Barnes VOR-TX 12ga 2 3/4 438gr Slug – Proven Expander Sabot

Description

The Barnes VOR-TX 12ga 2 3/4 438gr Slug is a polymer tipped all copper expanding slug in a 2 3/4 inch shell. It leaves the muzzle at roughly 1450 fps carrying about 2042 ft-lbs of energy. 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 12ga 2 3/4 438gr Slug Overview
• 438 Grain Expander Tipped Slug Performance
• Why Hunters Choose 12 Gauge Sabot Slug Ammo
• Specifications
• Range Notes For This All Copper Expanding Slug

Barnes VOR-TX 12ga 2 3/4 438gr Slug Overview

The projectile is machined from solid copper with a polymer tip, and it rides inside a plastic sabot sleeve that falls away at the muzzle. The sabot is what lets a sub calibre projectile engage the rifling in a rifled shotgun barrel and leave spinning.

On impact the polymer tip drives rearward into the hollow nose and the bullet opens into copper petals at roughly double diameter, holding close to all of its weight. That is a very different result from a traditional lead Foster slug, which deforms unpredictably and sheds mass.

438 Grain Expander Tipped Slug Performance

At 438 grains and 1450 fps this is the 2 3/4 inch loading. We also stock the same 438 grain slug in a 3 inch shell. The longer shell holds more powder so it is the faster of the two, though Barnes publishes no velocity figure for it. If your shotgun is chambered for 3 inch shells, that version is worth comparing.

Trajectory is nothing like a rifle. Slugs drop steeply, and even a good sabot load is a 150 to 200 yard proposition. What you gain over a rifle is legality in shotgun only deer zones, which is the entire reason this ammunition exists.

Why Hunters Choose 12 Gauge Sabot Slug Ammo

Large parts of the Midwest and Northeast restrict deer hunting to shotguns, and in those zones a good slug is not a compromise, it is the only option. A modern sabot slug turns a rifled barrel shotgun into a genuinely capable 150 yard deer gun.

What this 12 gauge sabot slug ammo adds over a traditional Foster slug is consistency. A lead Foster slug is a hollow skirt of soft lead that deforms on firing and again on impact. A monolithic copper projectile leaves the same shape every time and expands the same way every time.

The cost is real. Sabot slugs are expensive per round, boxes hold five rather than twenty five, and you need the right barrel. For a hunter who fires ten rounds a year and wants them all to land in the same place, that is usually an easy trade.

Specifications

Range Notes For This All Copper Expanding Slug

The barrel is the thing to get right. A sabot slug aligns with and takes its spin from a rifled bore. Fired through a smoothbore it will not damage the gun, but accuracy falls apart. If your shotgun has a smooth barrel, buy a rifled slug barrel or choose a Foster type slug instead.

Zero with this exact load. Slug guns are individual, and two boxes of different brands will rarely print together. Fire a three shot group at 100 yards and build your holdover from there.

Let the barrel cool between shots. Slug barrels heat quickly and walk their point of impact, which is the most common reason a rifled shotgun appears inaccurate when the Barnes VOR-TX 12ga 2 3/4 438gr Slug is actually shooting fine.

Lead Free Rifled Barrel Slug Ammunition Availability

Deer hunters in shotgun only zones, hog hunters, and anyone hunting where non toxic projectiles are required will get the most from this lead free rifled barrel slug ammunition. Full product details are published by Barnes Bullets.

Compare it with the 3 inch 12 gauge version, shop more shotgun ammunition, or browse the full ammunition selection at MAG5 Firearms.