[fjp110]

I shoot a Savage 210 bolt action. it is the best.

 

[fjp110]

Sorry about the short answer I should have explained more. The Savage 210 is a bolt action rifle that happens to be chambered in 12 ga 3'' slug. There are a lot of people that get one hole groups at 100 yards with the 210. it is a strong reliable action with great accuracy. I think the newer ones have accu-trigger too. It also is rifled to work with high velocity slugs like the Hornady SST. there are a few down sides however. It is truly designed to shoot a 3'' shell, and you will need to buy a 2 piece base set and use high rings if you want to shoot 2 3/4'' shells. The factory base is designed to eject a 3'' shell the 2 3/4'' shells hang up on the base. if you put the 2 piece base on the 2 3/4'' shells will hit the scope and fall back in the action. So you need the high rings. the other down side is it kicks . . . hard. I put on a limbsaver slip on. some like the faster action of a pump or auto but I hunt with a bolt rifle when I rifle hunt so I am used to it. You can also usually get into a used 210 fairly good. You will find that most people will talk very badly about the 210, they will tell you how it is not a "rifle", just ask these folks where their 210 is. they don't have one and they don't know. I don't have any experience with the new deer slayers aside from seeing them at SHOT last winter, the older ones were great. Ithica is a company in trouble they have had a long history of in and out of business. I hope this time they stick around this time.
They way I see it a slayer III, any Remington, Mossberg, the Encore and even the H&R are all fine guns and will serve you well, but the 210 is the Cadillac of slug guns.
I can hit a 8 - 10" steel plate all day at 150 yards with the 210 and an SST, maybe all the rest of the slug guns can do that too, I personally don't know I only own the Savage.

 

[fjp110]

one more thing to muddy the water more.
the new Savage 220 is apparently getting incredible accuracy. Also a lot of guys are going to the 20 ga for a smaller softer kicking gun. I also hear it is ballistically better then a 12 ga slug.

 

[fjp110]

I was talking to an Ithica gun smith once that told me they had made a single shot that would group a single hole at 200 yards. that was before the this incarnation of Ithica. So I would believe that the new one is very accurate. I guess that a slug gun should be bought the same way a center fire is. what do you want to use it for? If you want to make long shots you need to look into something like the slayer or the 210. if you want fast follow up you need to look at a pump or a semi.
I also want to clarify what I said above a bit. the 210 IS a rifle, it was designed to shot a sabot slug. a pump or semi is a smooth bore that a rifled barrel has been put on. those guns were NOT designed to shot sabot slugs. there was a need to shoot slugs so first the just feed a rifled slug down a smooth bore. then the rifled barrel came along. THe 210 was born to shot sabots.