I have to admit, as short as a year ago I was a slug non-believer. I had bought into the myth that pellets were more accurate than slugs up to 100 yards, and the slugs I did end up testing didn't work that well and confirmed my beliefs. Now that there are MANY more options for slugs which are truly comparable in price to pellets (thanks NSA!), and there are numerous options in each caliber such as HP, S2, FB, DB, shallow CP, deep CB, etc., I thought I'd try again. So about six months ago I jumped into the rabbit hole and I'm still burrowing...
My test platforms are a .22 EDgun R3 Long and a .25 EDgun R5 Super Magnum, plus a good buddy (Derrick @zx10wall ) has a .30 EDgun R5 Super Long and he's been recently testing slugs. For me so far with my two guns, the R3 with lightweight NSA slugs has proven the top performer, but the .30 R5 SL has comparable results to the R3. I have had good but not stellar results with the R5 SM, but it does prefer the 26.8 grain HP DB. Derrick's R5 SL prefers the lightweight NSA 47.2 grain HP DB.
Some points and lessons learned below:
1. Slugs are now very comparable in price to high quality pellets (notwithstanding the NEW high priced FX Hybrids). I shoot the 20.2 Grain NSA HP DB in my Edgun R3 Long at 965 FPS. They are easily MOA at 110 yards, which is my normal testing distance after initial 50 yard testing. ($18.95 for 375 slugs). Last weekend I had five out of six MOA groups (5 shots each) at 110 yards, with the best two being 5/8" and 7/8", and the worst being 1.5". Derrick's R5 SL shooting 47.2 HP DB have given him dime sized 5 shot groups at 100 yards.
2. Even as short as a year ago, the general consensus was that pellets were more accurate than slugs at shorter (up to 100 yards) distance. Its been my experience recently that this is no longer true. At 50 yards the 20.2 NSA are every bit as accurate as the JSB RD Monsters, which is what I normally have shot in this gun. And at 110 yards the NSA 20.2 slugs are noticeably more accurate and more stable than the JSB RD Monsters (at 925 FPS).
3. Although the lightweight slugs have a better BC than the pellets, its not five times better, or anything of the sort, IMHO. For example, I MEASURED BC in 65 degree weather a few hundred feet above sea level, and measured at 110 yards, with a 50 yards zero using the "BC Truing" function on Strelok Pro. This was using the drop method and a chrony at the muzzle shooting at 110 yards after confirming the exact zero at 50 yards. The JSB RD Monster was at 0.048, and the NSA 20.2 HP DB was at 0.074. I could notice this is 5 to 6 mph winds coming from my 10 to 11 o'clock in that the slugs drifted less than the pellets. I held off 0.7 MIL for the pellets and 0.4 MIL for the slugs. This is, however, comparing a high BC pellet to a low BC slug. So the differential could be significantly greater than this.
4. Don't go into slugs believing that it is easy, and you'll no longer have to worry about the wind. That's just not true. For both my guns I tested every slug that NSA makes in both calibers (.22 and .25) at 50 yards and various speeds (900, 925, 950, 975, 1000, 1025). When I got the two best performers at 50 yards, I took them to 75 yards, and the winner of that went to 110 yards, where I again tried various speeds. For the R3 Long, it turns out that the NSA 20.2 perform best at 965 to 970 FPS at 110 yards. Very stable flight the entire path. and very good groupings. Unless I find "the magic" with the .25 R5, the .22 R3 is the gun I'll shoot at the RMAC small bore slug challenge.
5. The EDguns prefer the lighter weight slugs in each caliber (best accuracy at 100 to 110 yards). For example, 20.2 grain in .22, 26.8 grain in .25, and 47.2 grain in .30. This was confirmed in a .22 R3 Long, a .25 R5 Super Magnum, and a .30 R5 Super Long.
Hopefully we can generate some discussion about this topic. I know @stoti has done MUCH more testing than I have with the NSA and other brand slugs in his guns. In fact, he's the reason I started down this rabbit hole...
110 yards 5 shots .22 NSA 20.2 grain
My test platforms are a .22 EDgun R3 Long and a .25 EDgun R5 Super Magnum, plus a good buddy (Derrick @zx10wall ) has a .30 EDgun R5 Super Long and he's been recently testing slugs. For me so far with my two guns, the R3 with lightweight NSA slugs has proven the top performer, but the .30 R5 SL has comparable results to the R3. I have had good but not stellar results with the R5 SM, but it does prefer the 26.8 grain HP DB. Derrick's R5 SL prefers the lightweight NSA 47.2 grain HP DB.
Some points and lessons learned below:
1. Slugs are now very comparable in price to high quality pellets (notwithstanding the NEW high priced FX Hybrids). I shoot the 20.2 Grain NSA HP DB in my Edgun R3 Long at 965 FPS. They are easily MOA at 110 yards, which is my normal testing distance after initial 50 yard testing. ($18.95 for 375 slugs). Last weekend I had five out of six MOA groups (5 shots each) at 110 yards, with the best two being 5/8" and 7/8", and the worst being 1.5". Derrick's R5 SL shooting 47.2 HP DB have given him dime sized 5 shot groups at 100 yards.
2. Even as short as a year ago, the general consensus was that pellets were more accurate than slugs at shorter (up to 100 yards) distance. Its been my experience recently that this is no longer true. At 50 yards the 20.2 NSA are every bit as accurate as the JSB RD Monsters, which is what I normally have shot in this gun. And at 110 yards the NSA 20.2 slugs are noticeably more accurate and more stable than the JSB RD Monsters (at 925 FPS).
3. Although the lightweight slugs have a better BC than the pellets, its not five times better, or anything of the sort, IMHO. For example, I MEASURED BC in 65 degree weather a few hundred feet above sea level, and measured at 110 yards, with a 50 yards zero using the "BC Truing" function on Strelok Pro. This was using the drop method and a chrony at the muzzle shooting at 110 yards after confirming the exact zero at 50 yards. The JSB RD Monster was at 0.048, and the NSA 20.2 HP DB was at 0.074. I could notice this is 5 to 6 mph winds coming from my 10 to 11 o'clock in that the slugs drifted less than the pellets. I held off 0.7 MIL for the pellets and 0.4 MIL for the slugs. This is, however, comparing a high BC pellet to a low BC slug. So the differential could be significantly greater than this.
4. Don't go into slugs believing that it is easy, and you'll no longer have to worry about the wind. That's just not true. For both my guns I tested every slug that NSA makes in both calibers (.22 and .25) at 50 yards and various speeds (900, 925, 950, 975, 1000, 1025). When I got the two best performers at 50 yards, I took them to 75 yards, and the winner of that went to 110 yards, where I again tried various speeds. For the R3 Long, it turns out that the NSA 20.2 perform best at 965 to 970 FPS at 110 yards. Very stable flight the entire path. and very good groupings. Unless I find "the magic" with the .25 R5, the .22 R3 is the gun I'll shoot at the RMAC small bore slug challenge.
5. The EDguns prefer the lighter weight slugs in each caliber (best accuracy at 100 to 110 yards). For example, 20.2 grain in .22, 26.8 grain in .25, and 47.2 grain in .30. This was confirmed in a .22 R3 Long, a .25 R5 Super Magnum, and a .30 R5 Super Long.
Hopefully we can generate some discussion about this topic. I know @stoti has done MUCH more testing than I have with the NSA and other brand slugs in his guns. In fact, he's the reason I started down this rabbit hole...
110 yards 5 shots .22 NSA 20.2 grain
Hey squirrel, say hello to my little friend... 
when you hit anything alive Neighbors will come out and check!). But for plinking they actually pop less than pellets in metal. Besides that, LOVE THEM!, do I use pellets still? YES for hunting at short range ..let's say up to 70m, pellets are good and the pop is not loud, so is a good thing to have the option today to choose the right tool for the job. So basically if there are neighbors around I use pellets and if not (out in the field), slugs. 
