Q: I'm going hunting in Illinois for the first time, and am searching for a good slug gun. I already have a Ruger Red Label O/U. Will this work? I read an article awhile back about a shotgun that shoots out to 200 yards. Is this possible? I think the name of the shotgun was Tar something. Have you ever heard of it? Please point me in the right direction. - J.M., via e-mail
A: No, I'm afraid that a Ruger Red Label will not work as a slug gun. The barrels of double guns shoot to different points of aim. Your reference to a 200-yard slug gun would be the Tar-Hunt RSG-12. They start at $2,000, but a novice shooter wouldn't be able to shoot one more accurately than any other slug gun. Most slug guns are effective at 125-150 yards with the right ammo. Probably the most accurate slug gun for the money is the Savage 210 bolt action. It's the only bolt-action slug gun on the market, and sells for around $340. One of the simplest, accurate slug guns is the H&R 980, a 10-pound single shot with a bull barrel. It sells for about $225. If price is the main consideration, check out Remington's 870 Special Purpose Deer pump gun. Try a variety of slugs, starting with the Lightfield Hybred, Hastings Magnum or Federal Barnes Expander (1 ounce). If you want flatter-shooting slugs, try the Winchester Partition Gold, Hornady SST and/or the Remington Core-Lokt Ultra. You'll find that one or two brands shoot better out of your gun than the rest. All sabot slugs are expensive. Don't shoot sabot slugs out of a smoothbore gun, and don't shoot conventional rifled slugs out of a rifled barrel, since it will skid and fill the grooves with lead. Rule of thumb: Sight-in 1,400- to 1,600-fps slugs 2 inches high at 50 yards, and they'll be dead-on at 100. Sight faster (1,700-2,000 fps slugs) 3/4 inch high at 50, and they'll be dead-on at 100. A novice shooter cannot shoot accurately at 200 yards, or even at 150, but the slugs are definitely lethal at those ranges. If you're looking for deep reference, try my book, "Shotgunning for Deer," which is available through my website, www.hendersonoutdoors.com.
- Dave Henderson
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Q: I have just moved up from a .270 Win to a 7mm Rem Mag. I would like to add a muzzle brake to reduce recoil. A gunsmith said he could cut my existing barrel to make a muzzle brake. Is this as good as installing a threaded muzzle brake? - D.M., via e-mail
A: A "cut" or ported rifle barrel does not soften recoil as effectively as the Browning BOSS System or various muzzle brakes offered as aftermarket items. All muzzle brakes work to various degrees of efficiency, but at the price of increased muzzle blast, or noise. If, like me, you can't afford to lose any more of your hearing, consider adding a recoil suppressor to the stock or using low-recoil ammunition. Remington's Managed Recoil ammo, which reduces recoil by 50 percent, is available in 7mm Rem Mag. It's proven to be effective on deer-sized game out to 200 yards.
- Larry Teague
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Q: I recently had a rifle built for the .224 TTH (Texas Trophy Hunter) and am enjoying it tremendously. Have you taken any deer with this caliber? What were the results? - J.M., via e-mail
A: Back in the days when I was staff writer for Texas Trophy Hunter magazine, it became apparent that lots of Texans were using hot-loaded .22s for deer. Problem was, the rates of twist in most of the .22 centerfires were set up for varmint bullets. What we needed was a bigger, stouter bullet driven to adequate velocities to reliably take deer-size game.
After much experimentation, I settled on the 6mm case necked down to .22 caliber, matched to a barrel with a 1-in-9 twist. That combination adequately drives 64- to 75-grain bullets, and the .224 TTH was born.
Fortunately, manufacturers have responded with stout .22 bullets like the 70-grain Swift and 69-grain Lost River. With these bullets, I have taken more than a dozen deer and about half as many antelope with completely satisfactory results.
One word of caution, however. Avoid target-style bullets like the 70-grain Sierra, as these are fragile and will shatter rather than penetrate. Stick to the thick-walled heavyweights, and you won't have a problem.
In developing the .224 TTH, my goal was not to condone the use of .22 bullets on whitetails, but to provide an adequate platform for those who insist on doing so. The .224 TTH is an inherently accurate and flat-shooting cartridge extremely well suited for long-range varminting and bigger game up to the size of Texas whitetails and pronghorns.
- Ralph M. Lermayer
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Q: I'm interested in purchasing a rifle that can shoot long distances because we may go hunting in the mountains for elk, bighorn sheep and deer. I already shoot my dad's .30-06 and want to have a better chance at taking something. We normally set up on a large field. Shooting across it is hard for me because the gun is sighted at 150 yards, and the end of the field is about 300 yards. What would be a good, inexpensive setup?
--M.F., via Email
A: If you want to make a long-range rifle out of your dad's .30-06, you can sight it so 180-grain bullets at 2,700 fps hit 3 inches high at 100 yards. That will put the bullets right on the mark at 240 yards, 21 inches low at 400 yards and 46 inches low at 500 yards. A .300 Winchester Magnum with the same bullet at 3,000 fps and sight setting will reduce that bullet drop by 9 inches at 400 yards and 18 inches at 500 yards. A 7mm Remington Magnum firing a 160-grain bullet at 3,000 fps will shoot about 3 inches flatter at 500 yards than the .300 magnum.
The Savage M111FHNS is a great entry-level gun, and you will be hard-pressed to find a more accurate rifle at any price. Its AccuTrigger is a delight to use. The Nikon Buckmasters 3-9x40 is a good scope to put on the rifle and provides all the magnification you'll need for long-range shooting.
Good luck hunting in the mountains.
--John Haviland