Is 00 buck shot in a 12 gauge shotgun sufficient for hog hunting, or do I need to use slugs?
by admin on Friday, January 22nd, 2010 | 10 Comments
If I have to use slugs, do I have to have a rifled barrel for the shotgun, and if not how will this affect the slugs accuracy?
You should use slugs. If you have to shoot one in the head, 00 will not do a darn thing. (Not to mention a clean shot) use a slug. I have never had a problem with accuracy with a slug in my 12 gauge. (Winchester 1300 turkey gun)
12 ga loaded with OOBK is sufficient for hog hunting, but it is a close in load. A slug (rifled slug) will let you reach out father and also create a large wound channel.
00 buck at ranges less then 30 yards should be fine, but a slug will work better.
if you have a removable choke, use a improved cylinder choke and use rifled slugs, their meant for smoothbore shotguns and are accurate out to 75-100 yards.
also use a improved cylinder choke with the buckshot too, only way it’ll effectively work..
Forget buckshot, hogs a thick critters that are not easy to kill. I hunt hogs with a 12 guage on a regular basis and I dont load anything but rifled slugs. Rifled slugs wont be quite as accurate out of a smooth bore as regular slugs will be out of a rifled barrel but they will be plenty accurate for hog hunting.
Yes, it is enough. I would use slugs, you don’t have to have a rifled barrel just a choke open or improved cylinder.
I wouldn’t choose to ‘try on’ a big hog with buckshot.
Spreads too much at a distance, and I wouldn’t want to get
that close for it to be effective.
Buckshot are good but can injure other hogs not an ethical kill but slugs it will tear it up and should drop where it’s standing and i was using rifled slugs with a smoth bore barrel.The impact hole was big enough to fit my 30 yrs old fist so u can guess it.
For most of the history of slugs, there was no such thing as a rifled shotgun barrel. The rifled barrel and the sabot slug are really quite recent compared to the Foster slug in a smoothbore, and especially compared to the original Brenneke slug, which dates back to 1898.
If you have a double, I’d suggest putting buck in the right and a slug in the left barrel. For meat hunting, you’ll prefer sows and shoats, and shot should do you well. If you’re likely to aggravate a large boar, you’ll have the slug for safety. If you have only one barrel, no matter the action, I’d suggest sticking with the slugs only.
Slugs will give you accuracy at range where 00 buck will require close in shots. As others have stated it 00 buck may kill the boar, but there a higher chance of wounding it than with a slug.
use the slugs. The maximum effective range on the buckshot on a hog is literally point blank. Those slugs will knock him A$$ over elbows out to 100 yards if you practice. As for rifled/unrifled: for best accuracy, use a rifled slug barrel, but then using buckshot or lead shot in it dosn’t not work out very well. On the other hand, I prefer to use an unrifled 20″ barrel with modified choke and slugs in a sabot (jacket) these slugs/sabots are rifled and do impart enough twist to the projectile to make it acceptably accurate out to 100 yards. I’ve used them on some darn big hogs, bears, deer and even elk. Others have used them on buffalo, grizzly bears etc, and even used in Africa. Plus, without changing barrels, you can switch back to buckshot, or bird shot at any time.
shoot safe