Farthest Ethical shot with a slug?

[allmann 549]

I was bored and started watching hunting videos and came across this one.  

I remember reading one of the threads about the 220 and one of the members saying the 20g slug shouldn't be uses past 150yds. That stuck with me thinking where I am hunting this year a 150yd shot is definitely possible (300yd would be possible too). I was shocked that the 3" Accutip has the ability to do it at 300yds. I myself only have it sighted in for 100yds and doubt I would need much more than that.  What is your opinion on max ranges and how far is over extending the capability of the round?

[Cousin Brown 1,159]

Let me get my popcorn.......

Edited January 9, 2020 by Cousin Brown

[MGHunter66 7,639]

5 minutes ago, allmann said:

What is your opinion on max ranges and how far is over extending the capability of the round?

The loss in energy at that type of distance should tell anybody not to do it. Couple that with the left/right wind drift aspect or head/tail wind affect on ballistics should be enough for anyone to say it’s not a good practice. 

[allmann 549]

7 minutes ago, MGHunter66 said:

The loss in energy at that type of distance should tell anybody not to do it. Couple that with the left/right wind drift aspect or head/tail wind affect on ballistics should be enough for anyone to say it’s not a good practice. 

I agree it should, but the video proves the round has the ability at 300.  I am not going to do it, but I am amazed it still has the energy to drop them in their tracks at that distance.  

[BowhunterNJ 10,074]

I don't know, it seems somewhat unnecessary to shoot 300 yards at a doe over bait, I guess they were just trying to prove it could be done and have 3 examples of it.  I'm not used to hunting open areas where I have long shots, so it's easy for me to say "Ah just wait until you have a close shot", all of mine are "close".  With that said, the farthest I've shot a deer with my 12 gauge slug gun is about 150 yards and I'm not sure I'd want to go much farther without a lot of practice in various conditions and really maximizing the kinetic energy at those ranges with the round I'm using.  

I've seen varying recommendations for the amount of ft/lbs required to kill a deer effectively/ethically, ranging from 800-1300 ft/lbs, so that is a factor in that whatever you shoot has enough energy to kill the game you are hunting at the range you are shooting.  For NJ whitetail weighing 150lbs, maybe it's only 700-800 but for a Canadian whitetail weighing 300lbs maybe it's more like 1000?

[KEITH STONE 40]

The farthest ethical shot would be from the book suppository building.🏢

[MGHunter66 7,639]

3 minutes ago, allmann said:

I agree it should, but the video proves the round has the ability at 300.  I am not going to do it, but I am amazed it still has the energy to drop them in their tracks at that distance.  

Would you film a shot that didn’t? LOL A slug at 1900fps will move 6” from a 10mph crosswind, believe me I handload slugs and have tested in all types of conditions to see the effects. You will get guys saying I killed a buck at 150-200yrds with my 220, I will tell you they got lucky

[BowhunterNJ 10,074]

FWIW, what the first shooter described was the PRA20M 20 gauge Accutip, 3" 260 grain shooting 1900 fps.

So it is shooting 1900 fps, 1193 ft/lbs at 100 yards.

Here is Randy Wakeman's ballistics out to 300 yards with the Savage 220 and the 275 grain 3 inch Federal "Trophy Copper" load #P209 TC :

 

So by extrapolation, the video's Remington PRA20M round at 300 yards should have approximately 609.15 ft/lb of energy.  Extrapolating the optimal game weight would be 114.82 lbs.

 

[BowhunterNJ 10,074]

Added my slug gun is a 12 gauge, not 20 gauge.

[smittty 1,156]

Your hold over with a 100yrd zero would be 5 ft 

[Gobblengrunt 4,259]

Look at the optimal game weight and how its a significant drop from 0 to 200 yards.  It with a special handload its clear to me that a 200 yard shot is pushing the limits of a slug for an ethical shot.  

[Lunatic 17,043]

If your weapon is capable then the ethical side has only to do with your ability and confidence. There is no magic number making it ethical. A guy shaking in his pants can take a 20 yard unethically shot. Distance has nothing to do with it. 

[nickmarch 1,042]

The digest says that a one ounce slug can travel approximately 1260 yards so 300 yards or a little more sounds ethical if the shooter is competent and confident.  I would shoot 300 with my handgun given the opportunity.

[Slayer1962 529]

100 yards for me but thats my limitation not the weapon 

[Tbryant 367]

1 hour ago, Lunatic said:

If your weapon is capable then the ethical side has only to do with your ability and confidence. There is no magic number making it ethical. A guy shaking in his pants can take a 20 yard unethically shot. Distance has nothing to do with it. 

Couldn't have said it better. I'm sure most don't know even know the full capabilities of their weapons. Not saying it's a bad thing but just because you don't shoot past 100 yards doesn't mean the guy who does is in the wrong.