Questions: Aftermarket peep or ghost ring sights for Mossy 500 slug barrels.

[AlongCameJones]

Are you a deer hunter who uses a slug gun? Is there a good aftermarket front post/rear peep or ghost ring system for deer hunters with Mossberg 500 12-ga. shotguns equipped with a 24" slug barrel? I need a system fully adjustable for windage and elevation of course. Are ghost rings better for wooded or shadowy areas? I have heard that some rifle iron sight systems have replaceable/interchangeable apertures even. I don't know if shotgunners have this level of sophistication on the market.

I don't like open rear sights. I scored Expert in the army with my M16 but was not a very good shot with my Remington Nylon 66 which had an open rear sight.

Also here is the slug barrel listed at the Mossy site:

https://www.mossberg.com/store/500-12-gauge-slug-barrel-rifle-sights-24-matte-blue-90120.html

The specs don't say whether the barrel is smoothbore or rifled. Should all listed SLUG barrels be assumed to be rifled by default?

 

[okierider]

The slug barrels are rifled.
You have to run sabots in the rifled barrel.
Try running the foster slug in your shotty. The accuracy at 100 yards my surprise you.
You can get a scope mount for the Mossy that will give you sight options.

 

[AlongCameJones]

If decide to scope the gun, I will have to order the cantilever barrel. It might be more prudent to go with a scope for a slug gun after all. I doubt a slug gun (rifled barrel with sabot slugs) will even give anywhere near MOA accuracy like many modern CF rifles can these days. I now think a scope will give as much shooting precision as possible for a slug gun which will never dare compete with a modern bolt-action rifle or even a Savage 99 for group tightness.

If I buy the slug barrel with cantilever mount it will be rifled so I can't run fosters through it? Should I try running fosters through my 28" smoothbore field (fowl) barrel with front and mid beads?

My general thoughts are: 1. Iron sights are inferior to scopes for longer-range pinpoint precision. and 2. Slug guns are inferior to rifles for level of group tightness. An iron-sighted slug gun might therefore be a double whammy when trying to place a precise shot on a 100-yard deer. A scoped slug gun in Oklahoma deer woods shouldn't be much of a marksmanship handicap over a rifle (scoped or iron-sighted) though.

I need to study up more on shotgun scopes.

 

[okierider]

This mounts onto the receiver. And I would try the Foster slugs in the gun before spending the money on the slug barrel. The Sabot and rifles barrel get you a little more accuracy at 100 but the Foster's have been getting the job done for years.
Looking to hunt past 100 yards with a slug gun in any capacity, in my opinion, is pushing it beyond it's capability. Rifled slug barrels may get you to 125 but again it is pushing it .

https://www.opticsplanet.com/aimtech-black-scope-mount-for-mossberg-500-12-gauge-asm3.html

 

[AlongCameJones]

Thanks, okierider, but mounting something onto the receiver might damage the receiver's finish. The used Remington 870 I bought a few years back had a shell saddle mounted on the receiver with both pins replaced by bolts and nuts and that's how the bluing around the pin holes got marred. I pulled that ugly saddle right off my second-hand Remmy police pump but still kept it and its hardware. The seller supplied the shotgun with its original take-down pins, thankfully.

Back in the 1990's I recall reading some article in a gun magazine, maybe Guns Digest, about scope mounting for shotguns and slug barrels. It seems like the feature said a barrel with cantilever mount is best because the mount is braised or welded right onto the barrel so the barrel and mount are one solid metal unit. This is supposed to hold a tighter zero as the (deer season) scoped slug barrel is taken off and put back on again repeatedly. One will have their vent-rib bird barrel on during duck or dove season or police barrel on for home security. It just seems easier to take the scope off the gun when the slug barrel is taken off too and the lines of the shotgun will also look much cleaner without a receiver mount. I think Remmy pioneered the cantilever scope mount earlier on and Mossy and others followed.

Okierider, do you like Fosters because they are less expensive than sabots?

 

[adamsredlines]

Some Mossbergs come with ghost ring setups from the factory, couldnt you just order that? I dont think the fronts are adjustable on them, but the rears are...and I'm guessing for a slug gun that would be plenty if you were set on doing ghost rings.

If you were wanting to be real serious about it, a scope on a cantilever mount rifled barrel is "the ticket". You can swap barrels and the scope would be zero'd to that barrel so swapping them should keep you pretty well in the ballpark.

 

[adamsredlines]

As far as apertures...granted its a different system...but my M1A has National Match sights on it. Its great for target shooting, but not for woods. The aperture is too small and hard to see when its not pretty bright out and to me the front post gets lost in the trees. I ended up not using it for pigs like I was hoping because of that. I could swap for regular sights that have a bigger hole and broader post, but I decided to keep it as is and get a different gun for pigs.

 

[AlongCameJones]

I wonder how soldiers can use those M16 aperture/post sights in the wooded areas of low light. I've heard of soldiers painting their front post white.

 

[AlongCameJones]

Some Mossbergs come with ghost ring setups from the factory, couldnt you just order that? I dont think the fronts are adjustable on them, but the rears are...and I'm guessing for a slug gun that would be plenty if you were set on doing ghost rings.

If you were wanting to be real serious about it, a scope on a cantilever mount rifled barrel is "the ticket". You can swap barrels and the scope would be zero'd to that barrel so swapping them should keep you pretty well in the ballpark.

As far as I know, Mossberg only offers ghost rings on certain tactical model shotguns from the factory. it sounds like putting ghost ring settup on a stock slug barrel might be a gunsmithing shop affair.

I'm pretty sure I should now go with a cantilever scope setup for a "deer" shotgun. It's just a matter of getting the correct scope and rings. Leupold makes one shotgun scope, VX-Freedom 3-9x40 Muzzleloader UltimateSlam, but hot damm, it's $300. Then I need the correct rings. I have a new Leupold scope, VX Freedom 2x6x33mm, for my Ruger American Predator rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor but it's only a rifle scope. They will not take 12-ga. shotgun kick. I have the NIB Predator rifle up for sale, however, on Armslist. My heart is now set on finding a good pre-owned Savage Model 99 or a Husqvarna Model 3000 Crown Grade rifle for deer. I have another new Ruger American, a Ranch rifle in 5.56 NATO fro gophers. I don't mind a low-budget rifle for gnarly varmints but I now feel I need a classy old-school rifle for prestigious game like deer. The Ranch bolt gun has a cheap Bushnell 3x9 Banner scope. I don't mind a cheesy scope for cheesy targets like chucks, fox, coyote, prairie dogs and ground squirrels.

The American Ranch is a novelty play gun for plinking fun and rats. If I end up getting a Husky bolt-action, that Leupold for the Predator up for sale will find a home atop the Mauser 98 receiver of the Swedish-made classic. I will never put a scope on any Savage Model 99 lever job I might get lucky to someday acquire. That would need a good rear peep like Skinner Sights makes. No scope belongs on any woods lever action rifle.
A scope just looks oh so right on a bolt-action hunting rifle.

 

[adamsredlines]

I wonder how soldiers can use those M16 aperture/post sights in the wooded areas of low light. I've heard of soldiers painting their front post white.

They dont use National Match sights...they use standard. Point was dont get too hung up on precision sights if you're not using it for precision shooting like matches. I'd think the Mossberg ghost ring rear with a fixed front post would be sufficient if you learn the zero and where it shoots. They also mount to the receiver screw holes which may or may not be in all receivers. They are in my 590 (which only came with a bead front) but I cant say if others have them or not.