The brisk, frigid wind bit at the exposed skin on my face, but I dare not move. I was waiting on a big whitetail buck to travel along the edge of a wetland and knew movement would mean he’d never expose himself. I’d been hunting the same buck for weeks and thought I finally had him patterned. The minutes turned to hours and just when I thought I wouldn’t be able to stand the cold another second a flash of brown fur caught my eye. It was a deer!
I had to keep my wits about me and not give away my location until it was time to shoot. I could see antlers dancing through tree limbs and knew it was the buck I wanted. Just as he had done several late mornings, the buck trotted out of the tree cover to take a shortcut along the wetland. I stood frozen behind a large aspen tree just 40 yards from where the deer would pass. I slowly started wiggling my mitt off my trigger hand, letting it fall to the ground as I shouldered my shotgun and sent a 12-gauge slug into the vitals of the old buck. I quickly pumped the gun and put a second shot into the deer for assurance.
There was no ground shrinkage on the deer. It was the biggest white-tailed buck I had ever taken and still stands as my largest buck to date. I was hunting an area where slug guns were the firearm of choice. I didn’t feel as though I was at a disadvantage. In fact, having a slug gun likely helped me connect at close range, while the deer was moving. All I remember is the deer turning his head to look in my direction when I dropped my mitt, and boom, it was over.
With the extra seasons and opportunities afforded to slug hunters, I’m not sure why more people haven’t embraced them? It is easy to set up an existing shotgun that is normally used for bird hunting, and prepare it to become your favorite deer slayer. TRUGLO Pro Series Slug Gun sights mount to the rib of any shotgun. There aren’t any magnets or tape, and the sights are properly secured with screws to withstand recoil and heavy hunting rigors.
All-steel construction makes the sights as durable as any shotgun, and once they are mounted, you can adjust the windage and elevation to have your shotgun punching clover leaves on paper. In TRUGLO fashion, the sights have fiber optics to make them bright and easy to see. The dovetail sight makes it easy to settle the front sight for repeatable accuracy. The front sight diameter is .029 inches, and the rear diameter is .035inches.
There are four different models to cover a wide range of shotguns. The only requirement is that your gun has a ventilated, or fixed rib to attach the sights. An Allen key tightens the screws and sights in place for sturdy reliability.
If you’re considering deer hunting with slugs, you should try a Pro Series Slug Gun sight. Chances are you might leave your favorite smoothbore set up for deer season and find a different one to cover your bird interests.
