I am out here in CA where slug guns are not very popular. I don't know much about slug guns. I just bought a H&R Ultra Slug hunter and am hoping to shoot it accurately out to 200 yards. We will see when I start shooting it. I plan on shooting top quality slugs like the Light Fields. I would like to ask some of you guys back east what scopes are you using on your shotguns, that have some way to account for the trajectory of slugs, and what is working best for you= dialing a turret, BDC reticle, or mil dot scope.
Slug Gun Scope Help
- Thread starter benlow
- Start date
CJ6
Silver $$ Contributor
Slugs vary so much in velocity/trajectory that there is no way a BDC scope will match all loads,at some point they will intersect but not necessarily at 50,100,150 or whatever yds the BDC says).Buy a Burris,Nikon,Leupold in 1x to 4x and practice with it ALLOT. 4+ inches of eye relief is HIGHLY recommended. 20 shots of the new HIGH END sabot-ed stuff will run you close to 80 BUCKS,no pun intended) that might get you sighted in. Now if your shoulder is still good 
set down and practice with another 20-30 rounds:cry:A 300WBY has nothing on a 12ga 3 1/2' Lightfield 1 1/4oz. slug,RECOIL WISE.All that being said I do it every fall
or with a pistol/rifle........BTW I have 3 old Burris 1x plex scopes on my slug guns.I shoot both eyes open and no chance of a scope eyebrow.
set down and practice with another 20-30 rounds:cry:A 300WBY has nothing on a 12ga 3 1/2' Lightfield 1 1/4oz. slug,RECOIL WISE.All that being said I do it every fall or with a pistol/rifle........BTW I have 3 old Burris 1x plex scopes on my slug guns.I shoot both eyes open and no chance of a scope eyebrow.That is why I am asking. I know I should probably just dial a turret for longer shots, but I really don't want to spend a $1000.00 for a scope that is going on a gun that I will use very little. We have just a few area's here that are shotgun slug or archery only. I was thinking it might work ok if I just bought the Nikon Slug Hunter Scope and case of slugs and went out and shot it to see where they hit at and went from there. I realize that it might not be 100, 150, & 200. It might be 100 140 170 or what ever.
CJ6
Silver $$ Contributor
I'm not familiar with that particular Nikon.But like I said make sure you have at least 4 inches of eye relief. I have several hunting buds that have Nikon and Leupold's priced between $150-350 and no complaints at all. I think I paid about $170 ea. for the old Burris's new when I got them. All 3 companies list shotgun/muzzeloader specific in their catalogs. Keep the magnification low in the 1-4 power range and you should be fine. good luck.......BTW I use the Lightfield Commanders in my guns,although I believe the new Hornaday and Winchester loads shoot a bit flatter. At $3.50-4.00 a shot their,Horn. WIN.) a bit pricey and the Commanders do group better in my guns,so no need to spend the extra cash.
Gman
Gold $$ Contributor
I have a Simmons Whitetail Classic shotgun scope. It is a straight 2 power, with a 32mm objective lens. It has a Pro Diamond reticle in it.,crosshairs with a small square/diamond centered) It was mounted on a Remington 11-87, with a smooth bore slug barrel/screw in choke tubes, that I used for spring gobbler,with shotshell/turkey tube), and I used 3' slugs for whitetail deer.,rifled tube) I know that this is a very cheap scope.,I paid $80 for it 6 years ago) But I must say that it served its purpose well, as I killed a couple of gobbler and deer with it. It never lost point of impact while shooting slugs at 50 yards, or patterning Remington 3' Duplex 4x6 shot at 40 yards. I no longer use this scope, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. If you are interested I will sell it to you for $40, and I'll pay for shipping.
pdog06
Gold $$ Contributor
I can only use a shotgun where I hunt deer. For years I used a Nikon Monarch 1.5-4.5x20 scope, and it worked flawlessly. The only problem I had was on longer shots I wasnt confident enough holding it freehand in the kill zone. I have a spot where 200yd shots are very possible,dont wanna shoot that far, but he could be BIG
). So I replaced my scope with a Nikon Pro-Staff 3-9x40 with a nikoplex reticle. I have had zero problems with itand it is a very clear and durable scope for the price of it,$150).
You wont need to 'dial' your scope for long range. You'll only shoot 200yds max with a shotgun, and I have always zeroed mine at 100 and know whether I need to aim at the top of his back for 200 or 3' low for 50yd shots. Not that hard to remember.
If you use the Hornady SST's they tell you to zero the gun at 150yds. I tried them this past year and did just that. They shoot great in my gun,Remmy 870 w/ 26' Hastings barrel)and I havent had a deer get away yet. Actually it tears them up pretty good.
Of course I put on a bigger scope last year for long shots, but then shot my buck at a whopping 15 yards
. Needless to say he didnt go anywhere but down.
Good luck in your choice.
). So I replaced my scope with a Nikon Pro-Staff 3-9x40 with a nikoplex reticle. I have had zero problems with itand it is a very clear and durable scope for the price of it,$150).You wont need to 'dial' your scope for long range. You'll only shoot 200yds max with a shotgun, and I have always zeroed mine at 100 and know whether I need to aim at the top of his back for 200 or 3' low for 50yd shots. Not that hard to remember.
If you use the Hornady SST's they tell you to zero the gun at 150yds. I tried them this past year and did just that. They shoot great in my gun,Remmy 870 w/ 26' Hastings barrel)and I havent had a deer get away yet. Actually it tears them up pretty good.
Of course I put on a bigger scope last year for long shots, but then shot my buck at a whopping 15 yards
. Needless to say he didnt go anywhere but down.Good luck in your choice.
Well I went with the Nikon Slughunter scope and shot out to 150 yards last weekend shooting Hornady 300 grain SST's. The hornady's shoot too flat for the reticle in the scope. I was going to try and set it up different this weekend and shoot to 200 but the wind is blowing 30 mph here today. I will have to wait. I am definatly good to 150. Real happy with the accuracy of this little gun. It kicks like a mean mule though.
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