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I know in Europe prior to the 1980s Brenneke slugs were the mainstay for boar, bear and european bison.
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So the question goes: should I just use a SxS with Brenneke slugs for close quarter/driven hunts (boar, moose, odd bear) or should I get something else entirely?

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Kappa,

let me put a question mark here. Where did you get that information?
Slugs were often used for hunting "behind the iron curtain", simply because most hunters there were not allowed to own a rifle. This was not a matter of preference! The hunters knew the limits in range and penetration, and the use of tracking dogs was common. Bear or bison? E.g. it is told that bears in Romania were reserved to be shot by the dictator Ceausescu, and I bet the farm that this guy had a rifle.

If you go to Germany, Scandinavia, Britain, this is "rifle country". Hunters there will consider slugs on big game for an emergency or backup, but will normally prefer a rifle.

Regards,
fuhrmann

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From reading various historical texts dealing primarily with the [battue] hunting traditions of France, Austria and Germany. I have also talked to hunters in Poland and Germany and my impressions were that rifles are the preferred choice for most types of hunting and shotguns of either the SxS or drilling variety with slugs are still common for driven hunts. If you read my original post, I state explicitly that I am considering slugs for a very limited (I.e. close range/driven) type of hunting.

Re. Count Széchenyi, it was not uncommon for the nobility to have a monopoly on Central Europe's hunting grounds. Whether the hunting parties used shotguns or rifles is mere speculation, but I would wager that both were used.

Battue calibers for the most part of the 20th century seemed to be heavily dominated by drilling/shotguns. However, that may not be the case today.

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