Which one is an easier method to get into for a normal rifle hunter? I already have a 20ga Wingmaster that I love, but I dont think its up to the task to hunt deer with a rifled slug.

I tend to travel from base to base and lots have Corps of Engineers land that is open to hunt on for bows, shotguns, muzzleloaders.... basically anything but a high powered rifle. I definitely want to get into bow hunting soon, but at the moment I'll stick to firearms. For an entry level setup which is easier to dive into without having any previous equipment... muzzleloaders or slug shotguns?

I would think Muzzleloader would be better option b/c of their range and accuracy. But shotgun is probably more simple just load shell and shoot easier to clean as well.

I would vote for the slug gun....buy a rifled barrel and top it off with a nice scope and you'll be in business and won't have to try to learn how to reload a front stuffer for any follow up shots....just pump and fire.....lol....good luck & knock 'em down

A slug gun will be easier to get into for sure. For accuracy and cost the H&R slug guns are hard to beat. The will be heavier since the 12ga is built on a 10ga frame or the 20ga is on a 12ga frame. Dedicated slug guns with rifled barrels and Sabot slugs are turning some impressive groups at 100 yards and more.

Muzzle loaders I like also and some of them with the right scope are good to 200 yards or more in practiced hands. They are more of a pain to clean unless you can go with one of the Savages that was built for use with smokeless powder.

I have found that cleaning a muzzleloader is much easier if you use BLACKHORN 209 powder. Kind of pricy and sometimes hard to find, but it cleans up with the same stuff like a centerfire.

I do agree that the shotgun would be easiest. My Dad used a shotgun all the time for deer hunting in Missouri. Using regular barrel and foster type slugs he could put 4 out of 4 shots on a 6" pieplate at 75 yards with iron sites. Never had a problem tracking his deer. Either left a massive blood trail that Stevie Wonder could follow or DRT.

Consider that a scoped muzzleloader can shoot accurately out to 300 yards; I have my Knight ML sighted dead-on at 200 yards with a Redfield 3x9-50 scope. The downside....you get one shot.

The main advantage to the shotgun is that you will have multiple shots, in most cases, with accurate range out to around 75 yards.
The downside is its range and accuracy at distance.

If you get a rifled barel and scope you can shoot sabot slugs well past 75 yards.

I read a study on it a few years ago and it indicated that the 20 guage slugs actualy out performed the 12 guage in penetration becasue they are so much smaller in diameter.

The NRA American Hunter magazine just did an article on this exact subject.

I use a 20 guage single shot H&R Tracker 2 with rifled barrel, 4 x 32 scope. Hornady SST slugs are accurate as a rifle out to 100 yards. It's light weight, and the Hornady's don't kick much at all, and cleaning is usually a wipe down of the barrel if I feel like it, and a bore snake if I happen to shoot it.

I am fortunate enough to have a Thompsom center Omega .50 that will shoot 1-1/4 groups at 100 yds. I wouldn't hesitate to take it out to 200 if needed. I also have a Mossberg bolt action rifled slug gun that'll do basically the same thing. For ease of use, I'd be inclined to go with the slug gun, all things being equal. I have had a couple of experiences where after shooting a deer with the muzzleloader, my hands were shaking badly enough to cause me to miss the muzzle with a portion of the powder on the reload. Chambering a fresh load with the slug gun is in comparison, much simpler. It also seems that the slug gun drops them just a bit quicker than the muzzleloader. Just my humble opinion

Slugger.

Slug barrel would be the easiest for you but it won't match the fun of a BP gun, guaranteed!!!!

I have killed many deer with a smooth bore shotgun and a slug , just takes some getting use too plus 20 gauge slugs are fairly cheap

Ahem, I just listed my New England Firearms 20 guage 3"Ultra Slug in the FS section. It, and the H&R are basically the same gun. And like previously mentioned, they are VERY accurate!

False statement....savage and several others make 20 ga slug guns now that are bench groupable at 250 yards...

Exactly. These aren't our granddaddy's slug guns. These slug guns today don't play!

While this is true, the same is true about inline muzzle loaders, with 209 ignition there is rarely a misfife and they perform better than some centerfire rifles.

I can't argue with that!