Our hunting property is in a shotgun only zone, and all of
our guns have slowly been switched out from smooth bores to
fully rifled. They shoot just that much better. And the
point about getting the occasional +100 yard shots, happen
every few years. A few years back, I caught a nice buck
walking away from me at 115 yards. I was carrying a
Mossberg Model 695 fully rifled bolt action 12 ga. I made
the perfect quartering away shot that smashed the opposite
side shoulder, and the deer left about a 10 yard red
skid mark in the snow, where it's back legs pushed it,
as it died. I doubt if that would have happened with a
smooth bore, and a Foster style slug.
Me personally, with the low usage on slugs, for this kind
of hunting, I would not let the cost of slugs dictate that
I purchase a less accurate, and less range, firearm. I
shoot somewhere between 5 and 10 slugs a year, and most of
them are through paper checking sights. I would much rather
spend a few dollars more on ammo, and be able to take
that +100 yard shot accurately, than to pass because
my shotgun wasn't capable. So my vote is for the fully
rifled barrel, with a nice light gathering 2-7x scope.
Squeeze
