Buckshot can be effective. To me it is a 50-60 yd load, max. Don't just take for granted what others tell you about how they use it. You must try it in your gun. Use it like you would any bullet, look for an opening, don't take shots through brush intentionally, thinking that some of the pellets must make it through.

Pattern your gun. I would not use it past the range that I got less than 50% of my pellets in a pie plate. One pellet may kill a deer, but you may not find it. The choke of your gun will determine your effective range, but tighter is not always better. A choke that is too tight may deform the pellets to the point that they fly erratically, and open the pattern too much. I would buy a variety of buckshot sizes and see which gives you the best pattern at 40-50 yds.

You will not get many pass throughs with Buckshot. It will penetrate, but often stops under the hide on the far side. This means sparse blood trails. Do not give up trailing because you find little or even no blood. If you don't hit the head or spine, deer will often go a long ways with buckshot. Keep on the trail.

Given the choice, I would still go with slugs. I'm sure you can find a rifled slug that will give acceptable accuracy out to 50 or even 75 yds, and that's a better deal as far as I'm concerned.