I have a Browning BPS w 30" full...it will throw em real tight at 40yds, with a 3" mag. I haven't used it in years...but its a hammer tool. Agree with the others, shotguns with buckshot if kept in range are deadly.
The only thing that frustrates me about some buckshot users.......my good buddy hunts with dogs, and most of the guys in his club will shoot at running deer at just about any distance that they come by. I can't tell you how many times they unload their guns at a running deer at who knows how far and "miss".
If you have a buck inside 30yds standing still...its gonna fold up like a lawn chair. A gun with a great pattern will do the same at 40. I did kill one many many moons ago at 60, it dropped - but I was very young. I would never have taken that shot had I known any better. It was my first buck, so I was super happy...but in reality, I got real lucky and broke its back.