E
Elite Edition

How far can you shoot a slug gun?

Author

Emily Dawson

Published Mar 15, 2026

How far can you shoot a slug gun?

Many such readymade slug guns perform more like a rifle than a shotgun, with effective ranges in excess of 200 yards. (Hint: the Savage model 220F is an exceptional slug gun. It retails around $500.) Use conventional slugs when shooting a smoothbore shotgun.

How much does a 20 gauge slug drop at 200 yards?

A comparable 20-gauge 2 ¾-inch Foster sighted in at 50 yards drops about 6 inches at 100 yards and its energy diminishes to less than 800 foot pounds….Speed and Energy.

Distance (yards)Drop (inches)Foot Pounds of Energy
175-1.96
200-6.301,028

How far away can you shoot a deer with a shotgun slug?

Rifled slug barrels are providing hunters the ability to consistently and accurately hit targets ethically out to 150 yards or more.

How far can you shoot a slug out of a 12 gauge?

A slug also becomes increasingly inaccurate with distance; out to 100 yards, it drops approximately 5″ and has a maximum range of approximately 400 yards. In contrast, centerfire projectiles from rifles can travel miles. Shotgun slugs are best suited for uses over short ranges.

What distance should I zero my shotgun slugs?

Most slugs become subsonic, travelling less than 1220 feet per second, slightly beyond a muzzle distance of 50 yards, thus making 50 yards the ideal zeroing distance. Zeroing at 50 yards also cuts down, by approximately 60%, the chance of adjusting windage error into your scope setting.

How much does a slug drop at 100 yards?

(Slugs can drop more than 10 inches over 100 yards.) With practice and accurate ranging, a good shooter could consistently hit a deer-size kill zone at 100 yards. If you don’t put in the time to practice at those ranges, keep your shots to a maximum of 50-75 yards.

How far can I shoot a deer with a 20 gauge slug?

The challenge with a 20 gauge shotgun slug is not the effective range. They can shoot to 100 yards. The challenge is the lack of precision sights on a shot gun. As a pre-teen, I could hold a 12 to 15 inch group at 100 yards with a bench rest.

How far can a savage 220 shoot?

Savage 220 is a great slug gun. Use the Remington Accutip sabots for great accuracy at up to 200 yards. Remington ballistics suggest zero at 150, so a decent marksman should be in the kill zone at 200 if you shoot it enough.

What is better buckshot or slug?

The big advantage of using a slug is that it has a much longer effective range than buckshot. Additionally, shotgun slugs retain their energy better and typically penetrate much deeper than buckshot. A shotgun shooting a slug is also much more precise than a shotgun shooting buckshot.

Where do you hit a deer with a slug?

With the power of the slug gun, no matter what anyone says, it is ethical to shoot the animal in the chest while it is facing directly forward, quartering to, broadside or quartering away. Many hunters try to place the slug right behind the front leg on a broadside shot just as you would with archery equipment.

How accurate is a shotgun slug at 100 yards?

Maximum effective range is limited as much by the slug’s rapid decay of energy and velocity as by its poor accuracy.” Published in 1964, the “Fact Book” states that a typical 12-gauge, 1-ounce slug traveling at 1560 fps loses 60 percent of its energy at 100 yards.

Can you bore sight a slug gun?

Bore sighting does work with slug guns, but the larger diamater of the barrel leaves more of a margin for error. So while bore sighting a rifle will usually get you on paper at 50, bore sighting a slug gun may still leave you well off the paper at 25 if it isn’t a good bore sight.