Best choke for rifled slugs?

[Eagle Scout Dan]

I have heard by most that an Improved Cylinder choke will produce the best groups on rifled slugs, has anyone tried them out of a rifled choke? Not a rifled barrel, just a screw in choke tube.

[Grotius]

Call me crazy, but I suspect that a rifled barrel would produce better groups than any screw in choke (rifled or otherwise) when firing slugs out of shotguns. Particularly a rifled barrel that has optics mounted on it.

Perhaps it depends on what you mean when you say "the best groups".

[Taxed in Maine]

I wouldn't go any tighter than an Improved with a rifled slug.
If you want improved accuracy without the cost of buying a whole rifled barrel, then get a rifled choke tube and shoot sabot slugs out of it.

I wouldn't shoot a rifled slug from a rifled barrel or rifled tube they aren't designed to be used together.

[Eagle Scout Dan]

I wasn't sure. Thanks for the info. IC it is then.

And by "groups" I meant accuracy at 50 or 100 yards.

[ManyFeathers]

Actually.....

The best choke is the one your shotgun shoots certain types of slugs accurately with

Don't use xtra-full or super full for this.

IC, Skeet, Modified or Full will all shoot rifled slugs, some better than others

Once you find your accuracy, stick with the same choke and manufacturer/load of slugs.

[CrazyLarry]

You don't use a rifled barrel or rifled choke with a rifled slug.

You actually end up filling the grooves of your barrel/choke and will have terrible groups.

This is the voice of experience talking...

Rifled slugs only need cylinder or IC and nothing tighter. Check with the ammo manufacturer to be sure.

[SeekHer]

I've shot slugs from XFull, Full, Imp(light)Full, Mod, ImpMod, Skeet 1 & 2 and ImpCyl and the best groups I got were with ImpFull, Mod, ImpMod...The worst groups I got were with XFull and ImpCyl.

Is not the rifled slug choke only for slugs...I don't believe you can shoot sabots out of it.

[Tackleberry41]

Box O' Truth did something on this issue. They found no bad results from firing rifled slugs thru a rifled barrel. I have fired them it doesn't foul up the rifling with lead. Never tried a rifled choke so no experience with those. Mine came with a long smooth barrel and a rifled barrel no need to buy a rifled choke.

[wtr100]

Originally Posted by SeekHer

I've shot slugs from XFull, Full, Imp(light)Full, Mod, ImpMod, Skeet 1 & 2 and ImpCyl and the best groups I got were with ImpFull, Mod, ImpMod...The worst groups I got were with XFull and ImpCyl.

Is not the rifled slug choke only for slugs...I don't believe you can shoot sabots out of it.

Sabots can shoot quite well out of rifled choke tubes.

Like anything else you have to test and see.

[sailinghudson25]

Not to bash the shotgun, most shotguns do not produce wonderful groups. Consider youself lucky if you're getting 2-3" groups. 4-5" are the norm.

Rfiled slugs are slow and have poor aerodynamics. When thinking your 100 yard groups look good, take a look at the 75 yard results too.

I love big bore firearms for hunting, so I bought a .450 marlin rifle. Sabot knockdown power, with increased accuracy and the ease of reloading. I tried almost everything to get a shotgun to work to my liking. 444 marlin is another sweet rpound for folks who like slugs. 44 mag is decent too.

I hunt in shotgun only areas from time to time, I bring my modern inline muzzleloader when hunting in those areas now.

[Old Grump]

50 yard small bore target shot offhand at 60 yards with my Win 1200 scoped 20 gauge and IM choke. I get the same size groups consistently shooting off a sandbag at 100 yards with that gun. My Mossberg 500C with the slug barrel and my 12 gauge Mossberg 9200 with full choke shoot almost that good. My H&R 176, (10), with full choke and my Stevens 520, (12), with Mod choke don't come anywhere close to being that accurate. My .410 doesn't care which choke I use, its good to about 40 yards with any choke. No single right answer you have to try your gun and see what works best. My guns IM choke seems to be the most consistent, my friends have more luck with IC or Mod. Your gun will tell you what works best.

Rifled chokes are for sabot slugs and work well but they work better on the low power end of the slug world. The more rifling the better, cheap chokes with very little rifling may work but are just as likely to send your slug down range wobbling. You really need a slug barrel if you want maximum accuracy out of a high powered sabot slug.

[RogueSpear2023]

In my experience I got terrible accuracy when I used a modified or full with foster slugs, when I used the IC that is when I got the best accuracy out of my 11-87. I now have a rifled barrel so I use Sabot slugs. I have never tried rifle chokes, but I would assume with right slugs be slightly better then foster slugs, but not near what a rifled barrel will achieve.

[Eagle Scout Dan]

IMHO when you take a shotgun, then put a fully rifled barrel on it, and shoot a solid projectile out of it, it's no longer a shotgun. It's a rifle.

[LilRedNeckGirl]

Slugs, my passion.... First, seperate the good ole 'punkin ball' from modern sabots.
punkin ball / rifled slugs, never use in a mod/ full choke tube or any extra full barrel. Slugs run down a smooth bore, hit a tube and twist. so you are either over tightening or loosening the tube with each shot. Second, each shot may expand the metal in the tube, making it near impossiable to remove. remember, a slug is solid lead, and lots of it, and unlike a shot charge, it will not squish around to fit out the choke , and it is not contained in a plastic shot cup that will absorb some of the force of the choke.
my rule of thumb is slugs only fire out of a cylinder or improved cylinder choke tube. extra grease is applied to the threads before shooting.
fixed barrels ill shoot slugs in a full choke , but again, prefer a mod or cyl bore. The old timers say slugs will open a full choke bore up to at least mod if its shot a lot, dont know if there is truth in this....
the trump on all of this, ckeck with the manufacturer, read the printing on the barrel and choke tube. MANY are marked now, DO NOT USE WITH SLUGS.
rifled barrels are a big no no . they were designed for sabot slugs, where the sabot is encased in a plastic form, that conforms to the rifling going up the tube. solid slugs have their own rifling, which may not match the rifleing, and when put in a rifled barrel, can leave gaps in the side seal large enough to loose pressure. another possiable effect of mis matched rifleing , try putting the wrong size threaded screw on a bolt, .. this results either in a slow slug, or a ' tube nester'. nesters get hung up in the tube, block the barrel and the next shot blows the barrel....
useing the right barrel/choke, a basic set of optics, you should be printing 3 inch groups at 100 yards consistantly . expect about a 6 to 8 inch drop at 140 yards.

[Peppermint]

My remington 870 wingmaster likes federal 2-3/4" rifled slugs out of a cylinder choke. In general, rifled slugs are best shot out of the most open choke you can get. That way, it doesn't have to deform or compress to get out of the barrel.

[Old Grump]

Originally Posted by Peppermint

My remington 870 wingmaster likes federal 2-3/4" rifled slugs out of a cylinder choke. In general, rifled slugs are best shot out of the most open choke you can get. That way, it doesn't have to deform or compress to get out of the barrel.

Only if your barrel is true dimension and the slug fits fairly snuggly through the barrel Most slugs are a little undersize and many modern shotgun barrels are a little oversize. A little choke centers the slug increasing your accuracy. The twist of the rifling on the slug does not impart spin to the slug it is there to provide a minimal bearing surface to reduce friction and the soft lead of the rifled slugs swages easily. It's only a problem with some full chokes and all super full chokes where there is to much restriction. When the original makers of rifled slugs realized that the rifling did nothing for spin they tried to replace it with straight grooves but the public wouldn't buy them because they were convinced the twist imparted a spin and stabilized their slugs. Market pressure won out and the twist came back to the rifled slugs.

[SeekHer]

Originally Posted by Peppermint

My remington 870 wingmaster likes federal 2-3/4" rifled slugs out of a cylinder choke. In general, rifled slugs are best shot out of the most open choke you can get. That way, it doesn't have to deform or compress to get out of the barrel.

If your shotgun is bored Cylinder--it isn't a bloody choke since it's a damn straight barrel...Chokes are constrictions at the end of the barrel...Choke tubes labelled cylinder are just that, tubes to protect the threading from getting deformed by shot hitting it...That's all it does.

No, slugs don't compress when going out of even an extra full choke because industry standards have decreed that a shotgun barrel is .729 and an extra full choke is constricted to .689 and the fattest shot made has to fit through there because if it didn't then you would get at the least is a barrel bulge and at the worst a burst barrel and blown out receiver which just may kill you.

Guess who you'll sue (or your next of kin)? The maker of that there great big old fat slug and it matters diddly squat how many warnings they put on their packaging, they're still negligent which will cause them to be sued by the government, probably arrested but certainly ruined...Do you really think that any of the ammo companies will be that effing stupid?

CHOKE CONSTRICTION
Gauge..................12
True bore dia.......729
Cylinder bore........729
Skeet l................724
Imp Cyl...............720
Skeet 2...............717
Light Mod............
Modified..............710
Imp. Mod.............704
Light Full..........…
Full.....................694
Extra full..............689
Super Full........…

[Peppermint]

Well there, it says "cylinder bore choke tube" on the screw in choke tube, so that's why I said "out of a cylinder choke". Ya'll are picky.

[zbounce]

Originally Posted by Eagle Scout Dan

IMHO when you take a shotgun, then put a fully rifled barrel on it, and shoot a solid projectile out of it, it's no longer a shotgun. It's a rifle.

LMAO! too funny man, but you have a good point!

[dogmaw]

Originally Posted by Eagle Scout Dan

I have heard by most that an Improved Cylinder choke will produce the best groups on rifled slugs, has anyone tried them out of a rifled choke? Not a rifled barrel, just a screw in choke tube.

Yes, I have tried to get hunting grade groups out of a rifled choke tube in a smoothbore barrel. After trying a variety of different types of slugs and not getting anywhere near the results desired I gave up on the idea in a smoothbore. But still toying with the idea of using it with a heavy #4 shot short wad in a home defense role to get the column spread out quicker. Gotta test the spread at 7 yds, may not open enough.

Ended up buying a Rem 870 fully rifled spl purpose. Since the gun is for my son I bought reduced recoil Winchester rifled sabot slugs. The smaller diameter bullet is encased in a plastic sabot until just after leaving the barrel. The Winchesters did not do well, either, and I was beginning to think that the whole issue is a money grab by the gun & ammo companies.

Then someone told me to try the white box Lightfield saboted slugs and from the very first one - excellent results.

So try a number of brands, I guess, but buy them on sale...they ain't cheap!!