# Rifled barrel ?



## eazyE (Apr 29, 2006)

I was wondering how important a rifled barrel is for shotgun hunting. I haven't done much deer hunting to this point but I really want to start doing it more. I am in college so I don't have a lot of extra money to spend on a barrel so I was curious. I have a Remingtom 870 express and I used to think that it was absolutely a necessity to have a rifled slug barrel to use. I was recently told that it isn't a necessity so I wanted to check on here and get some other opinions. Thanks


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## woodysoutdoors (May 18, 2007)

It's not necesary but is more accurate.


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## TomC (Aug 14, 2007)

check www.gunbroker.com you can usually find em for 150 bucks


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## Fishstix (Aug 16, 2005)

I have killed many deer using rifled barrels and regular barrels. Like said before, it really isn't necessary.


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## Onion (Apr 10, 2004)

For me the difference was this:

Smoothbore = 50-75 yd shot

Rifled = up to 140 yds

If you hunt a lot of wide open fields it is helpful. Definitely not a necessity.


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## eazyE (Apr 29, 2006)

Thanks for the quick replies everyone. I don't plan on taking any really long shots anyway and I'm def. not going to buy a scope at this point. lol So I'm thinking I should be ok with a regular barrel.


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## FISHIN 2 (Jun 22, 2005)

It depends on the price. If you are gonna buy a new barrel, I would definately go with the rifled barrel. Probably get a new one for 175.00. A new smoothbore will run ya 150.00. Used though you can get a smoothbore for around a hundred bucks. Mike


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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

Hunted with a smoothbore for 15 years and took a deer, sometimes two, every season. It is just a matter of finding out which ammunition is most accurate with your particular barrel. My son's 870 express has a 28 inch barrel that will hit a pie plate every shot at 75 yards when using an open (improved cylinder) choke and bead sights. His 870 does just fine with plain old Remington Foster Slugs.
BTW....most of the deer I have shot were at 40 yards or under.


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## ClickerCrazy (Feb 4, 2006)

I've used my smooth bore on my 870 for 25 years and like shortdrift said, 75 yards no problem. Now if ya just got to have that 2" moa at 75 yards you can spend the money for the rifeled barrel, but just remember, the price of your shots just went up to 2 to 3 bucks a crack!


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## tm1669 (Apr 27, 2007)

You can always try a rifled choke tube. Poor mans rifled barrel. Similar results to a full rifled barrel.


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## eazyE (Apr 29, 2006)

I had thought about getting a rifled choke tube. Also, I have an 870 express super mag also. It's been a great gun for me thus far and it will be even better if I can get a deer with it. What slugs has anyone else found work best for it?


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## Fish4Food (Mar 20, 2006)

I shoot a Remington 870 express super mag as well. I use a rifled choke tube and 4.5 power scope. With this combo I have killed 3 deer at over 100 yards using 2 3/4 inch Remington Sluggers.


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## tm1669 (Apr 27, 2007)

I always shot BRI sabots with alot of sucess. Use Remington copper solids with it with caution or not at all. I personally have seen 4 get stuck in Rem barrels. Dont know why but it happened. 
Real tough to get out.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

No offence fellas, but a rifled tube is far from the same as a rifled barrel. They cause more deformation than stabilization. The lands and grooves are so short and the sabot hits it&#8217;s so hard, there&#8217;s really little chance for any stabilization to occur.



> I personally have seen 4 get stuck in Rem barrels.


 How do you mean?


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## Fish4Food (Mar 20, 2006)

M.Magis said:


> No offence fellas, but a rifled tube is far from the same as a rifled barrel. They cause more deformation than stabilization. The lands and grooves are so short and the sabot hits it&#8217;s so hard, there&#8217;s really little chance for any stabilization to occur.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## tm1669 (Apr 27, 2007)

The ones I saw were all stuck in the last 1/4 of the barrel. They just never made it out. Dont know if it was a weak charge or size of the slug but there they were. Luckily each shooter realized there was something wrong and didnt try and shoot again. 
I was working in a gunshop at the time and they all were stuck in Remington barrels. It was a few years back (11 or 12) so mabey the problem was or is fixed. 
as far as the choke tube debate I've had good luck with rifled choke tubes. I wouldnt say there as good as fully rifled but I think theres a definete benefit to them.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

> I understand that the rifled choke tube is completely different than a fully rifled barrel, but the two inches of rifling doesn't hurt.


 Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that they hinder accuracy. Just that they do very, very little to help. I do believe that they must increase barrell pressures, and therefore increase recoil. I'm not convinced it's worth the trade-off.


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## ClickerCrazy (Feb 4, 2006)

I have a buddy that used a couple different rifled choke tubes, and both of them made the slugs start to tumble and become very inconsistant. The doe he shot that year looked like it had an exit wound of a high powered rifle. I think I'd save the money on the choke tube.


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## buzzedredneck (Jun 26, 2007)

Call Me Old Fashioned, I Still Use My Grandfathers Winchester 97 Smoothbore, Itll Shootsub 3 Inch Groups With Winchester Slugs.


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## Hetfieldinn (May 17, 2004)

I've been using the same Remington 870 Express with a smothbore slug barrel for 20 years. Many, many deer have been taken with one shot at 90 yards or more.

Mine shoots the standard Federal Foster slugs the best.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Good reading that I post every year. It provides some facts for slugs, trajectories, barrels, etc.

Not everyone likes to base decisions on facts but here it is anyway 

http://www.nrapublications.org/tah/Slugs.asp


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## truck (Apr 12, 2004)

Thanks for the link Lundy.I myself like the facts


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

I am sure not all barrels are created equal but I have a smooth barrel that I have hunted with for about 15 years and have taken plenty of deer. Until a year ago I hunted it with only the beads (vent rib barrel) and was deadly accurate. The thing I didn't like with the bead sights was that I was a bit slower getting on a target ensuring that I had the beads lined up just right. For this reason I set it up with a scope and it is really a tack driver now as far as smooth bores go. But over the years I have dropped 4 deer over 100 yards in their tracks with it and several more out around 80 yards. I was very fortunate that when I first tried this gun out it shot the plain sluggers great and I never needed to try other ammo. Every year I put a couple of slugs through it to check it before season and I am always able to maintain a 3" grouping at 80 yards. I have a 20 gage for my son that has a rifled slug barrel and I had to spend more time shooting it to find what worked. The biggest disadvantage to needing to do that is what was mentioned earlier. I am cheap and don't like shooting $3 a crack at a target for very long.

I took a quick look at the link that Lundy provided and it has some great info to get you started in whichever direction you choose.

So I would say that if you are looking at keeping the cost low I would suggest staying with smooth barrel and limiting your range somewhat. From what most have indicated you will probably be limited to an effective range of something between 50-100 yards depending on your particular gun. If you want that range out to 125+ then go for the rifled barrel.


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