My buddy was going on about 00 buckshot for whitetail, when I said it was no good unless very close he challenged me on that. So I made a target with a 15" circle, at 30 yards, he was lucky to get one in the circle. I won that bet.
The real truth about buckshot for hunting....
- Thread starter Why not?
- Start date
Old school regular wad buckshot, it's ok. Shot piles of deer size antelopes and a few bushpig in Africa with it. Pattern it and stick to the range that puts enough pellets on target with enough energy to penetrate to something vital. IME, that's 20, 25 yards tops with bog standard buckshot. It's not rocket surgery. It's unforgiving of error if you bust those limits. When I hear stories of buckshot wounded deer getting away, what it really sounds like to me is a story about a hunter who didn't know the limitations of his tools, and/or was unable to stick within them. The problem is in the use, not the tool.
The new flite control wad shells, or whatever the mfg's proprietary name is, a different animal. Shoots through a cylinder bore but patterns tighter than the fullest choke. Haven't shot a deer with one, but the hornady varmint express #4 buck hammers coyotes well out past where I'd try it with regular 4 buck.
The new flite control wad shells, or whatever the mfg's proprietary name is, a different animal. Shoots through a cylinder bore but patterns tighter than the fullest choke. Haven't shot a deer with one, but the hornady varmint express #4 buck hammers coyotes well out past where I'd try it with regular 4 buck.
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...everyone on here agrees with one thing...that the load and the distance need to be within a certain range...i use ballistic products' reloading manual and components for buckshot...i have killed several coyotes at close range using their 00 buckshot in heavy cover...
...but the best load of all was #4 buckshot out of a 12 gauge 3" load that i used to use for geese before regs switched to steel...it was an absolute thumper of a load...if it did not kill them, then it broke wings and necks, and the fall from 50 yards killed them...my hunting companions back then were awed...amazing stuff...
best of luck in learning to use buckshot...wouldn't be without a box of it in the house
(if you ever read gary shelton's works on bears you will find his references to game authorities in alberta and BC using alternating loads of slugs and buckshot in dealing with problem grizzlies...good read...better heeded)
...but the best load of all was #4 buckshot out of a 12 gauge 3" load that i used to use for geese before regs switched to steel...it was an absolute thumper of a load...if it did not kill them, then it broke wings and necks, and the fall from 50 yards killed them...my hunting companions back then were awed...amazing stuff...
best of luck in learning to use buckshot...wouldn't be without a box of it in the house
(if you ever read gary shelton's works on bears you will find his references to game authorities in alberta and BC using alternating loads of slugs and buckshot in dealing with problem grizzlies...good read...better heeded)
TheCoachZed
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Buckshot with the flite control wad is the best. Aside from that, I've seen my best pattern with #1 Winchester buck, which is hard to find. The FBI agrees that this is a pretty good load -- read their study.
If you put the bead on the deer's vitals, you'll drop a deer easily within 20 yards. Closer than 15 yards, it absolutely flattens them if you make proper shot placement. I have shot many deer with buckshot, as have my friends (We hunt an urban area) and we've never lost one. The only one I ever saw take a step was a 4-point that my buddy rushed his shot on, and only got one pellet in the lungs at 10 yards. It still died within 30 yards.
If you put the bead on the deer's vitals, you'll drop a deer easily within 20 yards. Closer than 15 yards, it absolutely flattens them if you make proper shot placement. I have shot many deer with buckshot, as have my friends (We hunt an urban area) and we've never lost one. The only one I ever saw take a step was a 4-point that my buddy rushed his shot on, and only got one pellet in the lungs at 10 yards. It still died within 30 yards.
I've not hunted with buck shot, but was at the range with the best shotgunner I know and with the buck shot he was using, he got an enormous spread of over one foot at 25 yards with the shells and choke he was using.
From that I would presume that you must try various brands of shells and select your best choke matched to load to get a tight spread even at 25-30 yards for a kill.
From that I would presume that you must try various brands of shells and select your best choke matched to load to get a tight spread even at 25-30 yards for a kill.
Well have to ruin all these lousy 25 yard no pellet on target stories but I patterned win copper plated 00 from a kicsk buckkicker choke and 9 of 9 pellets in a 14 inch circle at 40 yards - consistently. I would have no issues taking a deer at that range. Past about 45 yards the pattern starts to fly apart, at 50 yards the pattern is a 22 inch circle.
Every now and again, this opinion is voiced. I agree with you... it seems rather a silly interpretation.
Indeed.
What matters is not the definition of bullet in the dictionary, but how it's defined in the act or interpreted by the courts.
Quite clearly, to suggest that shotgun rounds fire more than one bullet per press of the trigger would mean every single shotgun owner in Canada is in violation of the Criminal Code, because similar wording is used there too... projectiles. So you couldn't possibly be in violation of the Alberta wildlife act and not also be in violation of the Criminal Code.
Does anyone honestly believe that's the case? How many hunters in AB have been charged for using bird or buckshot?
Sheesh.
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BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
Poaching? In NS? Surely you jest!
