I just got back into this forum after a long sabatical. With Daryl's good suggestions and some time and money on my part I have been shooting a double barrel slug gun with success. Even more crazy----At 50 yards I get cloverleaf groups from off the shelf 600 grain Brenneke Black Magic's. Although I ahve tried a ton of slugs, while they are all reasonable I still cannot get any to shoot clover leafs at 50 yards except the BMM Magnums... It double 12 gauge gun is a smooth bore, cylinder / cylinder bore. It has express sights on it, and I feel those are quite important.

I have shot round ball with this same double barrel slug gun and at 50 yards I can put them all within an 6 inch circle reliably but that it is NOT to my satisfaction but still promising. I just need do load up some more round balls and test them using some better methods that I have been taught. Basically my feeling is a 50 yard slug gun with smooth bore is within most anyone's capabilities.

To prove the point I intend to get a cowboy gun and once I ascertain the bore size/choke size, then I will match it to a round ball by either buying or molding up some roundballs that are within a few thousands on the smaller side of that, of course. The trick to loading the round balls (as Daryl coached me on) is to load them in an upside down shotcup, one with the petals caught off. That acts as a carriage, better than a cloth patch I think, to center the ball during its flight out the barrel.

I do not think you need to put rifled barrels on a double barrel shotgun to get an accurate 60 yard or even MORE double slugger. As Daryl has proven, and as I am proving, a smooth bore double barrel can deliver accuracy and devastation. What distances do you need to shoot to? The last deer I got was 30 yards and then deer before that 22 yards... and the other deer I could have had but just watched was at 15 to 20 yards. I do not know about you ,but most deer and game I shoot at are under 60 yards.