I see both sides of the arguement and agree on the factrs..in my personal oipinion i use buckshot...3" copperplated 00...i went through 6 guns until i found 1 that aptterns very well...at 50 yards i had 9 pellets out of 15 hit in a 13" spread...that ios plenty of knockdown for a deer...however i will not argue past that...yes i have shot deer at 60-70 yards with buckshot running...are you always going to knock down a deer that far with it..no chances are you are not...sdo far i have not lost a deer with buckshot..(knock on wood)...i refuse to shoot a slug only because alot of deer i shoot are pushed from bordering properties are are flat out running after being shot at...most shot are under 50 yards and i think that most people will agree that you can pick up a deer with an open sight running much better than through a scope..i have not used a red dot so i cant speak for that...if your gun doesnt pttern well with buckshopt then there is no sense in using it...as for 25-35 yard maximum shot with buckshot..thats not true...if you take your time and pattern your gun it can be deadly out to 50 yards and mayeb a little furhter..but there is no way it will kill a deer at 100..jus wound it thats just my 2 cents i dont want to stir the pot jus sayin what i have experienced...