20 ga slugs

[WeedWacker]

I was wondering. If my sister, who is a phenominal shot with her 20 ga, used a 260 grain slug traveling at 1900 FPS would she be able to take a black bear?

Edit: Here is a pic of the slugs

 

[mikejonestkd]

heck ya!!!!

Keep the distance reasonable and have fun.

the 20 ga partition from win is one heck of a nice slug. more energy at the muzzle than many old timer rifle rounds.

 

[WeedWacker]

Asked a guid if he wanted me use a .30-30 or a 20ga with the Partitions and he said the rifle (we were hunting feral pigs) since he had dogs with (kinda dissapointing to me having the dogs). shot a hog from 15 yds in the ;eft shoulder. It embedded itself in the right side after passing through the lungs and heart (those suckers are dens. and it was only a 200 lb hog ). I think the 20 ga woulda gone thru

 

[mikejonestkd]

I would think that the penetration would be similar for a .30-30 and a 20 ga slug - all else being equal. Both will do the job nicely at moderate ranges and the .30-30 will be able to stretch the distance a bit further if you use modern loads like the new polymer tips loads.

Still, if she shoots a 20 ga well and has confidence in it then it should be her first choice.

 

[banditt007]

i'd use a full bore size 20 gaue slug not a sabot round. a sabot round to me is not as good as a rifle, and not allowing the shotgun to work to its full potential. 20 gauge brennekes is my vote.

 

[Greybeard]

Quote: "20 gauge brennekes is my vote."

Yep, mine too. Otherwise, avoid most conventional slugs, which are pretty soft lead.

 

[roy reali]

Re:weedwacker

You need a more effective pig gun. Switch to a pellet gun, they are deadly on hogs. Those 20 gauge slugs might hurt an innocent bystander when they ricochet off the hide.

 

[dfaugh]

A 260 grn. bullet/slug at 1900 fps WILL put a hurtin' on most anything in NA. (Note: I think this would put the muzzle energy about equal to a .35 Remington). I wouldn't hesitate to use it on Black Bear.

 

[MaineMan]

When a friend of mine went to Russia to do some forestry work in Siberia, he stayed in a small town on the edge of a huge forested area. They were in country inhabited by the Siberian version of the Brown Bear, just as huge and just as tough. He was invited to hunt with some of the men and when he joined the group they were armed mostly with 20 gauge double barrels shotguns with a few Mosin Nagants thrown in for good measure. He wasn't sure about the 20, but with all the bear fur hats and coats in the area and surrounded by folks a lot older and slower than him he felt he could do OK. Those Siberians shoot everything with 20 gauge slugs and Mosin Nagants. Those 20 gauge slugs you 're thinking of using will deck anything that walks, crawls, swims, flys or tries to get away from you. The first gun I bought my wife was a Remington 870 in 20 gauge with a box of Buckhammer slugs. There were jokes about a shotgun wedding, but we won't go there.

 

[Greybeard]

Quote: "A 260 grn. bullet/slug at 1900 fps"

Those numbers are quite close to those of .454 hand cannons - only with a bigger diameter. I'd just try to stay away from any slug with very soft lead that might fail to penetrate deeply enough.

 

[bswiv]

We've used the Hornady 20 ga sabots on hogs here in Florida. 250 grain bullet at a little less velocity than the Winchester. It is very effective. I've got a old .35 Rem that has taken a pile of game and the effect of the Hornady slug is as good, if not actually better due to the larger diameter of the bullet ( I think it's actually .44 diamiter. ).

The 200 grain .35s usually go through as do the Hornadys.

Now a 200 to 250 pound hog, no matter what anyone says, is not near as hard to kill as you might think but if the way the slug works on a animal that size is any indication I think a bear, at reasonable ranges, would be well within it's limits.