hunting deer with buck shot

Slugs for me. Unless I'm pushing THICK bush.

I have seen what buck shot can and cant do.

Although it works some of the time, most of the time I have seen it not work
 
I did not read all the posts to this thread (in a hurry, tonight), so my apoligies if I'm repeating anything already said.


Buck shot is best at close range. Best thing to do is draw a 30" circle on a large pieces of cardboard, place it out to 10 yards, and another at 15 yards, maybe also a third at 20 yards. Fire off a round of buck shot at each target. I did this a few years ago, and found that the full choke works best.

I was using a Rem 1100, 12 ga, 30" Full, with 2 3/4 factory loads of 4 buck and OO.
 
gth said:
Maybe he knows how to shoot\pattern his gun and judge distance.............
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If he did , he wouldn't be asking this question.
Also shows a sense of responsiblity to ask before he shoots.

Of course buckshot will kill , as a few fellas has stated...but did y'all knock down deer with every shot ? or did you "miss" a few times ?
Buckshot is better suited for close-quarter combat.
WhiteTail is a tough animal to put down as it is .
Practice up with rifled slugs and you'll enjoy your hunt more knowing that your gunning with real knockdown power.
 
I would go with 00 over the 000 more pellets. You have to pattern your gun, choke and shell combo before anything, determine your effective range, stay within it and you will kill deer.
 
Buckshot (although not a fan) will fill your freezer if used within it's limits. At 40yds and under 3.5'' 00 buck will be devistating on deer.
 
test it

Set up targets every 10 yards. Try both guns with buck shot. You will be able to tell from the patterns you get which one you will be able to use at what distances.
 
00 or 000 buckshot kills deer within its range just fine. I've never lost one. I understand if its a 'shotgun only' area. There are lots here and slugs (single projectiles) are a no-no.. The naysays obviously don't know how to get up close to deer or judge distance if they are wounding them with buckshot. People wound game with bows and rifles too. Shoot within the weapons range and you'll be fine.
 
would love to use slugs

Hi guys I only ask because the area I can hunt in is restricted to Buckshot only, until we can convince the authorities to change this it is buckshot for know. My maximum shooting distance would be 30 yards with the 30" full choke barrel and 20 yards with the cylinder bore.

Thanks

Poorpi
 
i have tests done by peter h capstick on buckshot in africa .and ooo buck is the least afective oo being a better choice for deer .buck shot has killed many big game animals including lions and lepords .thy all had 30inch brrels with full choke back then the stuff is just deadly at 30 to 40 yards .you just have to patern your gun to see were it is hitting
 
buckshot1987 said:
stick to a 30" full choke barrel 00 buck and pattern your gun.
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Nope!

I saw two fellas at the range paterning their guns last fall at 40yds.One with a 30'' full choke the other a 21'' turkey barrel with modified choke. To my amazement the 21'' gun patterned way tighter than the other.
 
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I personally dislike the use of shot for big game, but it seems that some jurisdictions have decided that it is in the interest of public safety to mandate it. Lets consider the advise given by some that the range be limited so that all the pellets strike within a 30" circle. IMHO, a shot pattern that strikes with at least some pellets on the periphery of a 30" circle means that those outside pellets will be ineffective with respect to the wounds they inflict, if they even hit the deer. The heavier the shot, the fewer pellets there are to put on target, so you don't want any pellets to be out of the kill zone. For buckshot to be most effective, all the pellets must strike the kill zone, so an 18"-20" pattern is a better measure on a broadside animal, such a shot would cut off the top of the heart, shred the lungs, and possibly damage the spine. If one uses buffered shot from an open choke, this limits the range to the target to about 25 yards. If the animal is facing directly towards or directly away from the hunter, the pattern should be reduced to 12" or a range of about 15 yards. Get ye to a tree stand!

If it was me living in BC, I'd just hunt in an area that allowed an appropriate big game firearm.
 
I second boomer on how you have to plan to hit the deer with buck shot. This question comes up very often often with people thinking that it will be good because "maybe at least one or two will hit the deer".

You have to plan and shoot such that the majority of the shot will not only hit the deer but will hit the kill zone. If you modify your hunting style to do this, buck shot will be devastating.

RG

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Many yrs ago I used to wonder why my uncle never owned a rifle. He had an old dbl 12g, he got his deer every year with OO Buck. I don't use it often muself but only because I'm in & out of thick cover. The times I have taken a watch in the real thick stuff OO Buck & my upland barrel is what I carry. It is devastating at appropite distances. & no I have not lost a deer due to the use of OOBuck.

I agree with many above....pattern your gun, my opinion is a 12-24" pattern is large enough to allow enough pellets to get thru & still enough hits to be effective.
 
poorpi said:
Hi guys I only ask because the area I can hunt in is restricted to Buckshot only, until we can convince the authorities to change this it is buckshot for know. My maximum shooting distance would be 30 yards with the 30" full choke barrel and 20 yards with the cylinder bore.

Thanks

Poorpi
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Some may dis-agree, but IMHO 00 Buck is effective out to a max of 30 yards.

Sure it might kill past 30...but the chance of wounding and non-recovery are very possible, and too high.
 
I will put it on record here that I have never shot any big game animal with a shotgun, using a slug or buckshot. But a number of years ago, when I spent some time on Vancouver Island, there were a lot of deer in a shotgun with shot only area, so I did some experimenting with buckshot. Here is what I found: 30 yards is about the maximum distance for a good patterning shotgun using 00 buck. My testing revealed that the best choke to use was Improved cylinder, with modified running a close second. Full chokes seemed to cause more flyers, and the pattern spread very rapidly with the cylinder bore. I never got a chance to use the knowledge gained, but I have full confidence that any deer within 30 yards would have been dispatched quickly and humanely with the IC choke and a full load of 00 buckshot. Regards, Eagleye.
 
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