Posted: 2/11/2025 11:04:27 PM EDT
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Next year my 14 y/o daughter wants to go deer hunting with me. The land that I hunt on is owned by a relative who only allows shotgun hunting. I figured a 20 ga would probably be the best choice considering. Do you guys have any good suggestions for a decently priced gun? I'd prefer something with a rifled barrel if possible but the only thing I've found that fits the bill so far is one of the Mossberg bantams. TIA |
Joined:
Apr 2024
Posts:
1953
EE: 100% (4)
SD, USA
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If you are looking to buy new, then the Savage 220 is about the only thing you need to consider. It's reasonably priced, stock easily adjustable, and one of the most accurate slug guns ever produced. It's a bolt action, not the best feeding in the world either, but they work good enough. You can buy rifled barrels for most common pump actions like Mossberg 500's or Remington 870's, and yes, the rifled barrels are more accurate than the smooth bores. Still, they are not as accurate as a fixed barrel slug gun like a Savage 220. There's so much variability in shotguns, and you can read some of my work in the armory section. The general findings of mine are is a smooth bore with decent slugs can average under 4" 5-shot groups at 50 yards, a really good slug can average 3", and sometimes slightly under 5-shot groups at 50 yards. This can even be improved on with a fixed barrel smooth bore, but those are rare nowadays unless you build one yourself. A rifled barrel pump/semi with removable barrel, you about double your range. You can average 5" 5-shot groups at 100 yards with good slugs. With a really good slug you can get to 4". With purpose built slug guns like the Savage 220 or H&R USH can get into the 3" range, but I have never been able to get a slug to group 25 shots in 5-shot groups under 3" at 100 yards. I say there is so much variability, because some barrels, and some slugs just don't shoot. It's not uncommon for a slug gun, even a good one, to group one slug 4" at 100 yards, and another slug 12"+ at 100 yards. Some barrels are hardly more accurate than a smooth bore, if at all. It seems very rare a Savage 220 is not very accurate. Some of the most consistently accurate slugs I have tested in rifled barrels have been Winchester BRI, Federal Powershok Sabot, and Remington Accutip. |
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Originally Posted By fgshoot: If you are looking to buy new, then the Savage 220 is about the only thing you need to consider. It's reasonably priced, stock easily adjustable, and one of the most accurate slug guns ever produced. It's a bolt action, not the best feeding in the world either, but they work good enough. You can buy rifled barrels for most common pump actions like Mossberg 500's or Remington 870's, and yes, the rifled barrels are more accurate than the smooth bores. Still, they are not as accurate as a fixed barrel slug gun like a Savage 220. There's so much variability in shotguns, and you can read some of my work in the armory section. The general findings of mine are is a smooth bore with decent slugs can average under 4" 5-shot groups at 50 yards, a really good slug can average 3", and sometimes slightly under 5-shot groups at 50 yards. This can even be improved on with a fixed barrel smooth bore, but those are rare nowadays unless you build one yourself. A rifled barrel pump/semi with removable barrel, you about double your range. You can average 5" 5-shot groups at 100 yards with good slugs. With a really good slug you can get to 4". With purpose built slug guns like the Savage 220 or H&R USH can get into the 3" range, but I have never been able to get a slug to group 25 shots in 5-shot groups under 3" at 100 yards. I say there is so much variability, because some barrels, and some slugs just don't shoot. It's not uncommon for a slug gun, even a good one, to group one slug 4" at 100 yards, and another slug 12"+ at 100 yards. Some barrels are hardly more accurate than a smooth bore, if at all. It seems very rare a Savage 220 is not very accurate. Some of the most consistently accurate slugs I have tested in rifled barrels have been Winchester BRI, Federal Powershok Sabot, and Remington Accutip. Thanks. For reference I hunt the same property with a mossy 500 12ga, I use the Remington accutips and find they give me the best accuracy. Like you mentioned I tried using the Hornady sabot slugs at one point and my accuracy was very inconsistent. Looks like the savage would probably be the best choice, though I also like the 500 bantam because of the more compact size. Thanks again |
Joined:
Apr 2024
Posts:
1956
EE: 100% (4)
SD, USA
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There's nothing wrong with a 500 either. You can find all kinds of stocks and barrels for them inexpensively. I guess I forgot to ask, but were you wanting to use iron sights, or a rifle scope? If a scope there's two ways you can go about it, well actually 3, but 2 of them are better than the third. The simplest way is to get a cantilever scope mount barrel. The scope mounts on the barrel, and you can remove the barrel and it will retain zero. They aren't super accurate, but they work well enough. The other way is if you want to make it a dedicated slug gun. This can be done with any barrel, but I would go with a rifled sight barrel for this. This is assuming the receiver is drilled and tapped already for a scope rail. You can do what is called pinning the barrel, basically you drill through the receiver into the barrel extension, then tap the barrel extension. You then use a bolt through the receiver to lock the barrel and receiver together, effectively making it a fixed barrel gun. This is best done in conjunction with shims to take up the gap between the magazine and barrel ring. This is simply because without the shims, you can change our POI by how tight the barrel bolt is. You can also forgo pinning the barrel, and instead shim it to take up the slop between the barrel and receiver. As far as I know there is no iron sight options for a Savage 220, unless you had a gunsmith solder them on. Realistically if you were going iron sights, you are going to be shooting within distances that a regular pump action Mossberg 500 is a better choice anyway. As for the Hornady slugs. Years ago, probably 15 years ago the SST's were really good. I don't know what exactly changed, but one day they were horrible, and they have been horrible since then. Sabot slugs especially are super inconsistent. Of course every barrel has preferences, but some almost always shoot great, such as Remington Accutips. I've shot Hornady SST's in every rifled barrel I have, and they are barely on paper at 100 yards in all of them. The really accurate slugs are unfortunately mostly gone now with most states doing away with shotgun hunting seasons. Full bore slugs like Lightfield and Remington Buckhammer are superior to any sabot slug I have ever tried, both in accuracy and performance on animals. Records were set with Lightfield slugs that won't ever be broken with sabot slugs. But it is what it is. Definitely give Winchester BRI slugs a try. There's a reason that design has lived on like it has. It is likely the best overall sabot slug design ever created, and has been around more than 40 years now. |
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When I lived in a state that had shotgun/muzzloading/pistol in the county lived at the time I purchased a 870 special field (English stock) 4 round cap with screw in chokes. Put a rifled choke in it and true glow scope on it. 100 yards hit all 4 shots in white paper 8” plate using Remington sluggers. I used that for 30 years. Killed many deer over the years. As I got older didn’t like the recoil picked up 870 express dual barrel 20ga. Tossed a 3x9 scope on it and use Remington sluggers in it shots a like larger group than my 12 ga but still inside 8” plate. I tired Winchester federal all stayed inside a plate but group was a little larger than Remington fosters. Now I live in a rifle county and new state I use 6.5x55 Swiss or ar15 Grendel. If you do go with a pump shotgun buy the adult size. I know the Remington u can get short stock for kids and be ready to use when they grow into adult |