Shotgun Non-rifle WMU Hunting Implement Preference

[dbHunterNY]

I'm thinking about going east into state of Mass to hunt deer on public land with some others. Never hunted there but lots of public land on this side of the state to hunt deer but it's shotgun or muzzleloader only. no straight walled rifles or handguns. 

So for those of you hunting shotgun WMU's here in NY.... what's your preference for a firearm? Shotgun that allows for a follow up shot or muzzleloader? i don't have a shotgun with a rifled bore but do have a muzzleloader.

[phade]

H&R Ultra Slug in. 20g preferably. Or, Savage 220. They’re the top of the list IMO. 

Expensive though.

Ive never found a mass produced slug gun I like beyond those two.

[Wildcat]

I have owned a Savage 220 for a long time.  Amazingly accurate slug gun..   you can't go wrong with buying one.

[G-man]

Used muzzleloader here for years when it was shotgun only.  My shotgun of choice is a browning bps with rifled choke tube and brenneke rotwèil ( original ) slugs  topped with a red.dot sight.

[mowin]

Guess it depends on how often you plan on hunting there or other shotgun/ML areas. Is it going to be often enough to make it worth the expense? Your current ML might make more sense.  

But, who hasn't purchased another gun just because we could, lol.

[Moho81]

Before rifle I used a 12ga Remington 1100 with a rifled barrel and a non powered red dot. Never had an issue and my longest shot was 120 yards. 

[The Back 40]

For regular season i hunt almost exclusively with a Mossberg 535 Tactical Turkey with a rifled cantilevered barrel and a Nikon ProStaff 2x7 (now the 500 Tactical Turkey). I use 300 grain sabot slugs and it is accurate to over 100 yds.

I started with a remington 870 with the same style barrel and scope but I prefer the grip and adjustable stock on the Mossberg. Now the 870 is a "loaner" for friends and family who visit.

[The Back 40]

51 minutes ago, phade said:

H&R Ultra Slug in. 20g preferably. Or, Savage 220. They’re the top of the list IMO. 

Expensive though.

Ive never found a mass produced slug gun I like beyond those two.

I have my BIL's H&R Ultra Slug in 12ga. They are heavy but very accurate. he used it to take countless deer and a black bear down in the southern tier.

[Bucksnbows]

Living in a shotgun/muzzleloader only state, stick with the smoke pole. Longer range, less recoil and likely better accuracy. Ask yourself how many follow up shots you’ve successfully taken at deer. Also, if you buy a new slug gun, you have to try numerous brands of sabots and many are very hard to find. As more states go to straightwalled cartridges, sabot slugs are becoming harder to find. 

Edited October 30, 2023 by Bucksnbows

[Dinsdale]

Unless you want a new gun, I’d just take the muzzleloader. 

Before I bought a Savage 220; for years I used an inline and tagged out many of those  years; once I would have really liked a quick second shot to take a second deer after the first. I dont seem to need many second shots into an animal, they’re pretty much all done with one. YMMV

But the 220 is ridiculous accurate for what it is…..Like 3 shots touching at a 100 yds accurate. Magazine is kinda so-so, but serviceable.

Ammos not too bad to find, 20ga sabots tend to be a bit pricey for some; i dont buy anything based on ammo price though; its the cheapest part of a hunt.

[Buckmaster7600]

I hunt there regularly and carry a shotgun. 870 20ga pinned cantaliever barrel. If you have an 870 I have a 12ga ruffled barrel your welcome to borrow.

[Dinsdale]

Another thought…..

Depending on the shotgun you own you could find a cantilever rifled barrel as an option. With many going to rifle, theres a couple floating around used at modest prices.

Personally I have zero interest in a 12 ga anything slug gun though; the advantage to the sabot 20ga is the 250gr  or so bullet at modest speed so it has a low recoil.

[ATbuckhunter]

I use a muzzleloader during the LI shotgun season. More accurate and less recoil than a shotgun. Only thing that sucks is the smoke for those couple seconds. 

[Wolc123]

My preference changes depending on where and when I’m hunting, the weather, and how many tags I have.  
 

If I have more than one tag, and the temperature is not supposed to get much below freezing, then I usually go with my Marlin 512 with 2-7x Redfield Revolution scope.  That holds (3) shots, cycles smooth, and packs about double the wallop at 100 yards as my 50 cal ML and is equally accurate.  

My longest kill with that was 163 yards but the effective range is likely 175-200 yards.  It did cost me two does in freezing conditions though, when the firing pin stuck.  Ive since then disassembled, cleaned it, and applied CLP, but I still don’t trust it in extreme cold conditions.  

If I’m down to one tag, I generally go with my T/C Omega with 2-7 Redfield low-pro scope.  I use a 240 gr xtp bullet and (2) 50 gr T7 pellets.  The effective range on that is about 125 yards, beyond which it runs a little low on energy.  I’d probably push it to 150 on broadside deer.  
 

Don’t forget to use a finger condom on the muzzle in the rain or snow if you use a ML.  A doe owes her life to my forgetting that during the Buffalo Christmas blizzard last year.  

Before I picked up the Marlin bolt action, that ML was my main gun and I’d bring along my Rem 870 12 ga with short open-site smoothbore barrel to my stand for backup, if I had multiple tags.  
 

The best thing about rifled slugs, compared to sabots, is that they cost less than 1/4 as much.  They also get the job done better at short range most of the time, giving better blood trails.  
 

My go to gun, if the temp is below freezing and I have multiple tags, is my smoothbore Ithaca 16 ga featherlight with 1-1/2 Weaver scope.  It’s also my hardest recoiling gun but I never notice that on deer.  It has an effective range of about 75 yards, but my longest hit with it was about 125.  I had to run that buck down though and finish it with a neck shot.  
 

I generally try to pick my spots now, when using it, such that the expected range will be under 75 yards.  I bought a bunch of Remington sluggers for it ,for $ 1.00 per box, about 15 years ago so the ammo cost is nill.  
 

They still work well (this one didn’t quite make it thru the exit side of this buck back in 21), and it fell out of the hide while I was skinning him.  
I tried a Hastings cantilever scope mount barrel on my 870 pump, for a few years, but it never got remotely close to the long range accuracy of my Marlin 512 bolt action with drilled receiver mount.  
 

One of those might suffice inside of 100 yards, but then you’d probably be better off with a smoothbore and the 1/4 cost foster slugs.  

Edited October 30, 2023 by Wolc123

[cj3a]

Ithaca model 37 is a nice deer shotgun with the rifle barrel.