I have killed DOZENS (and that might be a conservative estimate) of deer with buckshot. Like others have said, in eastern VA lots of the time that is the way you must do things.

Buckshot can kill deer at ranges twice that of what anyone else listed. Of course a 30-06 can kill deer at 1200 yards too... so that said, not every gun and not every shooter can do that (me included... not by any stretch).

Point is, buckshot has the energy to kill deer at 100 yards. I know of a FEW guns that can put 4 of 15 pellets of 00 in a 10" circle reliably at 75 yards. I know of three 10ga guns that can put 6 of 18 at that range. Still... at best you are talking about applied optimism. All that does is buy you some +/- yardage estimation when a deer busts out of cover and you only have a split second to shoot or not. Those are the guns that will forgive you if a deer is at 60 yards instead of 45.

Most people who hunt with buckshot have ZERO business shooting beyond 40 yards. Not just because they can't shoot (which in my experience half of people who hunt just flat cannot hit the ground with their hat), but because they don't take the time to find out what choke and load is going to perform best for them.

Most people OVERCHOKE buckshot. They use an extra full or a turkey choke. Seldom is that the best choice. Even buckshot specific chokes, like the Kick's Buck Kicker, while it may be marketed at a full or extra full, will only measure as a modified or improved modified if you put a caliper on it.... but it will give you full or extra full performance.

My experience, modified chokes (in general) work the best. And so does larger shot, meaning 00 and 000. My deer gun is an 870 wingmaster magnum. I shoot a Briley Extended Modified choke tube with Remington 3" 000 buckshot (10 pellets). At 40 yards it will put all 10 down the mouth of a 5 gallon bucket (12" circle), and all 10 will still be inside a 20" circle at 65 yards.

Nothing wrong at all with #1 or even #4 buckshot. I have killed quite a few with #1s when hunting in really thick cutovers. Never used #4s on anything but foxes. BUT, no matter how great that gun patterns, you are looking at NOTHING over 40 yards. Especially with #4s. While those loads have tremendous muzzle energy, they lose that energy very quickly. All buckshot does, but 20 yards in the buckshot world is like 200 yards in the rifle world; lots can happen over those 60 feet.

Don't feel like you must have 3.5" loads either. The 3.5" buckshot loads are not as fast as 2 3/4" loads and only give you 3 more pellets over a 3" load, but they do give you 50% more recoil and noise, along with an increase in price. Also, not nearly the selection of shot size, or plated/non-plated loads with 3.5" as there is with 3" and especially 2 3/4".

As for plated/non-plated shot: GENERALLY plated shot will give you tighter patterns, which is true with any lead shot as there is less pellet deformation. I have owned guns that shot plated better, but currently hunt with a gun that shoots plain lead better. Guns are fickle. Plated shot will also tend to penetrate better (the old Rem Preimier nickel plated buckshot would go through a deer LENGTHWISE), but plated shot doesn't flatten out against bones like unplated tends to... the nickel plated stuff definitely didn't. So occaisionally, you will have clean holes punched through shoulders. Now, as long as the pellet gets where it needs to go then it will kill the deer, but deer with broken shoulders don't go near as far as deer with a good leg in each corner. When a lead pellet hits a bone, it usually smashes it, and those bone fragments will continue into the vitals... and it works right good.

I like to shoot does in the head. I have a gun that can smoke a flat top dead at 40 yards. If they are in close to you, its the best bet, and you will have zero meat loss (that's why we shoot does anyway). With bucks, I like a higher shoulder shot, I like that shot with a rifle too. I want to break his infrastructure as well as take out what is behind it.

Deer shot with buckshot typically don't leave as good a bloodtrail as one shot by a single projectile and certainly no place near as one shot with a sharp broadhead. But it will be there. Best case is if the deer doesn't die right where you shoot it (in my experience the vast majority of them do), keep shooting.

No matter what, go to Lowes and get some contractors paper. Sold in the building materials department. Rosey red in color. 36" by 150' for $12. Cut some 36x36 squares and stick an orange target dot in the middle. Record the distance, choke and load and give it a swing. I have made cardboard circle templates of 10 20 and 30" that I trace around so I can record the number of pellet strikes (%) in each circle. That central 10" circle is what matters, the rest is just margin of error. Seldom will a gun shoot best what you think it will. Only way to know is to shoot it.