Personally, I don' t like using rifles and or don' t like anyone else using rifles while I am running dogs. I use a 12 ga. first shot is a 2 3/4" slug, followed by 2 3.5" 00 buck. The slug works great because you can get more distance and also if the deer is trying to " sneak" by you, you can get a good first shot. If you miss you can follow up with more lead after. That is what I prefer.