There are several reasons to consider using shotgun slugs.  First, if you are primarily a small game hunter and own a shotgun, but not a rifle, slugs will allow you to hunt big game at short ranges without shelling out money for a rifle that will only get occasional use. Second, if you decide to hunt big game in states that do not permit the use of centerfire rifles (such as Ohio) slugs are the logical choice. Another reason would be for home defense. Slugs are definately a man-stopper. Many peope believe that the shotgun is the best choice for home defense.

Shotgun slugs are stabilized in flight by the "shuttlecock" principal. That is why slugs have a solid head and a hollow base. For a while, slugs were manufactured with riflings on the outside. Most shooters have been lead to believe that rifled slugs will rotate in the barrel, but this is not true. Manufacturers created the rifled slug hoping that the riflings would cause the slug to spin while in flight, much like the fletchings on an arrow. However, tests show that this doesn't happen, and the manufacturers have dropped the idea. You may still find some available, though, since some shooters still believe it helps.

Slugs made of soft lead can be used in just about any shotgun, including full-choke barrels. Hard slugs should be used only in barrels designed for them, or in barrels that have little or no choke. You can purchase a shotgun barrel with riflings designed especially for slug shooting. These shotguns are more prevelent in the N.E. United States where ranges are limited by brush or trees. How hard is too hard? Generally, soft lead can be easily scored with the thumbnail

Slugs are sized to just fit the barrel, or sized to be placed inside a plastic shot cup. The latter types are called sabots. Although I have never heard of it happening with a shotgun, I have seen a rifle muzzle brake ripped apart by shooting sabots, where the sabot opened up before clearing the muzzle brake. Virtually all shotgun ammunition is now placed in shot cups, so such happenings are extremely rare. If your shotgun has a Cutts Compensator, a Poly-choke or other adjustable choke, consult the manufacturer.

Commercially sold slugs used to be packaged in paper hulls with a roll crimp. This would allow you to see the slug, and avoid confusing it with a standard load. Today's slugs available to the handloader are generally assembled with a folded crimp using plastic hulls. The user should mark the slug loads to prevent confusion. When using a fold crimp, the goal is to get a combination of powder, wad, and slug to create a column that ends 7/8th of an inch from the tip of the hull. This will allow proper fold-crimping.

If your column is too tall, switch to a denser powder, a shorter wad, or a shorter slug. You can also use more pressure on the wad, but if you are using a plastic cup wad, you may collapse the cup. The best practice is to cut one of your loaded hulls down the side and open it up to verify that the column is intact. The critical measurement for plastic cup wads is from the base of the wad to the bottom of the cup - not overall length. If you are not using sabot slugs, you may cut the petals off of any wads you have on hand.

If your column is too short, switch to a bulkier powder, a longer wad, or a taller slug. You can also trim the hull a bit to allow you to use the components that you have on-hand. Make sure you mark these trimmed hulls so that they are not mixed with standard hulls. Felt wads and nitro cards are getting tougher to find, but if you have them, this is a good way to use them up.

Once you have found a good slug that shoots well in your shotgun ( better that a 4" group at 50 yards), it's time to do something about the sights. Basically, you have two choices: First, you can have rifle sights mounted on your shotgun, or you can opt for a low-power, long eye-relief scope. After that, PRACTICE.  Practice either off-hand or sitting - whichever you are likely to be doing on the actual hunt.With proper care, you can assemble good slugs that you can be confident will work.

Happy Shooting!

HandloaderBob