00 Buck on deer

triton

triton

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What would be the max distance you should use this on deer? I am going to use 3" mags through an extra full choke. I was thinking about 40 yards would be the limit. It's about a 30-35 yd. Where I am going to sit this year. I was thinking this would be a good set up. What do you guys think? Thanks.

Dave.
 
i think you should use a more open choke. an extra full choke might deform the pellets causing bad patterns. id try it with cylinder, IC and mod chokes before an x-full. the x-full will also make it kick alot harder;)

35-40 yards would be max for me. just be sure you have a good pattern consistantly. buckshot is cheap so theres no excuse for you not to try a few different load/choke combos.
 
Test pattern your gun before you go hunting. From what I've seen I wouldn't shoot a deer outside of 25 yards with either my Rem 870 or Win 1300 using any of my combinations of barrels or chokes.
 
Amphibious said:
35yrds? use a slug. forget the buck shot unless you're hunting bigbird.
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Absolutely! Within 20 yards most guys should be able to slug a deer even without rifle sights. Way better off. Unless the law specifies "no single projectiles", as it may here. I was thoroughly dissappointed in my tests using your basic unspeciallized SG, even with the late$t, buffered, plated, whiz-bang buckshot. Not into chasing wounded deer. Better off throwing a brick.
 
I wouldnt shoot past 30 to 35yrds with buckshot.Try different chokes for a pattern.I dont think x-tra full will pattern as good as modified.
I am not a big fan of it as my only deer that I ever lost was with buckshot.
 
A couple of years back, I did some pretty extensive experimentation with buckshot. I fired several different loads in both 00 and 000 buckshot (and even some #4 buck for comparison) at deer sized targets at ranges from 15 to 40 yards.

For a buckshot load to be effective, you want to get at least 50% of the pellets into the vital area; target saturation is what you want with a shotgun, as individual pellets have relatively little stopping power and penetration as compared to rifle bullets.

I tried chokes from cylinder to super full (that famous "Pattern Master" choke) and in a nutshell, all loads fired better through an Improved Cylinder choke; the pellets are just too darned big to pattern properly and were being deformed too much out of the tighter chokes. Buffered shot also patterned much better as opposed to unbuffered, but it made no difference in my tests whether the shot was copper-plated or not.

The best load out of my particular gun (a Remington 11-87 12 Gauge with deer barrel) was a 3 inch Winchester 00 buck, buffered but not plated. It consistently kept 7-8 pellets in the kill zone at 40 yards out of an IC choke. In contrast, some loads did not even get ONE pellet in the kill zone at that range!

If you are serious about using buckshot out of your gun, you must put in some fairly extensive range time and pattern your gun with a few different load/choke combinations. Just like rifles, shotguns have their own personal preferences for different loads, and what works great in one gun may not work worth a hoot in another.

Either way, another nice excuse to go out shooting!:D :dancingbanana: :dancingbanana:
 
One of my best friends has a younger brother who's a conservation officer in central Ontario.

The consensus of the bambi police seems to be buckshot is a piss poor load for deer, or a lot of hunters overestimate the range at which it is effective. They seem to find a lot of lost deer with buckshot pellets, but few with slugs.
 
Hmmm, personally I don't like buckshot and have never used it. Nor would I shoot a deer with .22lr ammo either which is effectively the size of 000 Buckshot.
I feel that at sub 20 yards if you have to use buckshot then go for it- but a slug is better medicine and will also work at 100 yards if you do your part right..
 
I have patterned #4 buck out of my 870 (MOD) for close quarters coyotes and it patterned great. I even wacked a few jackrabbits with it to check terminal performance. But I would hesitate to use any buckshot on a deer outside 25yds.
 
Here is a Federal 12 gauge slug, 2-3/4 shell I recovered after 100 yards, where
it went through a 6 by 6 post at the backstop, little hole going in, huge hole going out, made quite a "thwack" sound...respect. :D

100_25782.jpg


I found that my groups through my Maverick 88s 28" MC smooth barrel was approx 4" - 6" (off hand shooting) at 100..which is why I hit the backstop post. :redface:

I'd feel comfy at 60-75 yards with this set up, but in reality the range in our Island woods would probably be more like 30 - 40 yards anyway...more range testing is needed. :D
 
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1shot said:
Hmmm, personally I don't like buckshot and have never used it. Nor would I shoot a deer with .22lr ammo either which is effectively the size of 000 Buckshot.
I feel that at sub 20 yards if you have to use buckshot then go for it- but a slug is better medicine and will also work at 100 yards if you do your part right..
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i dont see how someone who has never used buckshot can come to a conclusion that buckshot is only effective under 20yards:rolleyes: i have used #4 buck on jackrabbits, coyotes and cats out to 50 yards and most have died after running 40 yards or less. rabbits are usually bang flops.

buy the premium buckshot loads and you will be able to down deer at 40 yards IF you find the right load/choke combo for your gun. the fact is that most shooters dont spend the $$$ to find out which combo works best in their gun so they automatically assume that buckshot is junk.

another well known fact is that many hunters are brutal when it comes to range estimation. if everyone used a rangefinder then more people would like buckshot because then it would be used at the appropriate ranges.

i do not use buckshot for deer because i have a rifled barrel. but, if i didnt have the rifled barrel i would have my gun loaded with #1 buck in thick stuff where shots are usually 40 yards or less.

btw.....22lr or 6mm is the same diameter as #4 buck. 000 is .35" i believe or 9mm. ;)
 
all i know is if you are going to use buckshot you had better be bloody close. <20m. ive heard that trying to follow a blood trail in the dark bites. its your choice what to use, but use something that will get the job done. Overkill is better than Underkill.
 
canadian hunter312 said:
i dont see how someone who has never used buckshot can come to a conclusion that buckshot is only effective under 20yards:rolleyes: i have used #4 buck on jackrabbits, coyotes and cats out to 50 yards and most have died after running 40 yards or less. rabbits are usually bang flops.

buy the premium buckshot loads and you will be able to down deer at 40 yards IF you find the right load/choke combo for your gun. the fact is that most shooters dont spend the $$$ to find out which combo works best in their gun so they automatically assume that buckshot is junk.

another well known fact is that many hunters are brutal when it comes to range estimation. if everyone used a rangefinder then more people would like buckshot because then it would be used at the appropriate ranges.

i do not use buckshot for deer because i have a rifled barrel. but, if i didnt have the rifled barrel i would have my gun loaded with #1 buck in thick stuff where shots are usually 40 yards or less.

btw.....22lr or 6mm is the same diameter as #4 buck. 000 is .35" i believe or 9mm. ;)
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I agree although I don't use a shoty much, it's not because they are ineffective, it's because dog men are on the move & spend as much time in more open hardwoods. There's is nothing more deadly than buckshot on a bouncing deer in a cedar swamp where a single projectile might get deflected. That said it is important to keep range to a minimum, what that is (20yds-50yds) depends on how well your gun patterns the shot in it, only you can find that out! Personally whatever range your gun can keep 3/4 of the pellets inside a 3' circle is good in my opinion. From my experience most deer drop like a stone when encountering buckshot at the proper distance:)

A single 00 buck pellet is approx 30 caliber.
 
CanadianHunter312, This is a very interesting discussion. Thank you for clarifying the size of Buckshot pellets.

I don't/won't use Buckshot for the simple reason that a round ball does not even come close to weighing that of a bullet, though I'm sure 20 yards or less would result in a kill due to multiple strikes..
But for longer shots, look at muzzleloaders for example, use a patched round ball of significant size- say, .50 and up and you're into some reasonable energy, much more if a conical or saboted bullet is used. But go to .32 cal roundball and all you've got a Squirrel gun, purely by the weight/speed of projectile fired. Then how is it that a .30 cal centerfire is so very effective? Easy, a heavy and long bullet at very high velocity, and not a light/slow pellet from a shotgun averaging how much with Buck, 1400/1500fps?

Thats my own reasoning right or wrong, and the best this 35 yr old sub-grade 10 dropout can come up with.
If there's a hunter reading who actually uses Buckshot on 40/50 yard Deer please comment on the pattern and damage inflicted to a big animals vital organs.
 
going by this site a 00 (.33in) pellet weighs 54gr and each pellet will have 200ft/lbs of energy at a velocity of 1295fps. 1800 ft/lbs of energy with 9 pellets (they are obviously referring to a 2 3/4" load) so with a 3 1/2" load that would mean theres 18 pellets with 200ft/lbs of energy per pellet or 3600ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle.

im not sure how fast they lose velocity but i imagine its quick. id say thats enough energy to penetrate at least 1 lung. at 40 yards.

i might be patterning some buckshot this weekend so ill post my results.

i still say that if people carried rangefinders and could range each animal for taking a shot that alot more animals would be killed rather than wounded by buckshot. i cant believe how bad people are at judging ranges :rolleyes:
 
Have shot 3 deer with buckshot. My first deer ever was shot at 50 yards with a full choke and 2.75 load of 00, it was hit with 5 pellets 2 would have been fatal. both through the lungs and found on the far side just under the skin,,, deer ran 60 yards before dieing.

The next one also shot with full choke and 2.75" load of 00 at 10 yards. 9 hits all through and through, deer flipped over, stood back up, took one step and died.

Third one was at the same stand, full choke and 2.75" load of 00 buckshot at 30 yards, 8 hits all fatal, deer flipped over and never moved another inch.

In thick cover or semi thick cover or drives with shots under 40 yards I wouldnt hesitate too use 00 buckshot at all! For field sitting I prefer my muzzleloader.
 
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