remington 870 20ga

[Tjh821]

i have a Remington 870 20ga, it is about 4 years old. i have a smooth bore rifle sights on it. im wondering how accurate it will be and what bullets to use for deer hunting. i know to use slugs obviously but im just wondering if there is one brand that shoots better. and if i would be better off buying a rifled barrel. i will be shooting about 75 yards max. thanks in advance

[Synchronizor]

It's really hard to say what specific brand will perform best because guns tend to be individuals. The best-performing shell for one shotgun won't necessarily be the same for others. You can certainly get an idea of a brand's quality level and potential performance from other people, but eventually you're just going to have to do some shooting of your own to figure out what works.

My guess is that you'll be fine with a smoothbore if you're not shooting past 75 yards. A rifled barrel and sabot slugs might tighten things up a little, but it'll also cost a lot more to shoot. You should be able to find at least one Foster or Brenneke slug load that'll do what you need done.

[Tjh821]

well now i am considering either buying a rifled slug barrel for the 870 20ga, or buying a mossbery 500 with the rifled slug barrel in 12 ga, any pointers? for strictly deer hunting

[Synchronizor]

A 12ga will have more power than a 20, especially if you only use factory ammo, but a 20 will take down a deer without a problem if you do your part. I know a lot of slug hunters prefer the 20ga because it's a lot more pleasant to shoot, and many will claim that the 20 is more accurate as well. I'm not sure how much truth there is in that though, the ballistics data I've been able to find shows almost identical numbers for coefficients and trajectory between the two. But on a subjective note, I'm sure a lot of groups have suffered because the shooter was anticipating the wallop of a 12ga when they pulled the trigger.

[bangplop]

A friend of mine has user a Rem 870 in 20ga rifled barrel for years. He has hunted deer and hogs a lot. He told me that with a shotgun even a rifled barrel with Hornady Sabot slugs is best hunted like bow hunting. Find a good location for a tree stand and sent blocker. Better if you can put out a food plot or bait. Just a thought.

[shootall]

Late to the party but a 20 ga often sends a sabot down range faster than a 12 ga. . They shoot flatter and carry easier. What's not to like ? Did I mention they kick less ? BTW you can have the rem. thread installed and use all Remington and after market tubes including rifled ones. If your shots are 75 yards or less you would be fine if over 100 you might be better with a rifled barrel.
I like a pop up ground blind as you can move around a little while on the stand. Just set it up a ways off the deer trail. At other times we run deer with dogs which is about as much fun as you can have with out momma .