Short Shotgun Question

[Teky0101 6]

Hello Everyone,

I have a question I was hope you could help me with. I own a Mossberg Maverick 88 18.5" and every time I shoot slugs no matter what brand it shoots over a foot high at 25 yards. Does anyone have any idea why this is the case? I have tried Federal, Winchester and Fiochi slugs. Thank you for your help! 

[JT Custom Guns 959]

Rifled Slugs, Sabots, ??????

[Teky0101 6]

Rifled slugs

[Catch22LR 0]

Looks like the shotgun shoots consistently then - maybe adjust where you're putting your head when aiming?

 

That is the problem for me on a mossberg 500 (but I only ever shoot birdshot, never tried slugs). When I tried it with Fishnut's mossberg 500 with a raised cheek rest, I hit everything.

 

Don't know if that's what's happening here, but it might be worth investigating before doing any expensive mods.

 

I also tried someone else's stock extension (rubber piece that extended the stock about 1 inch, don't know what it's called) and that helped too, without a raised cheek rest.

[Sticky Grips 4]

Are you shooting with a bead, rifle sights, or a scope?

[Polak 3]

Is your cheek on the stock?

[Teky0101 6]

To prevent face shake from the recoil my cheek is not forced into the stock but I shoot the shotgun like I would a rifle. I also am using the bead but with a truglo mod http://www.amazon.com/Truglo-Defense-Fiber-Optic-12-20Ga/dp/B003DWM6V8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1389499550&sr=8-2&keywords=shotgun+sight Thank you for your help!

[JT Custom Guns 959]

Have you checked the end of the barrel to see if there are any nicks or burrs

on the muzzle?

[Teky0101 6]

I do not think there is, the shotgun was purchased new in May and has not been shot a lot but I will check it to be sure.

[Combat Auto 174]

You need to make sure you keep the barrel level at the minuite the gun goes off. It is an animal, and you have to work at it to keep the muzzle flip under control.

 

I've had the same issue, untill I concentrate on the above.

[Scorpio64 5,190]

A bead sight is not great for slugs, and having a bead leads me to think the barrel is probably a smooth bore.  That said.  Have you tried aiming lower?  I'd try aiming lower at 25yds and see what happens.  then see what happens at 50 and 75yds with the bead dead on target.  If you plan on shooting a lot of slugs you may want to look into a cantilevered rifled barrel (for sabots)  and mount a red dot or some other optic on it.  If you're only messing around to see what a slug can do, just aim lower.

[Teky0101 6]

I have aimed lower and that is how I found that the shotgun was shooting high. Does anyone know what the 18" barrels are sighted in for with slugs? 

[GRIZ 3,369]

Shotgun barrels with bead sights are not sighted for slugs at all. I find with just about any 870 with a bead sight I can shoot a group within a couple of inches from point of aim. I think your problrm may be your cheek weld. You say you don't press it into the stock to prevent "face shake". By not pressing your cheek into the stock you are holding the front sight higher to align with your eye with the sight causing the round to strike higher. I've taught hundreds of people how to shoot a shotgun with bead sight with slugs and you need to glue your cheek to the appropriate place on the stock. One to avoid the stock from slamming you in the face and two to get the bead properly aligned with the center of the receiver. Doing so I've never had an incident of injury or anyone complain of "face shake".

 

Do you have some fear that "face shake" will cause you injury?

[Old School 611]

Gentleman,Gentleman,Gentleman,----

 

Some one was close but no cigar....

 

Look at the geometry of the barrel in relation to the bead front sight.

 

The bead is lower than the receiver height. so when you have the bead resting on top of the receiver(the only way to sight) the muzzle is pointed up.

 

This is provided it is a smooth and not a ribbed barrel.

 

No nicks at the muzzle, no cheek weld issue.

 

It's a line of sight relative to line of bore issue.

 

Some sort of sights will fix this if you insist on shooting slugs.

[Teky0101 6]

Shotgun barrels with bead sights are not sighted for slugs at all. I find with just about any 870 with a bead sight I can shoot a group within a couple of inches from point of aim. I think your problrm may be your cheek weld. You say you don't press it into the stock to prevent "face shake". By not pressing your cheek into the stock you are holding the front sight higher to align with your eye with the sight causing the round to strike higher. I've taught hundreds of people how to shoot a shotgun with bead sight with slugs and you need to glue your cheek to the appropriate place on the stock. One to avoid the stock from slamming you in the face and two to get the bead properly aligned with the center of the receiver. Doing so I've never had an incident of injury or anyone complain of "face shake".

 

Do you have some fear that "face shake" will cause you injury?

LOL! What I mean is I do not want all of the recoil of a slug slapping me in the face since my face would be directly on the stock. I rather have it go into my shoulder.

[Teky0101 6]

Gentleman,Gentleman,Gentleman,----

 

Some one was close but no cigar....

 

Look at the geometry of the barrel in relation to the bead front sight.

 

The bead is lower than the receiver height. so when you have the bead resting on top of the receiver(the only way to sight) the muzzle is pointed up.

 

This is provided it is a smooth and not a ribbed barrel.

 

No nicks at the muzzle, no cheek weld issue.

 

It's a line of sight relative to line of bore issue.

 

Some sort of sights will fix this if you insist on shooting slugs.

I think you might be right on this. I think if I tapped the receiver and put sights on it the shotgun would aim a lot better. Good idea!

[oneshot 45]

" What I mean is I do not want all of the recoil of a slug slapping me in the face since my face would be directly on the stock. I rather have it go into my shoulder."

 

  Thats the first time in 45 years that i have ever heard of such a thing. You have more of a chance to get banged up my not having a firm cheek weld beside the fact that it

will give you much less consistent aim . I dont think its complete sight problem. Operator error

[Old School 611]

This is probably way to expensive for you but it's a decent compromise even with the short sight radius.

 

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/338840/advantage-tactical-split-ring-triangular-sight-set-remington-shotgun-870-1100-11-87-12-gauge-steel-blue-with-interchangeable-front-and-rear-colored-inserts

[PK90 3,573]

[Smokin .50 1,907]

Hello Everyone,

I have a question I was hope you could help me with. I own a Mossberg Maverick 88 18.5" and every time I shoot slugs no matter what brand it shoots over a foot high at 25 yards. Does anyone have any idea why this is the case? I have tried Federal, Winchester and Fiochi slugs. Thank you for your help! 

 

It's YOU, not the gun!  Old School and Griz are both correct.  In the simplest of terms, the center of your pupil is above the bead sight by the muzzle.  Classic improper sight line!  This is caused by a bad mount.  Proper mounting of the shotty (so you see ONLY the bead and not the entire 18.5" tube) will solve your "problem" and put you closer to target center.  And you do this technique will most all shotties, except for Trap Guns with extremely high vent ribs (where you follow the bird underneath it instead of covering the bird and taking the shot while guessing where the bird is).

[Parker 213]

A bead sight is designed to provide POI centered at 40 yds. within a 40" circle, PROVIDED you maintain a proper cheek weld on the stock along with a consistent sight picture since the eye is your rear sight.

 

The sight alternatives are a good idea, but try holding the gun properly as it was designed using your bead front. You won't get as much precision with slugs with a single-bead front but it can work at short ranges.

 

What the bead should look like is depicted in the example on the right:

 

[Smokin .50 1,907]

^^^^^THIS^^^^^!

 

Thanks Parker and nice job!

 

Dave

[PK90 3,573]

A bead sight is designed to provide POI centered at 40 yds. within a 40" circle, PROVIDED you maintain a proper cheek weld on the stock along with a consistent sight picture since the eye is your rear sight.

 

The sight alternatives are a good idea, but try holding the gun properly as it was designed using your bead front. You won't get as much precision with slugs with a single-bead front but it can work at short ranges.

 

What the bead should look like is depicted in the example on the right:

 

 

This, for a ribbed barrel where the bottom of the bead is on the same plane as the receiver. If the barrel does not have a raised rib and the bead is mounted directly on the barrel, it is likely that the bead is a lot lower because of the barrel's taper, causing the shot placement to be even higher.

[checko 180]

For what its worth, I hit bullseye from 100yds with my ghost ring sights, wolf rifled slugs, and the 20" 590a1 I was trading for. First time I touched a shotgun since I was 14. Granted it is 1.5" longer but the ghost rings are awesome.

[GRIZ 3,369]

LOL! What I mean is I do not want all of the recoil of a slug slapping me in the face since my face would be directly on the stock. I rather have it go into my shoulder.

If you are getting slapped in the face you are holding the shotgun wrong. See oneshot's post #17.

[tt-33 8]

the better your cheek weld the less slap you get.they do have padded combs that slip over your existing stock that will also change your poi

[Teky0101 6]

I am much more proficient in rifle shooting over shotgun. Is there a proper way to rest your cheek on the shotgun? When I take it out again I will try and make sure the cheek rest and sight alignment are on. I do aim the shotgun with one of those truglo snap on fiber optics PK90 posted, could this be causing the problem in any way with shooting slugs? I am not the only one who noticed the high shooting since my brother also shot it and experienced the same thing. We are not new shooters by an means it just seems odd. Thank you for your help!

[Parker 213]

I am much more proficient in rifle shooting over shotgun. Is there a proper way to rest your cheek on the shotgun? When I take it out again I will try and make sure the cheek rest and sight alignment are on. I do aim the shotgun with one of those truglo snap on fiber optics PK90 posted, could this be causing the problem in any way with shooting slugs? I am not the only one who noticed the high shooting since my brother also shot it and experienced the same thing. We are not new shooters by an means it just seems odd. Thank you for your help!

 

Some questions:

1. Where do buckshot & birdhsot loads impact at 25 yards?
2. Are you shooting offhand or from a benchrest?
3. When you mount your shotgun to where it feels reasonably comfortable, doing so with your eyes closed, and then when you open them, what does your sight picture look like?

Maybe you need your LOP extended to lower your POI? Read this:

http://www.americanhunter.org/articles/how-to-achieve-perfect-shotgun-fit/

[Scorpio64 5,190]

If most of your shooting experience is with a scoped rifle, that may be part of the problem.  You are accustomed to putting your face to a scoped rifle to the point that it has become a natural habit.  With a bead sight you need to get your line of sight right down the receiver.  If you will be shooting slugs on a regular basis, I defer to my original suggestion.  Get a cantilever rifled barrel, red dot and shoot the vastly superior sabot slugs.  If you are just messing around to see what slugs can do, aim lower (aka holdover).