Barnes VOR-TX 20ga 3 Inch 250gr Slug – Remarkable Expander Sabot

Description

The Barnes VOR-TX 20ga 3 Inch 250gr Slug is the 3 inch magnum version of Barnes’ all copper sabot load. It leaves the muzzle at 1900 fps for roughly 2004 ft-lbs of energy, which is meaningful rifle territory out of a 20 gauge. Read the barrel note before you buy: this is a sabot slug and it needs a rifled barrel to shoot accurately. Each box holds 5 rounds.

• Barnes VOR-TX 20ga 3 Inch 250gr Slug Overview
• 3 Inch 20 Gauge Slug Ammo Ballistics
• Why This Copper Expander Tipped Sabot Slug Works
• Specifications
• Range Notes For A 250 Grain Lead Free Slug

Barnes VOR-TX 20ga 3 Inch 250gr Slug Overview

The projectile is turned from solid copper, capped with a polymer tip, and carried down the bore inside a plastic sabot sleeve that peels away a few feet past the muzzle. The sabot is what allows a sub calibre bullet to grip the rifling in a rifled shotgun barrel and leave spinning rather than tumbling.

On impact the tip is driven back into the hollow nose and the nose splits into copper petals at roughly twice the original diameter. Because there is no lead core to separate, weight retention is near total, which is the whole argument for a copper expander tipped sabot slug over a traditional lead Foster.

3 Inch 20 Gauge Slug Ammo Ballistics

The 3 inch shell buys you about 100 fps over the 2 3/4 inch version of the same projectile, 1900 against 1800. That is worth roughly 200 ft-lbs at the muzzle, 2004 against 1798, and a slightly flatter arc downrange.

Put in perspective, this 3 inch 20 gauge slug ammo lands almost exactly where a 2 3/4 inch 12 gauge VOR-TX does on the energy chart, about 2004 ft-lbs against 2042. You are getting 12 gauge terminal numbers out of a lighter gun with materially less recoil, which is a trade a lot of deer hunters are happy to make.

Be honest about the cost of the magnum shell, though. The 3 inch load kicks harder than the 2 3/4 inch load in the same gun, and if the extra recoil pulls your groups open, the shorter shell is the better buy. Energy on paper never beats a well placed hit.

Why This Copper Expander Tipped Sabot Slug Works

Copper does two useful things. It holds together, so the bullet tends to drive all the way through and leave an exit wound, and two holes make a far better blood trail than one on a wet evening in thick cover. It also expands reliably at the modest velocities a shotgun produces, where some lead designs are marginal.

There is a regulatory argument as well. A growing list of public lands, wildlife management areas and condor range units require non toxic projectiles, and a 250 grain lead free slug satisfies that without asking you to accept a worse load. Shotgun only deer zones are common across the Midwest and the Northeast, so plenty of hunters need a slug regardless.

Then there is the gun itself. A 20 gauge is lighter to carry through a full day of still hunting and easier to mount quickly in a stand, and the Barnes VOR-TX 20ga 3 Inch 250gr Slug means that lighter gun is not giving up much of anything in terminal performance.

Specifications

Range Notes For A 250 Grain Lead Free Slug

Sight in from a rest at 100 yards and do not assume your old Foster zero carries over. A sabot leaves the barrel differently enough that the two almost never share a point of impact, so budget a couple of boxes to find out where this one actually goes.

From a 100 yard zero the load holds inside a few inches out to about 130 yards, which covers nearly every honest shot opportunity in shotgun country. Past 150 the drop curve steepens quickly and the math stops favouring you.

Glass is usually the limiting factor, not the ammunition. A low power scope or a red dot on a cantilever mount will tighten your groups with a magnum 20 gauge deer slug more than any change of load will, because at these distances the sighting system is what is costing you accuracy.

And the point worth repeating: a smoothbore will not stabilize this projectile. It is safe to fire, but the groups will be poor. If your gun has a smooth bore and a bead sight, buy Foster slugs and you will shoot better with them.

Magnum 20 Gauge Deer Slug Availability

This magnum 20 gauge deer slug is in stock and ready to ship from MAG5 Firearms, a family owned FFL dealer in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Ammunition orders ship to most states, and local customers are welcome to pick up in the shop. If you need a case quantity or a load we do not have listed, call us and we will check what our distributors are holding.

Manufacturer details are on the Barnes Bullets site. If your gun takes a shorter shell, compare the VOR-TX 20 gauge 2 3/4 inch load, or step up to the VOR-TX 12 gauge 3 inch 438 grain slug. You can also browse our full ammunition selection.