LETTER OF THE MONTH
A Smoothbore Barrel Beats A Rifled One
Q I want to buy a shotgun to use on pigs and as well as waterfowl and other winged game. My gun shop recommends I get a gun with a rifled barrel which they say is more accurate for shooting rifled slugs and which can do double duty for birds with shotshells. But I was not convinced so they told me to ask you. Will this kind of gun perform equally as well with both types of loads, or would I be better off with a smoothbore? I am doubtfull if shotshells will pattern well in a rifled shotgun barrel.
–Jeff Bennett
A For hunting pigs as well as birds with one shotgun barrel, you will be much better off with a smoothbore, and best of all, a smoothbore with interchangeable choke tubes. Obviously, the guy in your gun shop has never worked with slug loads in a smoothbore barrel, but when the right load is matched up with the right choke constriction a smoothbore can equal the accuracy of a rifled barrel out to 75 metres or so. The secret is to choose a slug that fits snugly with the choke constriction. Having interchangeable chokes allows you to choose the constriction that mates best with the diameter of the slug load you intend using. It is a fact that a smoothbore barrel with the correct choke constriction for a particular slug of the Foster type is usually as accurate with those
