Slug gun build........picking what Sabot to use

Well I finally made a short list of sabots to try in my new deer slugger

Attachment 34338


I short listed the following sabots to try out and see what ones my gun liked (all 2-3/4" shells):

• Hornady SST (300 Grain 2000 fps)
• Federal Trophy (300 Grain 1900 fps)
• Federal Sabot 1oz Power Shok (437 Grain 1500 fps)
• Winchester Dual Bond (375 Grain 1800 fps)
• Remington Accutips (385 Grain 1850 fps)

I checked out the ballistics of the 2-3/4" sabots and noticed there is a wide range of weights and speeds to choose from. I compiled this ballistic data from on-line ballistic etools that are available. Please note that I was disappointed that Remington does not have any on-line ballistic calculator available. Winchester, in my personal opinion, had the best ballistic calculator out there - very cool tool!!

I kept the shooting characteristics the same between the different ballistic calculators to keep the results consistent:

Simulated Shooting Conditions:
Sight-in Range: 100 yds Max Range: 200 yds Cross Wind: 0 mph Temp: 59 F Altitude: 1000 msl Sight Height: 1.5 in

Ballistic Results

12GA Federal Trophy 2-3/4" Sabot	Range (yd)	Drop (in)	Velocity (fps)	Energy (ft-lb)
	0	-1.5	1900	2405
	25	0	1803	2165
	50	0.7	1710	1947
	75	0.8	1620	1748
	100	0	1534	1567
	125	-1.7	1452	1404
	150	-4.4	1376	1262
	175	-8.4	1307	1137
	200	-13.5	1242	1028
12GA Federal Sabot Hollow Point 2-3/4"	Range (yd)	Drop (in)	Velocity (fps)	Energy (ft-lb)
(Power Shok)	0	-1.5	1500	2188
	25	0.6	1422	1967
	50	1.6	1350	1773
	75	1.5	1283	1601
	100	0	1222	1452
	125	-2.9	1168	1327
	150	-7.5	1121	1222
	175	-13.7	1081	1135
	200	-21.8	1046	1063
12 ga. 2 3/4" Supreme Elite™ Dual Bond™	Range (yd)	Drop (in)	Velocity (fps)	Energy (ft-lb)
	0	-1.5	1800	2695.21
	25	0.1	1716	2450.4
	50	0.9	1636	2225.63
	75	0.9	1558	2020.27
	100	0	1485	1833.77
	125	-1.8	1415	1665.52
	150	-4.8	1350	1514.96
	175	-8.9	1289	1381.54
	200	-14.3	1233	1264.59
Hornady 2-3/4" SST Sabot	Range (yd)	Drop (in)	Velocity (fps)	Energy (ft-lb)
	0	-1.5	2000	2664
	25	-0.2	1905	2418
	50	0.6	1814	2192
	75	0.7	1726	1984
	100	0	1641	1795
	125	-1.4	1560	1622
	150	-3.8	1483	1465
	175	-7.1	1410	1324
	200	-11.6	1342	1199
Remington 2-3/4" Accutip Sabot	Range (yd)	Drop (in)	Velocity (fps)	Energy (ft-lb)
	0		1850	2915
	50	2.7	1611	2218
	100	3.6	1401	1677
	150	0	N/A	N/A

The Test:

The only way to do this properly is get out and shoot up some paper. I used a rangefinder and ranged 100yds from the berm that is on the farm and then I set up the shooting table making sure it was flat and level. I set up the targets on backer boards that were stapled to stakes that are hammered into the ground in front of the berm. I shot three identical sabots from each box into each of my 5 targets pausing for the barrel to cool down between shots, and even ran a couple of swabs down barrel after the set of three shots (before trying new ammo on a fresh target).

As with rifle, turkey and waterfowl ammo each brand will behave differently in your gun giving you different results. I am by no means saying one brand of ammo is better than another - just that some brands shoot better out of my gun than others.

The Results: Hornady SST (300 Grain 2000 fps) http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...ps7tmefotn.jpg

• Federal Trophy (300 Grain 1900 fps)

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...psi4wn71zc.jpg

• Federal Sabot 1oz Power Shok (437 Grain 1500 fps)

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...ps9mlvvrxa.jpg

• Winchester Dual Bond (375 Grain 1800 fps)

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...psd5vx4w8w.jpg

• Remington Accutips (385 Grain 1850 fps)

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...pszgkkzvut.jpg

It was fun to see the different results from different slugs (but hey who does not like an afternoon of shooting). So without further delay the winner is....................

1. Remington Accutips
2. Federal Sabot Power Shok
3. Winchester Dual Bond

What I need to do next is buy 4-5 boxes of Accutips and get the group zero'd in at 100yds and I will be all set for next deer season.

Thanks for following my build guys and it means a great deal to me to have my good friends gun re-purposed for a deer slayer. I know that if Ty was alive he would definitely like the changes I have done to it.

Cheers,

John

Thanks for sharing your results. How's the shoulder?

Quite surprising the wide spread with some of those rounds.

Cheers

Looking good.

Great post! Glad to see that the Federal 1 oz sabots performed well. At half the price of the Accutips I would be inclined to go with those. That being said, I do use Accutips in my 20 gauge, but they're getting close to $25 for 5.

GW11 - I said the exact same thing when I saw the group.......but a couple of buddies sold me on the Accutip because of the larger diameter 0.58 slug and it's excellent ability to expand on impact.

They do perform well. If you look back in the big game section I posted a report from our deer hunt this past fall. I shot a buck with a 20 gauge Accutip and recovered the slug in the opposite side of the hide while butchering. There are pics of the slug and of the results on the deer.

EDIT: Here is the pic.

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/m...psue8dweeq.jpg

Wow.......very nice. That is why I am opting for them (Remington Accutip) even when the standard Federal Sabots group is pretty close!! Thanks for sharing.......BTW......are you using a Savage 220?

No, I'm using an H&R Ultra Slug Hunter but my Dad and brother both carry a Savage 220 in our shotgun areas. Over the last few seasons they've each taken a couple of deer with Accutips. Between the 3 of us who use them, we've probably taken 6 or 7 deer with those particular slugs and all with great results. Ranges of 15 - 150 yards.

It looks like a day on the range with the Muzzel loaders but you're using preloaded rounds and no smoke :)

Excellent testing, very well conducted. I'm actually a little surprised at some of the differences in the various brands.

Have to remember that it's not a sniper gun so hitting anywhere in the 6" black bull at 100yds, is a kill shot for a slug. All of them would do it nicely once sighted in.

Thanks for taking the time and posting your results.:thumbup: