H&R Ultra Slug 20ga, which slugs to try?

[AJ Peacock]

Hey guys,

My friend has settled on getting an H&R Ultra Slug 20ga shotgun. Anybody out there using this as their deer shotgun? What slugs should he start with? Sometimes, figuring out which slug a shotgun likes, costs as much as the shotgun . So we thought we'd see what others have found with this shotgun. It is a 3" chamber and has a twist rate of 1-28".

Thanks,
AJ

 

[7mmSendaro]

AJ,

Our group has a total of 6 of those guns in use, including my son. Lightfields shoot well in all of them. They ceertainly are not ballistically the best past 100 yards but hit like a hammer.

I just tried the new 2 3/4" Remington Accutips in my son's and they shoot awesome. I shot a 5 shot group right around 2 inches at 100 yards. A friend had similar results. Recoil seems noticeably milder than the Lightfields.

Enjoy!

Brian

 

[RandyR]

I bought the same model for my nephew a few years and he has been shooting 2 3/4" Remminrton high velocity slugs. They group great and are not nearly as expensive as many others. Shots are kept under 100 yards for him.

 

[Rimfire]

I would start with the Lightfields.

 

[AJ Peacock]

Thanks guys,

We couldn't find the 20ga lightfields, but picked up some of the Remington Accutips.

We bore sighted the shotgun and the first shot at 50yds was about 1" from the bull.

After the shot, the scope went fuzzy (it was an old scope my friend had laying around).

So he went and picked up another scope and we'll see how it does later this week.

I'm pretty confident the Accutips will shoot well (I've seen some positive reports), and having the shotgun print within 1" of bull after bore sighting, certainly gives us confidence in the shotgun/slug combo.

I'll post later in the week with a full report.

AJ

 

[JARHEAD1371]

My wife shoots the same gun topped with a Leupold 2-7. We found that Federal hollow point sabots shot great, but they don't make them anymore. The "new" lighter slugs that replaced the ones that shoot great have a noticeable higher recoil and not nearly as accurate. We also tried the Lightfield and they shot ok but not great. Now that we live in SD, not IL, we haven't needed to find new slugs that shoot good. I have family that shoots the same gun, still back in IL, and they like the new 3" Remington Accu Tip Sabots. We plan on going back to IL for the gun season next year, we will try out the Rem next summer.

 

[AJ Peacock]

Got a chance to sight in my friends 20ga slug rifle. The 2 3/4" Remington Accutips shot very well. Shot it at 50yds and grouped around just under 1" (3 shots).

Just thought I'd follow up for anyone curious.

AJ

 

[esshup]

AJ:

If your friend is really satisfied with that performance, have him go back to the same store and buy more. He should check that box of shells that gave him good accuracy and make sure that he gets the same lot #. Shotguns are like .22lr's in that aspect.

 

[Granddad]

If I were him, I'd trade that 20 in on a 12 right-off. A 20 is OK if he never shoots much past 125 yds. If he gets a shot at 150 or 200, he will have a nasty tracking job and that is almost a certainty.

A few years ago I came to the realization that after the first shot is fired, the deer is either down or gone. That was when I decided to trade my Mossberg 500 with a rifled barrel and rifle sights in on an H&R Ultra Slug gun. 5 deer and 3 years later, I can say it was the best deer-gun related decision I ever made. I hunt in a shotgun only area that is a 60-40 mix of woods and fields. The chances of a shot at over 100 yds is pretty good. I have a permanent tree stand set-up at the edge of one of my fields. three of the five deer I have taken with my 12 Ga. Ultra Slug have been over 100 yds with the farthest ranged at 156 yds. Every one of these deer were one-shot kills . . . they dropped where they stood.

I spent the better part of $150.00 trying different sabot slugs at my local range and discovered that my Ultra Slug preferred the 3 inch Federal Hydra Shok sabot. I ended-up having to put a Limbsaver recoil pad on my gun after that day at the range - I didn't think my shoulder would ever stop hurting. Those 3 inch shells do kick a bit! I have my Ultra Slug mounted with a 3x9 Nikon Slughunter scope with the BDC reticule and use a Nikon Deerhunter 550 rangefinder. My gun will shoot 3-shot groups under 3 inches all day long at 150 yds. from a sandbagged benchrest.

I recommend the following:
(1) Find out which sabot slug your gun likes best at all distances - not just 100 yds.
(2) Put good glass on your Ultra Slug - cheap glass will probably not hold-up under the recoil.
(3) Get a good range finder - you would be surprised at how far off your estimates might be - I sure was.

 

[SKFOOTER]

That's not true at all. I'll put my 20 gauge H & R Ultra Slug Hunter up against any 12 gauge slug gun anyday. It shoots lights out with the Remington Copper Solids.

 

[Birdhunter1]

I shoot Lightfield 2 3/4" Hybrid EXP's in mine, they are deadon accurate but past 130 yards they drop FAST, but hit like a Mack truck at all points in between.
I have another H&R 20 gauge Ultra Slug Hunter that shoots the 3" Federal with a Barnes Expander pretty well, but Lightfields shoot well too. I like to keep one slug and but several at a time so it shoots Lightfields as well. (I picked this one up for my son when he is old enough to hunt). I've shot 11 deer with this setup and have yet to have one run further than 35 yards, most were lung shots, 1 was in the side of the head and today's deer was in the neck facing me (dropped on the spot). Most of the Lightfields I've shot into deer did not exit but acted like a hand grenade in the vitals.

My aunt just got the same gun I have, they didn't have Lightfield Slugs in stock so we zeroed it with 20 gauge 2 3/4" Remington Copper Solids and it is pretty accurate. This particular slug is very underrated and overlooked in favor of the Accu-Tips. The copper solid is a proven deer stopper and shoots very well.

A coworker shoots the Accu-tips in his 20 gauge H&R. Probably more accurate than my Lightfields in my gun and he has had good success in dropping deer with them.

Given time I will try the Copper Solid in my gun as I think it will shoot a tad flatter and farther than my Lightfields.

P.S. The Hornady SST is a very accurate slug but I think they are built too strong for deer, I've seen too many pass through and not expand and not do much damage.

 

[tikkat3270wsm]

i use Hordany SST's, group great, one ragged hole at 100, and drop them in their tracks. monster expansion, if you tag them in the front shoulders, both shoulders, turnrd to jelly, if double lung, 2 big holes, and lungs are turned too liquid.
Have blown the lungs right out the opposite side. Best slug i have ever used. Lived in Delaware for 12 yrs and it is shotgun only. Have seen way to many lost animals with Lightfields, and Fed copper solids. Winchester extream slugs are not bad also, but REALLY expensive.

 

[gdcpony]

My H&R always throws the first round off the exact same distance on a clean bore. So excluding that shot here is a 100yd group from SST's 2 3/4". This is NOT an exceptional group. It averages under 1.25 with these. 3.0-3.5 at 200yds as well.

LiteFields were about as good in mine, but their speed and their temp sensitivity makes them harder at long range.

 

[snox801]

Granddad I am sorry sir but what u say about 12 vs 20 is absolutely false. I have had both first off the 20 gauge in my experience about 30 animals a year with slugs alone is that the 20 seems more accurate at longer distances. Second it is still a 45 caliber slug much bigger than needed for any deer. Not to mention as slug get better and better smaller calibers are becoming more capable.