mossberg 500 20 ga

[chadly]

I purchased a Mossberg 500 20 ga for my son a few years ago for Turkey hunting.  I recently had a red dot scope and some trigger work done to the gun.  I picked it up yesterday and wanted to buy an improved cylinder choke for slugs ( I have an extra full and modified).  The gun smith said to try the modified before spending $20 on an improved cylinder that I may not need.  He said if it patterns well no need to by the IC.  My experience is to always shoot IC with slugs.  I did not buy the choke out of respect for the gun smith but in my head I disagreed.  This morning I got out the manual to see what it recommends for chokes used with slugs.  It says nothing!  It does talk about the 835 models and says no slugs may be shot and they remove any responsibility for damage if you shoot a slug.  They make a special barrel for the 835 for slugs.  But I see nothing on the 500. 
So. 
Can I shoot slugs with this gun?
What choke do I need?
thanks.
Chad

[mote1977]

Yes you can shoot slugs with the mod. choke . My 500 is actually more accurate with a mod and rifled slugs than with a cylinder choke. The 835 is over bored. That's why you need a special slug barrel for it. This is copied  from the mossberg website:
Can I shoot slugs or buckshot through a "smoothbore" field barrel with Accu-Choke™ tubes? (500/505/535/9200/88/930 models)
Yes, and with sabots or rifled slugs, the more "open" the choke tube, the better the accuracy ("Improved Cylinder" recommended.) The "full" or "modified" choke tubes are preferred for buckshot loads. Slugs, buckshot and steel shot loads are not recommended for use with an extra full "turkey tube" installed, due to the tube's tight constriction. Do not fire any load without a choke tube installed, doing so will damage the internal choke tube threads.

[chadly]

Thanks. 

[dutch@fx4]

lead slugs are soft and if you look back to your dad and grandpa you will see that thy shot slugs threw what ever thy had ,and in most cases that was a 30 inch full choke shotgun ,that is what I started with and my dad and his dad ,now that we have the options of changing chokes we can use different ones to see what are gun likes ,soft lead slugs will not hurt any choke as thy are much softer then the steel in your barrel ,so try them in your mod choke and see what you get ,rifled slugs have a void in the rear to let the slug swell up to fill the bore to keep the gas from escaping around the slug ,.I have the same gun but got a fully rifled barrel for slugs as that is what we have to use here for deer ,,it works very well ,,good luck Dutch

[allaboutshooting]

I purchased a Mossberg 500 20 ga for my son a few years ago for Turkey hunting.  I recently had a red dot scope and some trigger work done to the gun.  I picked it up yesterday and wanted to buy an improved cylinder choke for slugs ( I have an extra full and modified).  The gun smith said to try the modified before spending $20 on an improved cylinder that I may not need.  He said if it patterns well no need to by the IC.  My experience is to always shoot IC with slugs.  I did not buy the choke out of respect for the gun smith but in my head I disagreed.  This morning I got out the manual to see what it recommends for chokes used with slugs.  It says nothing!  It does talk about the 835 models and says no slugs may be shot and they remove any responsibility for damage if you shoot a slug.  They make a special barrel for the 835 for slugs.  But I see nothing on the 500. 
So. 
Can I shoot slugs with this gun?
What choke do I need?
thanks.
Chad

We lived in Illinois for many years, just moved to SC last June, and while there I shot many deer with slug guns since that was the only type long gun allowed, with the exception of ML rifles. I tried a variety of different barrels, rifled and smooth, a number of different chokes and every slug, rifled and sabot, I could find.

What I learned was that for shots of 50-70 yards, I could shoot very good groups with an Improved Cylinder choke in a smooth bore barrel when I used Brenneke K.O. 2.75" slugs, in either 12 or 20 gauge. Since all of my shots usually fell under that distance, that's what I used most of the time. I could get tighter groups with a Briley rifled choke and also shoot up to 100+ yards with confidence, if need be.

A few years ago, I evaluated a number of different brands of sabots through an E.R. Shaw custom rifled slug barrel for my SBE for a major ammo manufacturer. The Brenneke (not the company that contracted with me) gave better and more consistent groups than any of the others but was substantially less expensive. I would emphasize that the 2.75" shell was much better than the 3" however.

Lastly, all slugs will really lead the bore, as I'm sure you know. i found that I had the most accurate shots after firing a fouling shot thorough a previously cleaned bore. Groups would start to degrade after 4-5 shots and would require a thorough cleaning to remove the lead. Hoppe's, a good brass brush and some time worked best for me.

Good luck with your new 500.

Thanks,
Clark

[chadly]

I finally got out to shoot this gun.  I shot with the modified choke and Winchester 2 3/4 slugs.  The gun was mounted in a lead sled for the shooting.  I was really happy with the groups the gun shot.  The farthest shots were 50 yards and I could keep the groups to about the size of the bottom of a pop can.  I think the gun could even shoot a little better but with a red dot scope it was consuming target space at 50 yards.  Hopefully my son will get his chance at a deer this fall. 
Chad

[dutch@fx4]

I have the same gun and picked up a fully rifled barrel for it ,,I can shot a pop can at 100 yards and on a real good day can stretch it out even farther ,,,I have a leupold  vxr 3to9x40 scope on it and that made a very big improvement ,,,The rifled barrels are not that much cash for the 500 shotguns ,,Dutch

[monty690]

I finally got out to shoot this gun.  I shot with the modified choke and Winchester 2 3/4 slugs.  The gun was mounted in a lead sled for the shooting.  I was really happy with the groups the gun shot.  The farthest shots were 50 yards and I could keep the groups to about the size of the bottom of a pop can.  I think the gun could even shoot a little better but with a red dot scope it was consuming target space at 50 yards. Hopefully my son will get his chance at a deer this fall. 
Chad

I hope he does, it sounds like he'll be ready.