Krypt… I too always wonder about the 5-shot strings! I believe in one shot, one kill. I fired two shots this season and killed two deer, both easily within bow range. I only hunt with my rifle in counties that allow them when it’s a doe day (very few of those on the Powhatan WMA). Since they often travel together, I figure I can bag two at a time if I’m lucky (not gonna happen with a muzzleloader, which is what I carry on buck days). I carry 5 rounds in the magazine since you never what could go wrong. Better to have it and not need it…

But, back to the 5-shot strings oft heard during the season, I also try to keep in mind that just because I’m hunting deer doesn’t mean everyone else is. They could be blasting a bunch of squirrels or fowl or rabbits. Who knows? It makes me cringe to think that sometimes 5 rifle shots are flying into the air. Yikes! Though I don’t do man drives or dog drives, I can understand why someone using buckshot on one of those drives would require two or three shots. Buckshot just sucks. I used it once during my first season of hunting, and never again. One buck required 3 shots, another doe dropped on the spot (lucky!), and another doe needed two shots and had to be tracked. I'll never use it again!