Tip 1: Let’s Start at the Beginning.
The first shotgun slug was designed by a German gun designer named Wilhelm Brenneke in 1898. It was a solid lead slug with rifling on the outside. It’s design was both good and bad – it had excellent penetration and did not deform much on impact, but it was only accurate at ranges of 30 to 50 yards.

Tip 2: Less is More.
Karl Foster improved shotgun slugs in 1931 by making the nose rounder and providing a deep hollow cavity on the back end of the slug. This allowed the slug to move more efficiently through the air and moved the center of gravity close to the front of the slug. Known as the 'Foster' slug or ‘American’ slug, the hollow end provided more stability in flight and extended accuracy to 75 yards.

Tip 3: Three Problems, One Solution.
The rifling on the outside of the slug does three things: reduces the friction as the slug travels down the barrel, allows the slug to easily pass through a restricted choke at the end of the shotgun barrel, and provides spin to the slug in flight, which makes it more stable.

Tip 4: The Dedicated Barrel.
A rifled slug barrel allows slugs to be much more accurate, and modern slug designs take full advantage of this rifling. The rifled barrel cannot be used with conventional shot shells since it produces a donut shaped pattern. Using rifled slugs in a rifled barrel is possible, but will result in lead fouling in the barrel. Slug barrels have iron sights just like rifles, and are drilled and tapped so a scope can be easily installed.

Tip 5: Modern Slug Design.
Sabot is a French word, with a long “a” and “o” and a silent “t” (sa–bo), originating from a wooden shoe worn in the 1600s, and is the root of the word sabotage. A sabot in shooting consists of a bullet smaller than the barrel it is intended to be shot from, surrounded by a sleeve that is intended to fall away after the projectile leaves the barrel. The sabot provides excellent spin, which allows a high degree of accuracy out to 200–300 yards. It also allows the metal slug to be designed like a rifle bullet with a better ballistic coefficient, bonded with metal other than lead, or use hollow point designs that expand on impact. In addition, the lighter bullet can achieve faster velocity, flattening the trajectory of the round and improving the range of the slug.

Tip 6: Times are a Changing.
Where I grew up in Minnesota, slugs were the only option for hunting white-tailed deer, due to state regulations. The performance of modern sabot slugs now make them a choice for any big game, in North America or the world. Lightfield slugs have taken big game all around the world, including bears in North America and dangerous game in Africa.

Tip 7: Three Rounds, One Sight-in.
Lightfield has a line of slugs – the Hybrid Light, EXP, and Elite – that go from light to very heavy, but if you sight in with any of them, you will be sighted in with all of them. They call this SameSight Accuracy, and it's real. In addition, from 50 to 150 yards you do not have to compensate for holdover, making it easy to use in the field. The Hybrid Light rounds are perfect for deer, and you can sight in and practice with these 2¾-inch slugs, and if you are going after bigger game you can then switch to the 3-inch slugs that produce 1,730 fps and 3,628 ft.lbs. of energy at the muzzle. On paper this is about the same energy as a .460 Weatherby shooting a 500-grain bullet.

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