Forums / Gun Discussion / rifled shotgun barrel

All I know is a rifled shotgun barrell has...rifileing of course and a smooth bore is just that..a smooth bore. Some people like a rifled shotgun barrel for shooting certain slugs through it, say for deer hunting and such. For pheasant, quail, squirrell, rabbit, duck..etc etc a smooth bore is what you need for the regular shotshells.

they only really have any effect if you are shooting the modern sabot slugs.the older rifled slugs still obtain plenty of spin in a smooth bore.I used a 12 guage to hunt deer for a number of years.mine has a smooth bore so i used the older rifled slug design since the sabot slugs werent very accurate past 40 yards thru my gun.as a side note i used a Marlin Model 55 "goose gun" bolt action full choke with a 36 inch barrel.(second gun i got and love to shoot the damn thing!)so my results may be a bit skewed for shooters of shorter barrels.so i have to say it depends on the loads and the barrel.buy both types of shells and try them thru whatever barrel you have.which of course you didnt say...

greasypaws mentioned choke on his shotgun...keep in mind if you dont already have the gun,and your shoping,that choke is a verry important part of your gun along with the load and intended use of the weapon.cylinder bore works well for rifled slugs, and buckshot at closer ranges,but dosnt work so well with small sport/upland game type shot at much range.you need to pick a choke or barrel based on what you intend to shoot with your gun and at what distances.you can generaly shoot upland game with a modified choke fairly well at about 30 yards or so,depending on the type of load.i have seen thread in chokes that are rifled for sabot slugs,but have no idea how well they really work.just got a rem 1100 with a skeet,trap,and rifled barrel myself,and i cant wait to try it with some new sabots!good luck,hope we helped you.