buckshot question

[extrmhntr]

Ok so here is my two cents worth.

For the short answer. Yes it will do what you need to do and exceed those limitations. Yes a slug will work if you like a single projectile but Buckshot can be a bit more forgiving on fast moving deer.

For the long Answer. I am in complete agreement with the fact that you need to pattern your gun. Not just with 00 but as well with 000 and maybe even 1Buck if you can find it. Different guns will shoot a completely different pattern with the same rounds. I and my father grew up hunting in South Carolina where we ran dogs. We all used buckshot. Me and my father both shot 12 gauge 1100's. My granddad has always shot a 16 gauge for as long as i can remember.

But now for the disagreement of this post. It will meet your needs completely. Especially with today's newer rounds. What it seems people here are wanting is a instant kill shot. How many people on here have a shot with your rifles that aren't instant kills? I had a deer shot this week with a .50 cal muzzleloader and it ran over 800 yards before i put a round in its neck when we tracked him down to find him still alive. But back to the buckshot. For years while i was hunting i shot a 20 ga winchester and had deer dropped on the spot with it at 50 yards. I have also witnessed deer shot at over 100 yards with buckshot. My dads uncle had a 16 ga that would send 3 pellets of 00 buck in 1 in group dead center of the shot pattern out to over 100 yards consistently every time and he harvested many deer at 115 yards. I wouldn't shoot much at over a 100 yards and definitely not with a gun i hadn't patterned before. But you can rely on that round to do the job you need it for.

Cgull and Woods both posted that there were deer processed that had buck shot in them. And yes there is a bit of uncertainty with that many pellets you can't account for every one of them but if you shoot a deer with something in the hind-quarters its most likely not going to bring him down. I call that poor marksmanship, or a bad sportsman for taking that shot, not poor ammunition.

My buckshot gun is a Remington 1100 12 gauge with a 28 inch barrel with the Full Choke and if i could use that around here i would but its illegal in Tennessee.

But thats just my bit of info to give you. Anything else i will gladly answer if i can.

[blueeyeddragon76]

I agree with what everyone has said with 00, and that you should definately pattern it first.... but personally i would rather go with a good old fashioned 1 ounce slug ... that is what I use personally out of my mossy 500 and it gets the job done... end of story... twigs and branches are not an issue for it, i have shot through a 1 inch live tree ( didn't see it) and the slug kept going with little to no deflection... and as far as range goes... it is dead on out to 100 yards with a smooth barrel and IC choke... i even use the winchester X rifled slugs you get for 9 bucks a box... it is what my gun likes to shoot, so it is what she gets....but bottom line is you shoot whatever you feel comfortable with.. just make sure to practice with it first.. every gun (especially mossberg shotguns) shoots a little bit different.. i have a friend of mine with a gun just like mine... but his wil not shoot the slugs I do accurately at all... but you put federal premiums in his and it shooots fine... i can used federals in mine just fine too, the winchesters are just easier on the wallet and they work for me... good luck!

[passin through]

My Buckshot gun is a 26 inch Browning A-5.  I shoot Federal premium #1 buck 3inch 12ga ( they don't make it anymore so when I run out I will go to the same in 00)  I topped it off with a specialized choke called a Strangler a few years back and i get 85-90% of my shot in a 20 inch circle at 40yds.  (Pattern Master chokes are good too)  I kill 4-5 deer per year with it on average.  No problem.  The secret is pattern your gun....you can kill past 40 easy ( I've killed yotes at 120 steps) but buckshot is not known for leaving a blood trail and the shoot and drop factor is much better at close range.  A guy said it about bows once...practice at 40 but once the moment is there...20 is nice 

Attached is a pic of my last pattern check at 20...Camp DVD player ate my favorite movie...that was Winchester supreme 2 3/4 #1's

[cullbuck]

The 835 with 3.5" 00 buckshot kicks like a mule on steroids. I've killed several deer with that combo. I shot two bucks that were running together once. The 7 point I shot first and I didn't think I touched him so I tried to follow up and I stoved-piped the shell when I tried to shuck it. While I was messing with that the 9 pt came by and I quickly dislodged the shell and dropped him like a sack of flour. While I was admiring him I noticed a blood trail that was leading away from where I shot the 9 pt. I followed it and found the 7 pt about 100 yards from where I shot him. I had put the whole 00 load in his front left shoulder. Actually, shot placement was similar on both deer, but the 7 pt toted it off while the bigger 9 pt dropped immediately. It is a toss up what makes some fall immediately and some take it with them. I know if I hot the spine they drop quickly, but you mess up the back strap if you do that. All 12 ga. slugs have worked well for me.

[blueeyeddragon76]

well you are lucky you can shoot two bucks at all no less one after the other.. here in New Hampshire it is one buck per season... shoot a second deer even if you thought you missed the first one and you are in a hurt locker with fish and game... but i guess where you are that doesn't matter

[cullbuck]

I did the 2 bucks with buckshot in NC back in the early 90s. I actually killed 2 in GA on the same day in 2009, with a rifle. A big 6 pt and an 8 pt I got mounted. We can kill at least 2 antlered deer in both states. In GA, where I live now, a hunter can kill one buck of any size but the next must have at least 4 pts on one side. Crazy thing about GA is that a hunter can harvest 10 antlerless deer per season.

[extrmhntr]

Shoot! Thats nothing. In tennessee we can harvest 3 bucks a year. But on antlerless in the "L" areas you can harvest 3 does a day. That means 324 deer in a season can be harvested by one hunter and that doesn't include the bonus quota bucks and antlerless deer you could get

[RMc]

You may want to try Dixie Tri-Ball buckshot.  Three .60 caliber pellets and tight patterns from ordinary full choke shotguns.
 
Type Dixie Tri-Ball or Dixie Slugs into your search engine.

[boxcallkid]

Don't be afraid of the buckshot, If I still have a tag to fill late in our gun season I go pro-active and jump shoot deer off the end of my boot. I've used this method often and succesfully with a specialty choke. It's called a PatternMaster. I couple this with 2.3/4 OOO because it flys faster than 3in or 3.5s and can be devestating on deer. Most never get out of there beds, but I've dropped them in there tracks at 60yds. Those are 36 cal. balls your throwing out there and it only takes one but that's rarely the case. Like others have suggested you have to pattern your gun and try different chokes and shell manufacturers to find what your gun likes.

[RMc]

ORIGINAL: boxcallkid

Don't be afraid of the buckshot, If I still have a tag to fill late in our gun season I go pro-active and jump shoot deer off the end of my boot. I've used this method often and succesfully with a specialty choke. It's called a PatternMaster. I couple this with 2.3/4 OOO because it flys faster than 3in or 3.5s and can be devestating on deer. Most never get out of there beds, but I've dropped them in there tracks at 60yds. Those are 36 cal. balls your throwing out there and it only takes one but that's rarely the case. Like others have suggested you have to pattern your gun and try different chokes and shell manufacturers to find what your gun likes.