Hastings Paradox slug barrels - rifle-like accuracy from shotguns

Shooting Industry, June, 1989 by Howard Brant

Hastings Paradox Slug Barrels -- Rifle-Like Accuracy From Shotguns

In most recent years there has been a decided growing interest among the big-game hunting fraternity toward the rifled slug-loaded shotgun and for a number of reasons. Foremost, open public hunting lands continue to dwindle as a result of the bulldozer and associated creation of housing developments, shopping centers and super highways.

With precious hunting lands disappearing at an alarming rate the day of the super accurate long-range hunting rifle may just become another endangered species, especially in proximity to large urban areas. For this reason fish and wildlife agencies in densely populated states are turning more and more to the shotgun loaded with buckshot or rifled slugs as opposed to the rifle purely as a safety factor for big-game hunting.

Why in recent years the use of the high-powered rifle was banned in portions of the southeastern corner of Pennsylvania, one of the foremost whitetailed deer hunting states where the rifle has remained the symbol of deer hunting for generations. Maryland as well as Delaware, New Jersey, Massachusetts and others have bans on the use of rifles for big-game hunting as well and again, perhaps somewhere in the not too distant future more areas in other states will actually be forced to turn to the shotgun for big-game hunting as concrete and steel take over our forests and woodlands.

In bygone years both buckshot and rifled slugs were not commonplace in big-game country not only because of traditional dictates but because both buckshot and slugs were far from efficient tools for the humane dispatch of big-game the size of deer. But it is quite another story today.

In past decades buckshot, as loaded then by all major manufacturers, was erratic. Indeed, one could conceivably shoot at a standing deer not 40 yards away and miss the animal completely with yesteryear's buckshot. Yet, with the introduction of poly shot/wad columns, poly dust to cushion the big pellets as they leave the scattergun's forcing cone, etc., the effectiveness of buckshot has been dramatically improved and the heavy buck loads manufactured today are most assuredly exemplary.

But the rifled slug has seen even greater developments in recent years, particularly barrels designed purely for the big rifled slugs which has literally revolutionized rifled slug accuracy over normal hunting ranges. We're talking about rifled slug barrels boasting rifling like the conventional rifle.

Now the concept of a rifled shotgun barrel is far from a new innovation. The English employed various rifled barrels as early as the late-1800s in their effort to develop a reasonably accurate scattergun capable of tossing a large projectile at dangerous African game at close range.

Today we continue to see major arms combines announcing new rifled slug scatterguns and specially designed slug barrels capable of good accuracy at all normal hunting yardages and we guarantee we'll be seeing more such arms manufactured in the future.

But without question one of the most amazingly accurate rifled slug barrels currently for use with modern slug loadings is the PARADOX rifled barrels as created by the Hastings combine of Clay Center, Kansas.

The Hastings rifled barrel for shotguns has actually been developed along the same principles as the English paradox rifled bores of yesteryear and that's one of the reasons Hastings personnel call its barrels "Paradox" as did the English of bygone generations. Remember, Hastings Paradox slug barrels are truly rifled -- unlike the English version which featured rifling only several inches from the muzzle.

The Hastings combine now offers replacement Paradox rifled barrels for a number of modern scatterguns and all are available to sporting goods retailers at wholesale prices. Such Hastings replacement barrels are further available for scope mounting or for standard iron sight mounting and for an English style two-position sight.

There is no question Hastings Paradox barrels have revolutionized rifled slug shooting in the game fields since their performance and accuracy are without peer. "By installing a Paradox barrel and using select ammunition, hunters can obtain greatly improved accuracy. The bore is slightly smaller than normal to obtain a good gas seal, and the 1:34 righthand twist stabilizes the projectile. Best performance is obtained with the use of BRI Sabot slugs, but all rifled slugs will perform better when pushed through a Paradox barrel," said Phil Frigon of Hastings.

The bore diameter of the 12-gauge Paradox rifled barrel is .716 inches and its groove diameter, .727 inches. Despite its oversize (over .50 caliber, that is) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has ruled it is "not a destructive device" and can be possessed by sportsmen where local regulations permit.

With a modern scattergun fitted with a Hastings Paradox rifled tube and with BRI Sabot slugs in 12 gauge, the rifled-slug loaded shotgun is a deer hunting arm truly to be reckoned with.