# 12 Gauge Slug Ballistics Chart: Velocity, Energy and Drop **URL:** \ **Category:** Public Shooting Range\ **Tags:** 12-gauge\ **Created:** [November 10, 2026, 3:58pm UTC](https://sixguns.com/t/12-gauge-slug-ballistics-chart-velocity-energy-and-drop/2732 "2026-11-10T15:58:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ammodotcom](https://sixguns.com/user_avatar/sixguns.com/ammodotcom/32/1880_2.png) [@Ammodotcom](https://sixguns.com/u/Ammodotcom)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 3:58pm UTC](https://sixguns.com/t/12-gauge-slug-ballistics-chart-velocity-energy-and-drop/2732/1 "2026-11-10T15:58:17Z")
If you have to choose one gun to own and only one gun to do all things, there is one obvious choice: a 12 Gauge shotgun. These shotguns fit most needs, and the diversity of ammunition choices is what makes it such a good one-gun choice. We are covering just a bit of that diversity with a deep dive into 12 Gauge slug ballistics. With the right slugs, you can punch paper, breach doors, protect yourself, and hunt big game all with the same gun! Most 12 Gauge slugs leave the muzzle at velocities between 1,520 and 2,000 fps, with 2,365 to 2,806 ft-lbs of accompanying energy. Rifled (Foster) slugs fired from a smoothbore lose half to two-thirds of that energy by 100 yards, and drop about 3-1/2 to 5-1/2 inches by 125 yards following a 100-yard zero. Sabot slugs fired from a fully rifled barrel carry about 1,800 ft-lbs to 100 yards, and stay flat well past 150 yards. That’s the short version. The biggest factor in 12 Gauge slug ballistics isn’t the brand on the box. It’s whether your shotgun has a smoothbore or a rifled barrel, because that decides which slugs you can shoot in the first place. ## Smoothbore vs. Rifled Barrel: Which Slug Do You Need? Smoothbore barrels have a perfectly smooth bore, the same as nearly every field and bird gun. Spinning a projectile isn’t their job, so the slug has to stabilize itself. That’s what a [Foster (rifled) slug](https://ammo.com/bullet-type/rifled-slug) is designed to do. It’s hollow at the back with most of its weight up front, so it flies nose-first like a badminton shuttlecock. The “rifling” ribs on the outside of the slug help it squeeze through a choke, but the weight-forward design does most of the work. Rifled barrels have spiral grooves cut into the bore, just like a rifle. Those grooves grip a plastic sleeve (i.e. sabot) and spin the slug inside it, so the slug can be smaller, pointier, and far more aerodynamic. That’s why sabot slugs fly flatter and hold their energy longer. Hornady and Federal both design their sabot slugs for fully rifled barrels only. Fired from a smoothbore, a sabot has nothing to grip, and you lose the accuracy you paid extra for. Rifled choke tubes split the difference. They add a short section of rifling to a smoothbore. Some slugs, like Winchester’s Deer Season, are rated for smoothbore, rifled choke tube, or fully rifled barrels. Always check your gun’s manual and the slug maker’s barrel recommendation before you shoot. Here’s the quick rule: - Smoothbore – Foster (rifled) or Brenneke slugs - Fully rifled barrel – Sabot slugs (Foster and Brenneke slugs will also fire, but you won’t get the most from the barrel, and there will be a bit of fouling that will need attending to.) Find your load in the 12 Gauge slug ballistics chart below, and see how each one drops and how slugs compare to common rifle cartridges. Shop all [12 Gauge ammo](https://ammo.com/shotgun/12-ga-ammo) when you’re ready! ## 12 Gauge Slug Ballistics Chart ![12 Gauge Slug Ballistics Chart with velocity, energy and elevation to 150 yards for Federal Power-Shok, Remington Slugger, Brenneke K.O., Hornady SST and Federal Freight Train Copper slugs](https://sixguns.com/uploads/default/original/2X/a/afcf98898c4a3e25453df2875d444bf57d0a9df6.png) _Source: muzzle velocity and energy from Federal Power-Shok, Remington Slugger, Winchester, Brenneke USA, Hornady, and Federal Freight Train Copper. Downrange velocity, energy, and drop were calculated by [Ammo.com](http://Ammo.com) on a 100-yard zero with a 1.5 inch sight height. Federal, Remington, and Winchester list a 30" test barrel, Hornady lists 24", and Brenneke doesn’t list one. Brenneke publishes slug weight in ounces only, so the grain weights above are straight conversions._ Every load here runs out to 150 yards, and that’s where the story is. By 150, the rifled slugs are down to 620 to 1,166 ft-lbs. Both sabots are still carrying over 1,400. That gap is your effective range, right there in black and white. ## Rifled vs. Sabot vs. Brenneke Slugs [Rifled (Foster) slugs](https://ammo.com/shotgun/12-ga-ammo/12-gauge-rifled-slugs) are soft, full-bore lead slugs. They hit very hard up close, but their blunt shape sheds speed fast. By 150 yards, the Remington Slugger is down to 769 ft-lbs and almost 11 inches low on a 100-yard zero. [Sabot slugs](https://ammo.com/shotgun/12-ga-ammo/12-ga-sabot-slugs) are smaller, pointier projectiles that hold momentum much better. The Hornady SST still carries 1,464 ft-lbs at 150 yards. Copper versions like Federal Freight Train are lead-free. You’ll find more copper sabot slugs in [our lead-free roundup](https://ammo.com/best/best-lead-free-hunting-ammunition). Brenneke slugs are Foster-style slugs with the wad attached to the back, which keeps the nose forward by functioning like the feathers on a dart. Brenneke rates the K.O. for rifled and smoothbore barrels. Winchester’s Deer Season slug implements a similar idea: a stabilizing wad that travels downrange with the slug. It leaves the muzzle with 2,798 ft-lbs, second only to the Power-Shok, but it’s down to 836 by 100 yards. Heavy, blunt slugs hit hard and quit early ## 12 Gauge Slug Trajectory Chart Every load here is zeroed at 100 yards with a 1.5 inch sight height, so you’re comparing apples to apples. Numbers are inches above (+) or below (−) your line of sight. ![12 Gauge Slug Trajectory and Bullet Drop Chart for six rifled, Brenneke and sabot slugs on a 100-yard zero](https://sixguns.com/uploads/default/original/2X/d/d19bdb89bac805c2545730b989e8e286f5d012b5.png) Look at the 125-yard column. Zeroed at 100, the rifled and Brenneke slugs are already 3.6 to 5.5 inches low just 25 yards past zero, and 9.3 to 14.3 inches low by 150. The two sabots? 1.5 inches low at 125, and under 4 inches at 150. Hornady publishes SST data all the way to 200 yards, where it still carries 1,199 ft-lbs. Rifled slugs fall off hard past 100 yards, and sabots out of a rifled barrel stay flat a lot longer. _Continue reading [12 Gauge Slug Ballistics Chart: Velocity, Energy and Drop](https://ammo.com/ballistics/12-gauge-slug-ballistics#12-gauge-rifled-slug-ballistics-chart) on [Ammo.com](http://Ammo.com)_ [https://ammo.com/ballistics/12-gauge-slug-ballistics#12-gauge-rifled-slug-ballistics-chart](https://ammo.com/ballistics/12-gauge-slug-ballistics#12-gauge-rifled-slug-ballistics-chart)