SloPitch a couple of lines in your post stand out. "We regularly kill deer at 100 paces with 00 buckshot. We regularly miss a lot at that range also." I would be willing to bet that those aren't alwaysmisses, rather you don't get enough buckshot in the deer to kill them quickly and a number of them die later on. Stick to the distance that buckshot is effective and meant to be shot.
Timber: I have no argument for that. I was just stating the facts of the way it is around here. I am a bigtime bowhunter and I never take low percentage shots however alot of the shotgunners here do. I do dog hunt when the season comes in because most deer become nocturnal once they here the hounds start up and its the only way you will see deer. When I dog hunt I always take my little brother and I rarley take my gun out of the truck. I just like seeing him be sucessful. I kill most of my deer in bow and muzzleloader season.