Do I need a deer barrel?

Question

I have a Remington 870 w/ bird/field/long barrel. I'm thinking of going deer hunting for the first time (I am a trap shooter). Do I really need to get a deer barrel? I know what slugs shoot through what barrels. I want to put an extended rifle choke tube on my 26" barrel and shoot non rifeled slugs. Do I have to get a shorter (20" ish) deer barrel, or will my longer barrel work fine? As a side -- what is the purpose of a shorter barrel for deer?

Answer 1

Before you buy a barrel try this:

Staple a standard paper plate to a stake or target backer. Try some rifled slugs and a Cyl choke at 25/50/75 yards. Then try sabot slugs with the rifled choke at the same ranges.

I think you will be pleasantly surprised and have no need of a dedicated deer barrel unless you want one. There are simple clip-on rifle type  sights that hook to your barrel rib. They easily remove to get the shotgun back to trap configuration.

Answer 2

Remington makes a rifled slug barrel. It's fitted with iron sights, and can be scoped. If I recollect, they go to 24" in length...but it's been a while.

Answer 3

Just use "rifled" slugs in that shotgun barrel. Accuracy out to 100 yards is not bad, generally hitting a little low at that range. I have used em for many many years without going to the rifled barrel. As for the length, with a slug, you are not going to gain anything from that longer barrel except extra weight to carry in the woods. Pick up a second 20" barrel for your shotgun and you will find it just about the perfect length.

Shoot safe

Answer 4

Yes, you can s***w a rifled choke in the end of your 26" barrel and shoot sabot slugs or the hybrid slugs in it.   You will not be alone...  

I would recommend trying several different slugs at the maximum range you intend to shoot to see which groups best with your barrel....

Answer 5

The shorter barrel is just so you have less length and weight to lug through the woods and thick brush after a deer. The longer barrel is perfectly fine, but it will be heavier and more awkward than a shorter barrel.

Answer 6

It'll work just fine. I shoot slugs through both my Mossberg 5500 with 24" barrel and My Mossberg 500 with 28" barrel, both with s***w in chokes of course.

Answer 7

Shoot rifled slugs through a smooth bore and sabots through a rifled barrel.

With rifled slugs (Foster or Brenneke) they are good for about 50 yards and sabots (with rifled barrel) they are good for about 150 yards

Answer 8

No you do not need a slug barrel. Use a good rifled slug, and you will do fine. I would suggest a slug barrel though.

The reason for a slug barrel is two fold.

1) If you get a barrel that is rifled, you can shoot sabot slugs. The Sabot slug is generally about 300 grains of lead or copper, is approximately a 50 cal, and is in a 2 piece plastic cup. The sabot travels down the barrel, and gets its spiral from the rifling. As the sabot leaves the barrel, the cup separates, and the sabot travels with a good spirel. This will improve accuracy tremendously. I have a Mossberg premier 12 gauge with a 20 inch rifled slug barrel and can make 4 inch or less, groups at 100 yards with just about all decent ammo.

The down side to a sabot,is that due to plastic being softer than copper, the cup can not be pushed through the rifling as fast as a smooth bore can push a regular slug. It can, but the sabot won't stabilize well, deminishing accuracy, in turn defeating the purpose of a sabot. On average, a 2 3/4 inch sabot shell will do 1400 fps out of a 20 inch barrel, and a 3 inch will do 1500 fps.

If you get a smooth bore slug barrel, you will shoot traditional rifled slugs that are 1 oz, some 1 1/8 oz, this is roughly 550 grains, and is about a 72 caliber. Also most 2 3/4 rifled slugs go 1600 or more fps, and 3 inch go as fast as 1800 fps. These will kill anything. I know a man who hunted in Alaska for brown bear, and the guide used a 12 gauge loaded with 3 inch slugs. The guide stated that nothing puts an angry bear down faster, or makes a bigger hole than a 12 gauge slug.

The second reason for a slug barrel, is the sights. As a trap shooter, you know that when you call for the clay, you will follow, lead, then shoot the target. This is not an aim, it is a point. The slug barrel will come with rifle type sights to take careful aim, like it were a rifle.

As far a barrel length is concerned, Most of your slug barrels range from 18 to 20 inches in length. The slugs reach 90 percent of their velocity in the first 15 to 18 inches. Every inch after that will only ad 25 to 50 fps to the slug. The reason for the short barrel is portability. If you only need an 18 inch barrel, why carry longer. The longer the gun, the greater chance you take beeing seen durring movement.

I think that if you wanted to shoot your 870, just shoot rifles slugs through an cylinder bore choke. DO NOT USE A CHOKE TIGHTER THAN IMPROVED CYLINDER!!!. This can cause a spike in pressure with some slugs, which can lead to a burst barrel. I tried a rifled choke once, about 12 years ago to see if there was a difference, and to tell the truth, the accuracy was not that much better than a smooth bore. I prefer a good smooth bore slug barrel, because it hits harder, makes a bigger hole, and for the most part, your shots will be within 50 yards.

Last I saw, a remington slug barrel was less than 150 bucks. I could be wrong about the price, It has been a while since I shoped it, but I would get one for the better sights.

PS; I have had great luck with Brenneke rifled slugs through a Benelli M1 tachtical.