Adding scope to a shotgun

[radiohead]

I have a Remington 870 with interchangeable barrels (smooth and rifled). I have always used the gun for duck hunting and it works great for me. Last year I took up deer hunting. Did quite a bit of target shooting with the rifled barrel before the season, and used it just fine for deer season. Took a buck on opening day at about 40 yards out.
Was thinking about adding a scope but the rifled barrel is not cantilevered w/ scope mount.
I do have a 12 gage with a smooth barrel in my gun case that I currently don't use. It was my Fathers gun and he gave it to me. It's a very nice shotgun and I don't want to take it duck hunting due to the water, elements, etc.
Does anyone shoot a smooth barreled shotgun with a scope for deer hunting? How's the accuracy? Also I am assuming you can't shoot slugs without a rifled barrel and would have to shoot buck shot?

[spooledbseries]

my dad has a ithica model 37 deer slayer feather light. it has a smooth bore barrel and is the most accurate shot gun i have ever seen and it does not have a scope. shot a spike right through the ears last year at 65 yards. i was like holy crap. he uses breneke slugs. they are some good slugs but they dont shoot for crap out of my gun:( 870 super mag. i shoot they cheap winchester super x they are the most accurate for me.:evilsmile

[Skibum]

You can use a smoothbore with slugs but not with the sabot slugs which were developed for use in rifled barrels. Brenekes are worth a try or standard Foster slugs. The important thing is having some type of sights other than just a front bead. If your gun has choke tubes you can try a rifled tube. I had good luck with Lightfield slugs from a rifled tube in my 870. I mounted a scope using a B-Square saddle mount over the receiver. Personally I think a fully rifled cantilever barrel is the best wasy to go but you have some options.

[radiohead]

My rifled barrel on the 870 has a rear sight. When I shot my deer last year it was 40 yds away and I put the sabot slug right where I wanted it. So the rear sight works well. I was just trying to see if I could add a scope to increase my shooting distance since there are some open fields on the property I hunt on. But then I would lose the ability to use my 870 for duck hunting.
How accurate are Foster slugs shooting out of a smoothbore and up to what distance?


You can use a smoothbore with slugs but not with the sabot slugs which were developed for use in rifled barrels. Brenekes are worth a try or standard Foster slugs. The important thing is having some type of sights other than just a front bead. If your gun has choke tubes you can try a rifled tube. I had good luck with Lightfield slugs from a rifled tube in my 870. I mounted a scope using a B-Square saddle mount over the receiver. Personally I think a fully rifled cantilever barrel is the best wasy to go but you have some options.

[Skibum]

My rifled barrel on the 870 has a rear sight. When I shot my deer last year it was 40 yds away and I put the sabot slug right where I wanted it. So the rear sight works well. I was just trying to see if I could add a scope to increase my shooting distance since there are some open fields on the property I hunt on. But then I would lose the ability to use my 870 for duck hunting.
How accurate are Foster slugs shooting out of a smoothbore and up to what distance?

As a general rule of thumb I consider Foster slugs to be a 100 yard load max. Really 50-75 and that depends on the gun. Some guns shoot them pretty well and some just don't. You can put a saddle scope mount on your 870 and use your rifled barrel. You just need to put it on and make sure to get it zeroed between the end of duck hunting and opening of deer.

[Skibum]

I have a rem 870 super mag that shoots brenneke ko slugs quite nicely out to about 50 yards with no scope. Its actually the best round in my opinion especially at $2.50 a box. I have never heard of a rifled choke tube, whats the deal with those? If someone were to mount a scope on a shotgun, whats a good one to consider using? Im sure no ones going to try 200yrd shots with a 12ga.

A rifled choke tube is simply an extended choke tube that is 3-4" long and is rifled to impart some spin. I used one on my 870 for a while and it shot pretty well using Lightfield slugs which seems to be a load that works well for a lot of people. For a scope I used a Leupold 1-4x shotgun scope. Stay away from el-cheapo scopes because they take a pounding on a 12 ga.

[jme]

You can get a scope mounting bracket that attaches to the receiver. I did this on my Mossberg 500. This is not as good as mounting the scope directly on the barrel. With the receiver mount the scope and barrel are separate. If the barrel shifts at all, like when you switch out barrels, the scope will be off. If you can get the barrel drilled so the mounts are on the barrel you'll be better off. There's a great book that I highly recommend, "Shotgunning for Deer" by Dave Henderson. After reading this book I went out and bought a H&R Ultra Slugster. It's a single shot with the scope mounted directly on the barrel - can't wait to use it this year!

[radiohead]

I work with a guy who has an H&R slug gun with a simmons scope mounted on it. He no longer uses it and I am trying to talk him into selling it to me:D


After reading this book I went out and bought a H&R Ultra Slugster. It's a single shot with the scope mounted directly on the barrel - can't wait to use it this year!

[Chocha]

I work with a guy who has an H&R slug gun with a simmons scope mounted on it. He no longer uses it and I am trying to talk him into selling it to me:D


Im actually looking for options for my 20ga H&R Topper Smooth Bore...

It only has the bore end sight bead.. Im just looking for the possiblity of adding a rear sight and maybe an alternative bore end sight for incresed visiblity..Has anyone done anything similar that could give some pointers on this? I dont exactly want to add a scope to mine, but would prefer to add a better iron sight set up to it..