Slugs for rifled barrels... oops

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So I just got home with the packs of slugs I bought, and as I'm putting them away I notice the tiny fine print down the bottom "for rifled barrels only."Great. :quirky

Are they safe to fire from asmooth barrel, just less accurate that way, or are they completely unsafe tofire from a smooth barrel? I'm not actually using them for hunting so accuracy isn't a big deal. They'rejust for woods plinking (if you can call it "plinking" when using a 12ga. lol) and SHTF stash. Do I really have to drive all the way back and return them?


The oddest part is that the slugs are non-sabot and have rifling built into them like ones that are designed for smooth barrels.

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I've heard of "rifled slugs" before. I think they were designed more to squeeze through a choked barrel than to impart spin like a proper rifled barrel would. I'd still advise using a cylinder-bore barrel (smooth or otherwise, although a rifled slug through a rifled barrel is redundant at least) with any kind of slug. Then again, I'm not a large-game shotgun hunter, so I'll gladly defer to anyone with more experience with these.

-ljp

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Legba wrote:

I've heard of "rifled slugs" before. I think they were designed more to squeeze through a choked barrel than to impart spin like a proper rifled barrel would. I'd still advise using a cylinder-bore barrel (smooth or otherwise, although a rifled slug through a rifled barrel is redundant at least) with any kind of slug. Then again, I'm not a large-game shotgun hunter, so I'll gladly defer to anyone with more experience with these.

-ljp

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That's the thing I'm confused about. These aren't actually "rifled" slugs (which is what I normally shoot). They're for "rifled barrels," according to the box. Aside from sabots, I've never heard of slugs that are specifically for rifled barrels, but then again I'm not really a shotgun person either. Seems to me if it would work with rifling, it'd work without it too, just less accurately... I could be wrong though.

But, yes, the barrel has cylinder bore and doesn't even accept chokes.

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Rifled slugs for rifled cylinder bore barrels? Not familiar. I see no advantage in this. It could even be a problem, if some genius had the rifling in opposite senses with regard to the slug and the barrel. At a minimum, it would foul the barrel excessively; at worst, it could shear the slug apart or stress the barrel overmuch. I trust they got that much right.

You can guinea-pig these and give us a range report. ;-/

-ljp

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Legba wrote:

You can guinea-pig these and give us a range report. ;-/

-ljp

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If you want me to off myself you could at least be upfront about it.



From the manufacture's FAQ:

Question: Why do the ribs of the Gold Magnum turn to the left, while the twist in rifled barrels is to the right?
Answer: Because almost all rifled shotgun barrels have a right-hand twist, that is exactly why we gave the ribs on the Gold Magnum a left-hand twist. The Gold Magnum is designed for rifled barrels only, and the ribs have no effect on the rotation of the slug. Their purpose is to provide superior guidance within the barrel than a slug without ribs is capable of.
The left-turning ribs also provide a better grip on the rifling within the barrel, resulting in superior rotation of the slug as it exits the barrel. This was proven during extensive research performed when we developed the Gold Magnum.
We actually found that left-twisted ribs on the slug result in much better transfer of the barrel's rotation to the slug than did right-twisted ribs. It may seem strange, but consider that most automobile tires have their "ribs" (profile) also against the driving direction, in order to provide maximum grip.

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Interesting. Thanks for answering your own question and then posting the answer.

As for the safety issue, I guess that would depend on whether the lands of a rifled 12ga barrel have the same ID as a smoothbore barrel. But I don't know whether that is the case.

According to jgibbons in this thread:

I'VE SHOT EXCLUSIVELY BRENNEKKE GOLDS IN THREE INCH OR TWO AND THREE QUARTER INCH . tHE KO'S ARE LOWER GRADE BUT NOTHING HAD COME CLOSE THROUGH MY ITHACA DEERSLAYERS UNTIL LAST SEASON .2 INCH GROUPS AT A 100 YARDS THROUGH A SMOOTH BORE AND EVEN BETTER THROUGH MY RIFLED BARRELS.TAKEN MANY DEER WITH BOTH BEYOND A HUNDRED YARDS.lAST YEAR, i TRIED SOME DIFFERENT LOADS.UNTIL THEN THEY SHOT BY FAR THE BEST/BEST PENETRATION AND KNOCK DOWN.lIGHTFIELS WERE MY ALTERNATE LOAD.nOW WINCHESTER PREMIUM PLATINUMS GIVE ME EVEN TIGHTER GROUPS THROUGH BOTH TWENTY AND TWELVE GAUGE GUNS AND SUPERIOR MUZZLE VELOCITY.fOR BRUSHY AREAS OUT TO A HUNDRED AND TWENTY YARDS I WOULD STILL SHOOT THE BRENNEKKES.

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marshaul wrote:

Interesting. Thanks for answering your own question and then posting the answer.

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Yea, but that FAQ doesn't answer my question. I'm well aware they're supposed to be used in rifled barrel. What I'm asking is whether they can be used in a smooth bore.



Based on that post you posted (huh? lol) it sounds like he uses the Golds in a smooth bore.

I emailed the Brenneke techinical department, we'll see what they have to say.

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AWDstylez wrote:

marshaul wrote:

Interesting. Thanks for answering your own question and then posting the answer.

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Yea, but that FAQ doesn't answer my question. I'm well aware they're supposed to be used in rifled barrel. What I'm asking is whether they can be used in a smooth bore.



Based on that post you posted (huh? lol) it sounds like he uses the Golds in a smooth bore.

I emailed the Brenneke techinical department, we'll see what they have to say.

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I've never used the gold magnums, but I have used other slugs specifically designed for rifled barrels in my smoothbore 12 ga w/ cylinder bore with no ill effects. It shouldn't hurt your shotgun. Worst case, the accuracy won't be that spectacular. You should definitely stock up on KO's though. They're the cheaper Brenneke slugs, designed for smoothbore, and are awesome. I got a bunch of those, and 4-5 boxes of the 3" black magic rounds. Now THOSE are some good SHTF rounds. Any ammunition that has a picture of a pissed off grizzly bear on the front gets an A+ in my book.

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mercutio545 wrote:

I've never used the gold magnums, but I have used other slugs specifically designed for rifled barrels in my smoothbore 12 ga w/ cylinder bore with no ill effects. It shouldn't hurt your shotgun. Worst case, the accuracy won't be that spectacular. You should definitely stock up on KO's though. They're the cheaper Brenneke slugs, designed for smoothbore, and are awesome. I got a bunch of those, and 4-5 boxes of the 3" black magic rounds. Now THOSE are some good SHTF rounds. Any ammunition that has a picture of a pissed off grizzly bear on the front gets an A+ in my book.

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LOL Thanks for the experienced advice. They did have KO's though. The 3"Gold Magnums were $4.50/5 (.90each)and the 2 3/4" KO's were $5.50/5 (1.10 each). :shock: I find that hard to justify as a "stock up" type deal. My idea of stocking up is $12/15 (.80 each)3" Winchesters or $9/15 (.60 each) 2 3/4" Winchesters or Remingtons at Wally World.

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I prefer #1 buck for zombies and large beast attacks. Half the fun of a shotgun is spraying metal everywhere, as I see it. If I want a single projectile/precision instrument, I'll just use a rifle. Then again, I'm not a deer hunter, and you can't use a rifle for that in Ohio, so I do see the need for slugs.

-ljp

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Legba wrote:

I prefer #1 buck for zombies and large beast attacks. Half the fun of a shotgun is spraying metal everywhere, as I see it. If I want a single projectile/precision instrument, I'll just use a rifle. Then again, I'm not a deer hunter, and you can't use a rifle for that in Ohio, so I do see the need for slugs.

-ljp

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It's just kinda hard to beat the raw power. I can't afford any rifles that can shoot a 600 grain projectile. :lol:

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+100

Edit: Apparently I can't post only "+100".

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Rifled slugs are for smooth bore barrels, and Sabot slugs are for Rifled barrels, and yes the potential for damage to a smooth bore barrel does exhist when shooting sabot slugs, although the most common occurance is inaccuracy

Sabot slugs are at the minumum of $8 per box of 5. and rifled slugs usually go for at or near $3 per box of 5.

I shoot rifled slugs through my smooth bores and can group 5" at 80 yds. I shoot Lightfield sabot slugs through my rifled 12ga. and 20ga. and can group 1" at 110 yds.

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I use #6 bird or #1 buck and I can group about a square foot at 10 yards with my short cylinder-bore piece. Zombies beware. I might try to run some slugs through it just for a range trial. Might be handy to know what I'm doing if I ever do go deer hunting.

-ljp

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Legba wrote:

I use #6 bird or #1 buck and I can group about a square foot at 10 yards with my short cylinder-bore piece. Zombies beware. I might try to run some slugs through it just for a range trial. Might be handy to know what I'm doing if I ever do go deer hunting.

-ljp

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That's pretty respectable. My 18" barrel, cylinder bore shoots school bus MOA at 10 yards with #7 1/2 bird shot. :lol:

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Eek - that's a pretty horrid pattern. You sure you didn't accidentally cut that down to a 4" barrel or something? ;-/

-ljp

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For future reference, Brenneke got back to me and said there is no issue with shooting the slugs in a smooth bore barrel. They said they're labeled for rifled only because they would destroy a choked barrel because the fins are too thin to deform enough. So eliminating all smooth bore in the description is just better safe than sorry. They also offered to exchange them for the Black Magics.

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Dont wanna hijack your thread stylez but was curious. I dont have a scatter gun but I am looking at one. Ive never owned one or bought ammo for it so my question is: Price going up for ammo? I was under the assumption that 12 guage ammo was super cheap.

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Have "fun" shooting them...hope you have a cast iron shoulder. I have never really enjoyed sighting in slugs...it HURTS!

Because I went hunting in a "slug" county, I got a rifled barrel and regular old, Walmart bought, Winchester 2 3/4" slugs. They were more than accurate.

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YllwFvr wrote:

Dont wanna hijack your thread stylez but was curious. I dont have a scatter gun but I am looking at one. Ive never owned one or bought ammo for it so my question is: Price going up for ammo? I was under the assumption that 12 guage ammo was super cheap.

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Then you're under the wrong impression. :lol:



I listed the prices of my typical slug purchases above. The cheapest that I've found is at Walmart (of course, when you can find them). The Winchester and Remington 2 3/4" slugs go for $8.75ish for a 15 pack, not cheap by any standard. Both companies have 00 buck for a similar price, also only at Walmart.

Go looking for slugs at your local gun shop/Dicks/Cabellas and you're looking at $1/round minimum.

Birdshot can be had cheap, but is useless at the range. Federal bulk packs go for (once again only at Walmart) $23 for a 100 round pack. That price is more on par with my standard of "cheap" rifle ammo. It's good for blowing stuff up at close range in the woods and would definitelyput downan intruder at <10 yards, but aside from that it's pointless.



I guess it all depends on what you're looking to do with the gun. I don't hunt and I bought my gun for home defense and shooting in the woods. It's a Benelli Supernova Tacticoolness with an 18", no choke barrel that's useless for anything other than self-defense. So just make sure you buy a gun that'sgood at what you intend to use it for.