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Post by Ahawkeye on May 12, 2020 1:01:14 GMT -5
I was wondering what you guys put on top of your slug guns? This is what I currently have but I'm not liking the low light view I get, granted conditions were not ideal the last time I used it, raining pretty hard but I felt I could see the deer better with my own eyes opposed to what I could see through my scope. www.leupold.com/scopes/shotgun-scopes/vx-1-shotgun-muzzleloader-1-4x20mmWhat do you use and what do you suggest? I hunt public ground so for now the shot gun w/ a rifled barrel shooting Hornady SST is the the way to go. I just think there's a better option for a shot gun than what I'm using. Thoughts?
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Post by deadeer on May 12, 2020 1:44:18 GMT -5
Ruger American or AR15 in 450BM! A big improvement over a slug gun hands down. Less recoil, more consistency, cheaper and more avail ammo. I recommend you find somebody with one and try it out. You will wonder what took so long.
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Post by Ahawkeye on May 12, 2020 4:02:20 GMT -5
Ruger American or AR15 in 450BM! A big improvement over a slug gun hands down. Less recoil, more consistency, cheaper and more avail ammo. I recommend you find somebody with one and try it out. You will wonder what took so long. I'd be all for that but I'm not sure the AR comes in a caliber I can use on public ground
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Post by whitetaildave24 on May 12, 2020 5:31:16 GMT -5
The 450BM is legal in public. Quite a few different choices you can have if you want to move away from the slug gun. .350 legend is another option. I have a Nikon on top of my 870 and shoot lightfield slugs.
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Post by MuzzleLoader on May 12, 2020 6:05:58 GMT -5
3x9x40 nikons or leupolds will get it done. Leupold being my first choice for being able to see at last light and clarity. They are worth the money.
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Post by Ahawkeye on May 12, 2020 8:14:11 GMT -5
The 450BM is legal in public. Quite a few different choices you can have if you want to move away from the slug gun. .350 legend is another option. I have a Nikon on top of my 870 and shoot lightfield slugs. Did not know that about the AR, that's interesting but I do like my 870 quite a bit, if I scratch it, drop it in the mud or forget to clean it for a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG time there's not much to worry about just wipe off the mud and spray some WD-40 on it. I'm not against the ARs I just hate beating up a new gun and that's exactly what I do to my 870. I abuse that thing and it keeps comin' back for more.
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Post by Ahawkeye on May 12, 2020 8:26:16 GMT -5
3x9x40 nikons or leupolds will get it done. Leupold being my first choice for being able to see at last light and clarity. They are worth the money. I've been eyeing that in a Leupold, I think that's the route I'll take.
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Post by esshup on May 12, 2020 8:35:06 GMT -5
If you want something that works in low light, get a 50mm objective and a 30 mm tube. I have an older VXIII that is just that IIRC 2.5-10x, 30mm tube, 50mm objective Dual dovetail rings on a slug gun that will be switched over to the .450 BM upper that I have and it has an illuminated center crosshair - the whole reticle isn't illuminated.
To each's own on the slug gun, but I doubt I'll ever use one again. and as for using a new gun in the woods, they all were new at one point.
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Post by ukwil on May 12, 2020 9:48:03 GMT -5
Leupold 3x9x40 Ultimate slam, I believe.
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Post by dbd870 on May 12, 2020 10:12:25 GMT -5
1.5x4 of some kind. Been so long since I had that barrel on one of the 870’s don’t remember!
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Post by stevein on May 12, 2020 12:21:41 GMT -5
I have been seeing the 350 L and 450 BM in bolt guns for around $300 or so. Synthetic stocks you will not have to worry about scratching up. Plus either is available in the AR platform. Of course you will still need a new scope. I would guess the rain was more of a factor than light gathering ability of the scope.
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Post by steiny on May 12, 2020 14:12:47 GMT -5
I'm a huge Leupold fan, but not a fan of the Leupold "shotgun scopes". With todays modern slugs and weapons, you can stretch more distance and accuracy out of a slug gun than those "shotgun scopes" are really good for. Step up to a Leupold VX-II or VX-III in about 3x9 and you will have the "fine" crosshairs for more accurate sighting, better light gathering properties, and more magnification.
Nothing wrong with a shotgun and no need to switch to a rifle if you're happy with it. We killed the same amount or more deer every year before the centerfire rifles were ever allowed.
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Post by oldhoyt on May 12, 2020 14:32:46 GMT -5
My Marlin 512 Slugmaster wears a Leupold Rifleman 2-7 power. It's fine for the close range woods hunting I do. The gun carries like a 2x4 but it has accounted for a bunch of deer. American Whitetail sabots, 325 grain, 50 caliber interlock bullet at 1825 fps. Not as fast as 450BM, but bigger diameter and 75 grains heavier. I've never heard a buck say, "that slug felt slower than a 450BM". I wouldn't mind toting a 450BM just for something different, but I probably won't buy any more deer guns.
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Post by swilk on May 12, 2020 18:39:03 GMT -5
Slug gun? Dust...lol. it probably still has a Leupold on it but it's been so long since it's been out of the safe I can't say for sure.
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Post by Ahawkeye on May 12, 2020 19:42:54 GMT -5
So it doesn't matter if I put a rifle scope on a slug gun? I always thought the shot gun scopes were "more durable or rugged" due to recoil. I could be way off on that though. I realize rifle scopes are probably more pricey and intended for long range capability but I mainly hunt in the woods and am at close range by comparison I like to hunt till last legal light so light gathering is a plus for sure.
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Post by swilk on May 12, 2020 20:47:35 GMT -5
A quality scope will work just fine...
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Post by esshup on May 13, 2020 8:32:39 GMT -5
So it doesn't matter if I put a rifle scope on a slug gun? I always thought the shot gun scopes were "more durable or rugged" due to recoil. I could be way off on that though. I realize rifle scopes are probably more pricey and intended for long range capability but I mainly hunt in the woods and am at close range by comparison I like to hunt till last legal light so light gathering is a plus for sure. Not sure on slug gun scopes but I have always used regular rifle scopes on all my guns, rimfires too. Get one with an adjustable objective to set parallax. Get the biggest objective and biggest tube size you can afford for the best light transmission. Buy a quality scope and you won't have to worry about it going bad, and if it does they have lifetime warranties. You aren't going to be shooting 100's of rounds thru the gun but if a quality scope can survive being on a spring powered air rifle or on a large bore centerfire rifle, it will hold up on a slug gun. I put regular rifle scopes on my muzzleloader and I am shooting loads/bullets that are comparable to .458 Win Mag
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Post by jjas on May 13, 2020 12:32:06 GMT -5
The whole "larger tube and Objective size" is all fine and good, but putting the hubble telescope on top of a slug gun that is essentially a 100 yard firearm makes little sense to me.
Back in the day, I mounted a cheap Simmons pro diamond scope on a browning bps 12 gauge (that I was shooting Winchester partition gold slugs through) and it survived for a few seasons (even though low light performance wasn't "top notch"). I've run slug guns with Nikon prostaff 3-9x40 scopes and they held up well and never gave me problems.
Whether it's Leupold, Nikon, Vortex, or whatever you want, I've found that a reasonably priced 3-9x40 scope (around $150) with good eye relief will survive atop a slug gun or muzzleloader and give you good low light performance. It doesn't have to be a special "shotgun" scope to do so.
The last point I would make is don't skimp on the rings for a slug gun. I've used both Leupold and Warne steel rings and never had any issues. Scope rings take a lot of stress on a slug gun, and mounting a nice scope with $15 rings makes zero sense to me.
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Post by steiny on May 13, 2020 17:33:34 GMT -5
So it doesn't matter if I put a rifle scope on a slug gun? I always thought the shot gun scopes were "more durable or rugged" due to recoil. I could be way off on that though. I realize rifle scopes are probably more pricey and intended for long range capability but I mainly hunt in the woods and am at close range by comparison I like to hunt till last legal light so light gathering is a plus for sure. No, the "shotgun scopes" were just a little cheaper, more simple scope designed for shorter range shooting. They are no more stout than a good high powered rifle scope. Stick with leupold and everything is lifetime warranty anyway, if you were to ever have a problem. I hunt IL every year which is still a shotgun only state, so I maintain a good slug gun, with good optics. With the right setup and ammo, a good slug gun is a 200 yard weapon.
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Post by Ahawkeye on May 14, 2020 0:43:04 GMT -5
The whole "larger tube and Objective size" is all fine and good, but putting the hubble telescope on top of a slug gun that is essentially a 100 yard firearm makes little sense to me. Back in the day, I mounted a cheap Simmons pro diamond scope on a browning bps 12 gauge (that I was shooting Winchester partition gold slugs through) and it survived for a few seasons (even though low light performance wasn't "top notch"). I've run slug guns with Nikon prostaff 3-9x40 scopes and they held up well and never gave me problems. Whether it's Leupold, Nikon, Vortex, or whatever you want, I've found that a reasonably priced 3-9x40 scope (around $150) with good eye relief will survive atop a slug gun or muzzleloader and give you good low light performance. It doesn't have to be a special "shotgun" scope to do so. The last point I would make is don't skimp on the rings for a slug gun. I've used both Leupold and Warne steel rings and never had any issues. Scope rings take a lot of stress on a slug gun, and mounting a nice scope with $15 rings makes zero sense to me. I always buy good rings, I use Leupold and agree a $600 scope on a slug gun is a waste of money but my point is if I can see the animal with my own eyes better than I can through the scope there's a problem, that's exactly why I changed from Simmons to Leupold to begin with, there was a huge difference between the two, I'm just trying to take another step up from a low light perspective.
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