20 guage h&r ultra slug hunter problems - The Firearms Forum

Live2Hunt · 11-08-2009, 09:59 PM

I recently purchased a 20 guage h&r ultra slug hunter (brand new). I've shot slugs (approximately 45 rounds) from three different manufacturers and cannot get this thing shooting accuratly. Ive shot Winchester, Federal, and Hornady SST slugs using a lead sled and this thing is all over the place. Can anyone tell me is this normal and if not what reccomendations do you have.

XP100 · 11-09-2009, 08:48 PM

Get some Shooters Choice choke tube and plastic wad remover and clean the barrel. Be careful of the wood finish. You may verywell could have a lot of plastic buildup in the rifling. Ihope this helps

SlugThrower · 02-09-2011, 07:05 AM

Finding the favorite slug of any gun is not necessarily quick, easy, or cheap. I shoot a 12 ga. H&R Ultra Slug gun and I tried at least 14 or 15 different sabot slug makes, types, and lengths before stumbling on the fact that my Ultra Slug prefers 3 inch Federal Hydra Shok sabot slugs. There are actually two different slugs my gun prefers as a result of my lengthy testing and they come in pretty close to equal as far as accuracy goes. The 3 inch Federal Hydra Shok is first with 3-shot groups that are either a single jagged hole at 100 yds from a sandbagged benchrest with the 3" Brenneke KO Sabot Slug coming in a very close second shooting cloverleaf 3-shot groups at 100 yds from a sandbagged bench rest. If I were you, I would check to make sure my scope was snugged right and that it hadn't been jarred and damaged in some way. I can't speak for the 20 Ga. version except to say that I know two guys who have had misfire peoblems with the 20 Ga. version and had to send their guns back to H&R. I know 13 other guys who shoot the 12 Ga. version and all of those guns shoot pretty close to as accurately as mine does. We all belong to the same hunting club and all purchased our guns, Nikon Slughunter scopes, and Limbsaver recoil pads from the same dealer and all got deals you only dream of on the set-ups because of the volume purchase.

The 12 Ga. Ultra Slug guns will shoot better than you can hold from my experience but sometimes you have to work to find the favorite slug for your particular barrel. First, check your scope because I would be willing to bet that is where your problem lies. Then, sight your gun in using either the 3" Federal Hydra Shok sabot slugs or the 3" Brenneke KO Sabot slugs at 25 yds. and then back off to 50 yds. My guess is that if your scope is good and you shoot from a sandbagged benchrest, you will be getting either a single jagged hole or a cloverleaf 3-shot group. Once I had it shooting right at 50 yds. I would make the necessary adjustments to have it hitting 2 1/2 inches high at 50 yds. and then just hunt with it. If you can get it shooting a 3-shot cloverleaf group hitting 2 1/2 inches high at 50 yds. you have a gun that will do the job for you in the deer woods.

My guess is that it's not the gun!

fleetwood1976 · 02-09-2011, 07:55 PM

I got lucky with my sb1 h&r 20ga, It liked hornady sst's from the start. I am going to sight in a winchester 1300 rifled barrel this spring and I dread how much I will have to spend to find the right one for it. it is worth it though. knowing what your equipment will do before going hunting is crucial to a happy hunt. Watching your dear go only 10 yards after one shot is awesome.

old semperfi · 02-09-2011, 08:35 PM

i hate that the manufactures call these slug guns,they are not.these guns are meant to shoot sabot rounds only.i do not know if that is what your shooting or not.i do know that if you fired 45 lead slugs thru it,it will need to be cleaned free of the lead you have fired.i will tell you that if the slug was rifled it will interfere with the rifling already in the barrel.i suggest you use a good lead remover and start again using a sandbag rest and sabot rounds. old semperfi

Petergunn · 02-10-2011, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Can anyone tell me is this normal and if not what reccomendations do you have

Copper solids mine loves them

Jim Hauff · 02-11-2011, 09:30 AM

Define "all over the place" (10" patterns? 3-4"?) - the lead sled should provide a very stable platform - the gun being brand new should be tight. The advice provided above is right on the target.
Your feed back will help...good luck.

parkman18 · 02-12-2011, 12:28 PM

I bought one along with 5 boxes of SST's. It is shooting one MOA. Only problem is I had at least two misfires per box of five and had to hit a couple the third time to fire. After searching the net I now see many similar horror stories. How can anybody screw up a single shot shotgun firing mechanism. The final straw came during deer season. Had to hit the same slug three times before taking a nice buck at 75 yards. He must of been hard of hearing. I am considering using it as a tomato stake this spring. I'm not sure if the problem is the transfer bar or if the barrel is cut too deeply creating excessive head space. I know I need to try other ammo but this is very aggravating.

11-08-2009, 09:59 PM	#1
Live2Hunt Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 2	20 guage h&r ultra slug hunter problems I recently purchased a 20 guage h&r ultra slug hunter (brand new). I've shot slugs (approximately 45 rounds) from three different manufacturers and cannot get this thing shooting accuratly. Ive shot Winchester, Federal, and Hornady SST slugs using a lead sled and this thing is all over the place. Can anyone tell me is this normal and if not what reccomendations do you have. -->

11-09-2009, 08:48 PM	#2
XP100 V.I.P. Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 74	Re: 20 guage h&r ultra slug hunter problems Get some Shooters Choice choke tube and plastic wad remover and clean the barrel. Be careful of the wood finish. You may verywell could have a lot of plastic buildup in the rifling. Ihope this helps

02-09-2011, 07:05 AM	#3
SlugThrower Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 4	Re: 20 guage h&r ultra slug hunter problems Finding the favorite slug of any gun is not necessarily quick, easy, or cheap. I shoot a 12 ga. H&R Ultra Slug gun and I tried at least 14 or 15 different sabot slug makes, types, and lengths before stumbling on the fact that my Ultra Slug prefers 3 inch Federal Hydra Shok sabot slugs. There are actually two different slugs my gun prefers as a result of my lengthy testing and they come in pretty close to equal as far as accuracy goes. The 3 inch Federal Hydra Shok is first with 3-shot groups that are either a single jagged hole at 100 yds from a sandbagged benchrest with the 3" Brenneke KO Sabot Slug coming in a very close second shooting cloverleaf 3-shot groups at 100 yds from a sandbagged bench rest. If I were you, I would check to make sure my scope was snugged right and that it hadn't been jarred and damaged in some way. I can't speak for the 20 Ga. version except to say that I know two guys who have had misfire peoblems with the 20 Ga. version and had to send their guns back to H&R. I know 13 other guys who shoot the 12 Ga. version and all of those guns shoot pretty close to as accurately as mine does. We all belong to the same hunting club and all purchased our guns, Nikon Slughunter scopes, and Limbsaver recoil pads from the same dealer and all got deals you only dream of on the set-ups because of the volume purchase. The 12 Ga. Ultra Slug guns will shoot better than you can hold from my experience but sometimes you have to work to find the favorite slug for your particular barrel. First, check your scope because I would be willing to bet that is where your problem lies. Then, sight your gun in using either the 3" Federal Hydra Shok sabot slugs or the 3" Brenneke KO Sabot slugs at 25 yds. and then back off to 50 yds. My guess is that if your scope is good and you shoot from a sandbagged benchrest, you will be getting either a single jagged hole or a cloverleaf 3-shot group. Once I had it shooting right at 50 yds. I would make the necessary adjustments to have it hitting 2 1/2 inches high at 50 yds. and then just hunt with it. If you can get it shooting a 3-shot cloverleaf group hitting 2 1/2 inches high at 50 yds. you have a gun that will do the job for you in the deer woods. My guess is that it's not the gun! Last edited by SlugThrower; 02-09-2011 at 07:07 AM..

02-09-2011, 07:55 PM	#4
fleetwood1976 Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Southern Indiana Contributor Posts: 1,333	Re: 20 guage h&r ultra slug hunter problems I got lucky with my sb1 h&r 20ga, It liked hornady sst's from the start. I am going to sight in a winchester 1300 rifled barrel this spring and I dread how much I will have to spend to find the right one for it. it is worth it though. knowing what your equipment will do before going hunting is crucial to a happy hunt. Watching your dear go only 10 yards after one shot is awesome.

02-09-2011, 08:35 PM	#5
old semperfi Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: i live in southern indiana,old country boy at heart Posts: 1,506	Re: 20 guage h&r ultra slug hunter problems i hate that the manufactures call these slug guns,they are not.these guns are meant to shoot sabot rounds only.i do not know if that is what your shooting or not.i do know that if you fired 45 lead slugs thru it,it will need to be cleaned free of the lead you have fired.i will tell you that if the slug was rifled it will interfere with the rifling already in the barrel.i suggest you use a good lead remover and start again using a sandbag rest and sabot rounds. old semperfi

02-11-2011, 09:30 AM	#7
Jim Hauff Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Lehigh Valley, PA Posts: 2,980	Re: 20 guage h&r ultra slug hunter problems Define "all over the place" (10" patterns? 3-4"?) - the lead sled should provide a very stable platform - the gun being brand new should be tight. The advice provided above is right on the target. Your feed back will help...good luck. __________________ Jim Hauff ~ H&R Collector In Memory of Bill Goforth and Jim Ritchie

02-12-2011, 12:28 PM	#8
parkman18 Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 4	Re: 20 guage h&r ultra slug hunter problems I bought one along with 5 boxes of SST's. It is shooting one MOA. Only problem is I had at least two misfires per box of five and had to hit a couple the third time to fire. After searching the net I now see many similar horror stories. How can anybody screw up a single shot shotgun firing mechanism. The final straw came during deer season. Had to hit the same slug three times before taking a nice buck at 75 yards. He must of been hard of hearing. I am considering using it as a tomato stake this spring. I'm not sure if the problem is the transfer bar or if the barrel is cut too deeply creating excessive head space. I know I need to try other ammo but this is very aggravating.