buckshot question

[NCdeerguy]

I'm going to be alternating btw two tracts of land during gun season this year; one is more wide-open, where I use my rifle and do well. The other tract is thick with thickets and saplings, so my shots in there are pretty short range, busting through through brush, however there are a few longer distance shooting lanes in there, maybe 50-60 yeard shot options. My question is, I know using buckshot will be fine for those brushy short range shots, but for the longer opportunities...what would be the approx. max range of 3 1/2" 00 buckshot? Would it reach out and take deer at 50-60 yeards?

[shaman]

The answer is yes, but. . .

Make sure you pattern your gun before you try this.  00 can be lethal at that range, but you need to know how many pellets are going to get into the vital area.  At that range, I'd be thinking rifle or, if limited to a shotgun, I'd think slug. 

[Gulfcapt]

When I use to doghunt deer in the swamp we would all use shotguns and shoot 00buck or 000buck.. because of how thick it got in places,I have made shots longer then 60yrds with the 00buck 2 3/4 inch shell with no problem. But like Shaman said it dosn't hurt to put the pattern of your shot on a piece of paper, just to see what your working with.

I wouldn't go to 000buck at that range tho.

[Woods Walker]

When I grew up in New Jersey in the 50's and 60's, buckshot as the only legal round for deer. I shot my first few deer with it before I went off to school and the rest of my life in Wyoming and Illinois, so I never had to use it again (THANK GOD!)

So based on my experiences with it and that of my friends, I can honestly say that it can be a devestating killer, and also a cruel crippler of deer at the same time, and often at the same range, as it's (or at least was back then) the most inconsistant projectile one could use on deer. MANY deer that my friends and they families home butchered had buckshot pellets in them.

That said, I can definately see it's use in close cover situations with moving deer. But I would be VERY hesitant to shoot at anything much over 40 yards with it. Past 50 would be a definate no-no. That's not saying that you can't kill a deer with buckshot at those ranges and beyond. I've seen it done...this time. But what you don't see or know about are all the deer that are shot at at those ranges that don't drop, and are either carrying buckshot or they die later and unknown to you.

[Gulfcapt]

Ya but WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY back then you guy's had to carry the buckshot in your hands and throw it at the deer! lol

ORIGINAL: Woods Walker

When I grew up in New Jersey in the 50's and 60's, buckshot as the only legal round for deer. I shot my first few deer with it before I went off to school and the rest of my life in Wyoming and Illinois, so I never had to use it again (THANK GOD!)

So based on my experiences with it and that of my friends, I can honestly say that it can be a devestating killer, and also a cruel crippler of deer at the same time, and often at the same range, as it's (or at least was back then) the most inconsistant projectile one could use on deer. MANY deer that my friends and they families home butchered had buckshot pellets in them.

That said, I can definately see it's use in close cover situations with moving deer. But I would be VERY hesitant to shoot at anything much over 40 yards with it. Past 50 would be a definate no-no. That's not saying that you can't kill a deer with buckshot at those ranges and beyond. I've seen it done...this time. But what you don't see or know about are all the deer that are shot at at those ranges that don't drop, and are either carrying buckshot or they die later and unknown to you.

[Woods Walker]

Damn right! But times were so tough back then we were damn thankful to have hands to throw it with! [:D]

[Osty]

I've shot a few deer with a Remington 1100, 12 gauge, 2 3/4 inch 00 buck. The barrel was short but the farthest I would say was 40 yards.

I would say you should be able to reach out and touch one at 50-60 yards.

[NCdeerguy]

Thanks for all of your input. I have a mossberg 835 that I use for everything shotgun-related; I change tubes for dove, turkey, coyote and deer hunting and have sighted it in with a rifle scope to 50 yards with foster style slugs- I milk that 835 for all its worth When I patterned it long ago with 00 buck the pattern was still tight at ~50 yards, but I was unsure if it still had lethal power at that range, so that was what I wondering about. Shooting buckshot at 50 or 60 is something I'm hesitant to do, unless its a nice buck with a clear lane. I may very well just throw the rifle scope on it and use the fosters. 
While on the subject- I saw some 10 gauge 3 1/2" 00 ammo at a gun shop not long ago, never seen that before- was Fiocchi or something. Looked online for the heck of it to see if anyone produced or sold it and don't see anything; but then again you run across all kinds of stuff in gunshops- dropped my jaw over a box of .50 BMG ammo in the same store lol.

[Cgull]

40 yards should be the max for buckshot. Use a 30-30 or other brush rifle instead, you can get close running shots as well as reaching 100+ yrds. useing buckshot at anything over 40 yrds and your taking great chances of wounding lots of game. I can't count all the buck shot pellets I've recovered from deer I've cleaned, most fell from the hind quarters areas.

[CoG]

It's lethal at 50 yards, but the problem is getting it there.  If you know for certain you're hitting the boiler room with 7-10 pellets you're probably still ok.  Anything less than that and it's too much of a gamble. 

Also, note that muzzle velocity tends to DECREASE as you go up in shotshell length from 2 3/4 to 3 to 3 1/2.  This is because the 'magnum' in these shells tends to mean more pellets which is more mass to push which can't be offset completely with extra charge, and so means dropping velocities.  A 2 3/4 or 3 inch round that puts the 10 pellets in their place is as good or better than 10 pellets from a 3 1/2.

I use a 12 gauge for very specialized deer hunting.  Mainly late season 2 man drives where you setup within 25 yards of escaping deer.  00 buckshot is the most devastating thing I've ever used inside of 30 yards, but it's really the most pathetic thing at 60 yards.  It goes south fast.  I choose the shotgun because the action is fast and the range is close.  If I expected to shoot deer at the same distance walking or standing I'd be holding a rifle or muzzleloader.

Just last season I took 3 deer with 00.  All were inside of 20 yards and all one shot immediate kills.  Buckshot is great if you keep it very close.