Slugs for both rifle and smoothbore shotguns and rifle slugs only, What's the difference? Mods if this question has been asked please delete and point me in the right direction. I was researching different slug ammo for shotguns and every now and then I would come across a round that says for rifle barreles only. If you were to shoot them through a smoothbore would it damage the barrel or would it not be as accurate as a rifled barrel? Any response would be appreciated. I'm probably gonna get my ass reamed for this question.

Actually, I hear this fairly regularly at the shop.

Foster slugs, the hollow based, rifled slugs are for smooth bored shotguns.

The sabot slugs are for rifled barrel shotguns.

Brenneke slugs, the oddity, are also for smooth bored shotguns. They are also externally rifled.

If you shoot the wrong slugs through the barrel, you will have quite poor accuracy.
I suppose, if the choke were tight enough, and the sabot thin enough, since the slug inside is pretty solid, you could have a serious problem in a smooth bored shotgun. But, with the very high possibility of a sabot slug being fired through a choke bored smooth shotgun barrel, even inadvertently, the sabot is of sufficient thickness to absorb the constriction. That would be a lawsuit just waiting to happen.


edited because i just cant spell today

slugs for smoothbore are designed with angled groves to create the needed spin. they don't work well in rifled barrels, because they create overspin if going the same direction as the rifling, and would counter act if going the other way......not sure if different barrels spin different directions....someone else will need to answer that one.

slugs for rifled barrels are more like a typical bullet, when the spin is created by the rifling of the barrel and therefore a smooth surface on the bullet is fine.

Sabot rounds suck in smooth bore guns.

I've done the majority of my deer hunting with a Rem 870 20ga with a smoothbore barrel with rifle sights and simple winchester or federal slugs. PLENTY accurate and lethal to the Wisconsin whitetail population.

So in other words, if you fire a slug or sabot slug made especially for rifled barrells through a smoothbore the worse you'll get is poor accuracy? Like the Saiga12 with no choke tubes or polychokes I've fired slugs, yeah they aren't that accurate but sometimes I just like to plink at 25 yards.

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You will pay more for sabots. They don't do any better than Fosters in a smoothbore. You don't want to shoot them through a 22" fixed full choke Saiga 12 though, it could banana peel or worse...
With a regular 19" barrel or less though, no worries.
If you have a paradox (rifled) choke screwed on there, the sabots are what you need to take advantage of it. The fosters suck when fired through mine, and only manage to foul the rifling.
With any slugs through a Saiga 12, unless you have the paradox choke, the best bet is open cylinder for accuracy.

+1, I actually bought a moss. 500 for $75 because the owner WOULDN'T buy Sabot slugs for the fully rifled barrel. I couldn't bring myself to talk him down any more on price since it was my brother-in-law.

Thanks Cobra and everybody's input on this. I really appeciate it.