shotgun ammo questions

[goo]

seems like you wouldn't try to shoot a deer at 100 yds with a trench gun.

i dunno.

i'm not a hunter and i guess a trench gun ain't much good for deer.

i'm thinking its more better for bad guys at 10 yards.

[kcw]

Well, if you can match the slug to the gun, and are shooting off a bench with bags, you could well throw a 5" group, unfortunately it'll likely be three or four feet out from your point of aim. What you're dealing with there is basically a bird gun with a non adjustable front sight. Back in the days before the Ithaca DeerSlayer, et al, you considered yourself lucky if your pheasant gun would keep slugs in a paper plate sized target @ 50 yds., in fact that was the general standard for acceptability. Many guys used Kentucky Windage type sighting, ie hold about 5" low and 6" left of were you wanted to hit @ 50 yds. Even then many bird guns were simply unsuitable.
I might suggest that you start out @ 25yds on a bench. Try a couple of the cheapest slugs available just to see if your 97 will hit anywhere near point of aim @ that distance. If it does then try differant make slugs (get a five pack of each), suitable for smoothbore use,to see which shoots the tightest and still stays near the target center. If your successful @ 25 yds, then move out to 50 yds....and so on. Understand that shotguns are picky when it comes to shooting slugs. A slug that shoots well in one slug gun may not shoot well in the very next gun to come off the assembly line. Matching bullets/ammo to rifles is a piece of cake compared to doing the same thing with slugs in shotguns. I have A LOT of experience with that as I used to ramrod our club's public sighting days just beofre deer season for about 15 years. We could process three or four rifle shooters for every slug gun hunter.

[n64atlas]

1" would be good - but it's not going to happen. 3 feet is much more probable.

Three Feet? In Ohio, we are only allowed to hunt deer with shotguns and handguns. Of all the Shotguns I have sighted in for friends, not one has shot a
3 foot group. All have been less that 4" at 100 yards. Some better, depending on which brand of ammo was used. 100 is a maximum shot to drop a deer with a slug and a smouth bore barrel, but ist's done all the time. If it will only group 3', I dought you could hit anything at that range.

[da gimp]

goo, 12ga 1 oz WW slugs in my old Rem 870 riotgun will cut each others holes at 25 yds, & go about 3" to 4" at 100yds, 3 shot groups....it depends on the shotgun m, the ammo( try several brands) & the shooter.............but for typical home defense Low Brass 7 1/2 shot loads are just dandy... at 21 ft the shot spread is about 1" or so maybe 1 1/2".............

added, I hold tight at 25yds, only 1/2 the bead showing while aiming & I aim 11 inches low at 25 yds with my old riotgun........... your result might vary.........aiming like that on the centerline of chest, below the heart will hit bottom/ mid neck or so........on this old gimp KNOWS.............