all steel. Trigger guard, too.
All in all it seems every well put together.
I took it to the range yesterday to see what it would do with these atrocious Hornady slugs.
It only took minor adjustment to get the slugs pretty much shooting through one hole at 25 yards. It took me a few more to walk it around at 100 yards (right) to get to where I wanted it. Last shot before final adjustment is on the left target, the on the upper right. Then down 2 and over 1.5 and that's where it printed consistently for the rest of the day.
So it's consistently shooting a sub 2" group (pretty danged close to 1") at 100 yards.
Gotta a say, I never expected this from a shotgun. I've got scoped centerfire rifles that can't do this.
The only issue is that Hornady SST slugs don't cycle worth a damned in this gun. They shoot great. But don't cycle well. It's hard to tell from this pic, but several of these shell are out of round and it makes them hard to chamber. They'll go in, but you have to man handle them. I've cycled Federal and Remington shell through this gun and they cycle flawlessly. But these Hornadys are rough on the outside. But there's no denying they shoot like a charm once they're chambered.
The Savage, scope, rings and two extra magazines came in at way under $1,000. It's a keeper.
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