I have no personal experience with this. What follows is information from a reputable local gun dealer. Rifled barrels are designed primarily for use with sabot slugs. Buckshot will not harm a rifled barrel because in the barrel, the plastic wadding holding the shot together will be the only portion of the projectile(s) in contact with the barrel. Firing rifled lead slugs will lead to difficult (nearly impossible) to clean out accumulations of lead in the barrel & negate the rifling because the rifling of the slug & the rifling of the barrel will not match up.
In short, it is a barrel designed to fire slugs. Some are smooth bore which are intended to shoot rifled slugs or buckshot, while others are rifled and intended for shooting sabot slugs only. This is a very good and trusted answer. lcj
Yes. Rifled slugs are intended to be fired through a smoothbore barrel. Sabot slugs are intended to be fired through rifled barrels.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FIRE BUCKSHOT OUT OF A THREADED BARREL WITHOUT A CHOKE TUBE INSTALLED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Danger, Danger, Danger
Rifled slugs were designed for smooth bore barrels because they lack rifling. Sabot slugs are made for rifled bores but they can fire through smooth bores with loss of accuracy. I am not sure about rifled slugs in a rifled barrel because I think the bullets rifling can improperly connect with the bores rifling and you risk scratching the barrel.
The one that gives the best accuracy. You will have to fire as many different types as you can afford to find out.
Yes. That's the only type of shotgun you should fire a sabot slug from. Rifled shotguns are intended for rifled slugs only. Actually, the opposite is true. Rifled slugs are preferred for smooth barreled shotguns. The 'rifling' on the slug is actually just fins that permit the slug to squeeze through the choke on the shotgun barrel. Sabot slugs are intended for rifled barrels, as they will give better accuracy. Some sabots may be used in smooth barrels, but you are paying more for sabots and not getting the accuracy you would get by using a sabot in a rifled barrel.
It depends on the air rifle. All 177 air pistols and rifles fire 177 ammo. Some will fire, only pellets. Some can only fire, BB's. But, some can shoot both. And. Brake barrel air weapons can fire, special darts. But, DON'T, fire darts through a rifled barrel. You can do it but it can damage it. Only through a smooth bore barrel. When in doubt, check with the maker of YOUR gun.
From Mossberg's website:"Can I shoot slugs or buckshot through a "smoothbore" field barrel with Accu-Choke™ tubes? (500/505/535/9200/88/930 models) Yes, and with sabots or rifled slugs, the more "open" the choke tube, the better the accuracy ("Improved Cylinder" recommended.) The "full" or "modified" choke tubes are preferred for buckshot loads. Slugs, buckshot and steel shot loads are not recommended for use with an extra full "turkey tube" installed, due to the tube's tight constriction. Do not fire any load without a choke tube installed, doing so will damage the internal choke tube threads. "
A rifled barrel means that there are multiple small grooves cut into the inside of the barrel in a spinning motion. The number of grooves, rate of twist, and wether it is counter clockwise or clockwise depends on the caliber and manufacturer. The reason you rifle barrels is to put spin on the bullet so that it is more stable during flight.
Muskets tended to be use well after rifled barrels became more or less a standard for a couple reasons. The smoothbore muskets were quicker to reload and fire than their rifled counterparts, and the muskets were advantageous in close situations for their ability to fire special loads, such as the infamous "buck and ball" used during the Civil War, which was essentially a smoothbore musket ball with buckshot glued to it, which would pattern out in a similar manner to a shotgun when fired.
The new rifled barrel enabled accurate long-range fire. This devastated armies that were still using short-range tactics.
Slug guns have a fully rifled barrel like a center fire rifle. This helps improve accuracy. A regular shotgun barrel is smooth bore with different choke tubes for a specific desired shot pattern.