Buckshot deer

Brobee

Brobee

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Hi folks,

Normally I use rifled slugs for deer during shotgun season, but I've always wondered about the effectiveness and limitations of buckshot. Managed to get it tested this fall/winter and made a couple videos in the process.

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/foru...ew-Federal-Premium-00-Buckshot-w-FliteControl

Had them posted elsewhere in the forums, but figured there might be some interest here in the hunting section too.

Cheers, and hope your 2013 hunting season was great!

Brobee
 
Nice work on the videos and looks like a great load as far as buckshot goes. The drawback with buckshot from what I've seen and you've shown is the small entry hole, often no exit wound, very little bleeding initially in a lot of cases and often no visible evidence of being hit past 40 yards or so. Combine that with no snow, thick cover and a deer going 100 or 150 yards even when well hit unfortunatley results in lost deer or deer that are poorly hit, assumed to have been missed due to no blood trail, and found dead later.
Not meant to be knock of your work, just my experience on the limitations of buckshot.
 
I have cleanly killed deer out to 60 yards with SSG and a FC Win 1200 pump running.Dead before they hit the dirt.Never lost any or had to track.Prefer #1 buck with tighter chokes...........Harold
 
We to have had very good results with buck shot in are controlled deer hunts in southern ont .are dogger us buckshot and shot just as many deer as the watchers do .i love the old ssg loads and still have a few rounds left I buy it at gun shows when I can find it . Dutch
 
There's always the golden pellet stories. I've seen lots myself. Unfortunately in 18 years of controlled hunts we've also found deer 2 days later or had deer that guys swear they hit that were unrecovered or found deer the same day that we had earlier given up on as "missed". It can happen with slugs too, just not as often in my experience.
If the shooter has the self control and experience not to take "Hail Mary's" with buckshot it's very effective within it's intended range on broadside shots. In the hands of inexperienced hunters or those with poor range estimation or "quartering to" or "going away" shots there's a lot of unrecovered deer IMO, YMMV.
 
be2man said:
Nice work on the videos and looks like a great load as far as buckshot goes. The drawback with buckshot from what I've seen and you've shown is the small entry hole, often no exit wound, very little bleeding initially in a lot of cases and often no visible evidence of being hit past 40 yards or so. Combine that with no snow, thick cover and a deer going 100 or 150 yards even when well hit unfortunatley results in lost deer or deer that are poorly hit, assumed to have been missed due to no blood trail, and found dead later.
Not meant to be knock of your work, just my experience on the limitations of buckshot.
Click to expand...

be2man said:
There's always the golden pellet stories. I've seen lots myself. Unfortunately in 18 years of controlled hunts we've also found deer 2 days later or had deer that guys swear they hit that were unrecovered or found deer the same day that we had earlier given up on as "missed". It can happen with slugs too, just not as often in my experience.
If the shooter has the self control and experience not to take "Hail Mary's" with buckshot it's very effective within it's intended range on broadside shots. In the hands of inexperienced hunters or those with poor range estimation or "quartering to" or "going away" shots there's a lot of unrecovered deer IMO, YMMV.
Click to expand...


In our shotgun season I normally hunt with rifles slugs, and based on the experience I now have with a buckshot deer, I think slugs are vastly superior to buckshot for deer hunting. My opinion now pretty much mirrors everything you wrote above. I might try a carefully controlled #4 buck deer for the camera next season, but I'll only do it if it's straight broadside at 20 yards or less.

Cheers,

Brobee
 
I think everyone who rags on buckshot should watch this video as I honestly believe the majority who are against its use have never even used it before and their opinion comes from "experienced" users who take 75-100 yard shots and then wonder why they never recovered the animal.

The deer in the video was taken with a 2 3/4" shell (9 pellets) at 55 yards, which is farther than the recommended maximum range of 40 yards for buckshot. I fail to see how anyone who has used buckshot can come to the conclusion that it's not capable of clean kills when used within it's effective range. A 9 pellet load is clearly capable of a clean kill at 55 yards, yet some ignorant folks insist that no buckshot load is capable of a clean kill at 40 yards.


Excellent video Brobee! Have you tried some 3" or 3 1/2" 00 buck loads to see how they pattern?
 
I despise buckshot and frankly, wish it was banned for use during the controlled hunts in Ontario. Sure, some guys are profficient with it. I admire them and wish only they could use buckshot. Unfortunately, anyone can use it. I've heard soo many freaking clowns talk about the 100 yard running shots they take with it and hear all about the 'misses' from the doggers on deer drives. These deer are often hit with one or two pellets in the guts and crawl into a cornfield and die. Why cant everyone justy buy a slug barrel and know when they hit a deer? Can't beat a 12 or 20 gauge hole vs. 9 or 12 low powered .30 cal holes.
 
cath8r said:
I despise buckshot and frankly, wish it was banned for use during the controlled hunts in Ontario. Sure, some guys are profficient with it. I admire them and wish only they could use buckshot. Unfortunately, anyone can use it. I've heard soo many freaking clowns talk about the 100 yard running shots they take with it and hear all about the 'misses' from the doggers on deer drives. These deer are often hit with one or two pellets in the guts and crawl into a cornfield and die. Why cant everyone justy buy a slug barrel and know when they hit a deer? Can't beat a 12 or 20 gauge hole vs. 9 or 12 low powered .30 cal holes.
Click to expand...

You want something to be banned because some people use it wrong? Hmmm... I've heard that somewhere before.
 
I shot a doe in the face with my 12 gauge one time on the island. Probably only 20 yards and the toughest deer I've ever had the displeasure to eat. Most of it is still in the freezer awaiting sausage making.
 
buckshot works well still to this day as long as you pattern your guns and know were to place the shot with multiple pellets in the chest taking out the lungs/heart they don't last too long. I can't stress it enough it keep it in bow range though and test with every choke available to you(big pellets like open chokes) it has its biggest advantage in thick brush
 
cath8r said:
I despise buckshot and frankly, wish it was banned for use during the controlled hunts in Ontario. Sure, some guys are profficient with it. I admire them and wish only they could use buckshot. Unfortunately, anyone can use it. I've heard soo many freaking clowns talk about the 100 yard running shots they take with it and hear all about the 'misses' from the doggers on deer drives. These deer are often hit with one or two pellets in the guts and crawl into a cornfield and die. Why cant everyone justy buy a slug barrel and know when they hit a deer? Can't beat a 12 or 20 gauge hole vs. 9 or 12 low powered .30 cal holes.
Click to expand...

The reason some guys use it effectively is because they have spent the money on a variety of shells and took the time to find out what load and choke combination shoots best out of their gun. They likely also know how to estimate yardage and/or use a rangefinder as well as wait for a proper shot.

The morons that misuse buckshot will also attempt hail mary shots with slugs or a bow. Either way, they shouldn't be shooting at live targets until they understand the limitations of their equipment as well as their own shooting skills.
 
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