Thanks so much for the replies and sharing your knowledge/experiences.
Sincerely,
Chuck7

"I'm not a big fan."


+1


Also of Fish & Game Dept. who make questionable laws surrounding the fair chase of game & non-game animals.



"Personally, in shotgun only areas I'd prefer to use a m/l or slug gun now. "

+1 also

I agree Phil.

The difference I see is that with unloading buckshot at running deer at 30-60yds - if you are holding on the deer...imo, you don't miss. Sure, you may not drop the deer on the spot, and maybe all your pellets didn't hit the deer, but some of the buckshot is definitely hitting the target. Too often they don't bleed well and/or run off and die. Alot of the buckshot hunters chalk it up to "I missed".

It CAN be deadly and is very devistating at short range. You shoot a deer at 20-30yds with a good patterning load of buckshot, man you can fold em up right now. First buck I ever killed was with 00buck, dropped him on the spot. I've also had one that didn't leave any blood trail in very thick woods. After about 30mins of a few of us searching, we found him. Couple holes right in the vitals, just no blood. Deer ran about 80yds.

Personally, in shotgun only areas I'd prefer to use a m/l or slug gun now.

I would only use in super thick stuff at a range no greater than 40 yds..I think it should be good. Once I passed up a monster buck at about 35 yds in VA. I wasn't sure if my buck shot would kill it..so after the hunt I set up a piece of 3/4 inch plywood at 50 yds..the buck shot went clean threw it...and that was only 2 2/4 inch 12 guage.

I'm sure some of the guys on here are tired of hearing me say this, but when you really think about buckshot, it's not about energy, it's about accuracy. Each pellet from a 00buck load has about twice the energy of a .22lr, or 2/3 the energy of a .22mag. Yes, a heart shot with 00buckshot at 50yrds (or more honestly) will probably do the trick. BUT, there are no guarantees. 00buck will have a dang big pattern past 50yrds, and there's no guarantee any of the pellets will connect with the heart. At best, you're talking about a lung shot. Then the problem becomes that it damages the near lung, but probably doesn't penetrate to damage the far lung. A deer can run a LONG way on one good lung.

There are TONS of deer wounded every year with buckshot. Frankly, I'd rather stay home than hunt a "buckshot only" season. Either use slugs (if legal) or buy a bow.

If I HAD to use buckshot, I would ONLY shoot at a range where my pattern guaranteed 2 or more pellets hitting the heart. In my shotguns, that's about 30-40yrds, maybe 50-55yrds with a well balanced load and choke. Even if I can guarantee 2+ heart hits, honestly, it's a push for me if I had any other option, because I couldn't guarantee that the rest of the 6-13 pellets aren't going to connect with the paunch. I HATE dressing paunch shot deer.

Patterning and sighting in will be critical.

To quote Bruce Lee: "Boards... don't hit back".

Shooting through plywood isn't really analogous to penetrating flesh. The wood ultimately is rigid, and has no tendancy for stretch. Flesh, on the other hand, is supple and flexible. A 25lb fiberglass kids bow will shoot through plywood (stuck an arrow through the exterior wall of my bedroom as a kid), but that doesn't mean that it would pass through a deer. Projectile resistance in flesh is HUGE. Shooting through 3/4" plywood would bascially tell me it would PROBABLY penetrate 1 1/2" to 2" into flesh. All bets are off for hitting hair, skin, and or ribs.

Oddly enough, hair and feathers are actually very difficult to penetrate. They literally SCRUB energy off of bullets. It's like a crumple zone on a car, hair just seems to slow bullets down like crazy (high speed cameras are awesome).

Bipods on Shotguns?
 

Whoops! Meant to post a new thread! Sorry for the accidental hijack!

Thousands of deer are killed with buckshot each year and have been killed this way since the 1700s when deer hunting with dogs got popular in America...

The trick is to test your gun with different brand shells and chokes at different ranges...Once you find a load that will put several pellets into a 8-10 inch circle at a given range then you have determined the range limitations of that gun...Then you must limit yourself to that range...

Where some have problems is not checking their guns and shooting too far...This is no different than the rifle hunter that goes hunting with a bore sighted rifle or shoots at game at ranges too far for his skills...Buckshot itself is very effective if used properly...

Hunters that dog hunt post gunners at known deer crossings...When a deer comes by the hunter shoots 2-3 times as the deer runs by...This is alot like wing shooting, some are very good at this, some are not...I've had deer drop at the first shot and some continue on...When properly hit with buckshot the deer doesn't go far...Since the deer dogs are close behind they continue on the track and find the deer usually laying within 50 yards of the first shot...

This is how buckshot is used effectively...In a still hunting situation I prefer a single projectile and a gun with a scope to help with low light situations...

While not a fan of buckshot, I think we should be fair about it. I used to do logging and land clearing in a lot of special regulation areas and rifle areas right after and some times during deer season. All the different weapons lose a lot of deer. A lot more guys hunt with rifles so the amount of deer hit and lost is probably greater than bow or shotgun. Bow and shotgun lost deer are usually in areas where they are seen by more people. I hunt with rifles and bows that some people think are under-powered, but I know the weapon's capability.

Way back when we were stuck with Buckshot only in Jersey we did just fine. The ability to get a few shot into the kill zone is what matters. Went back to jersey in December and dropped a nice 4 point at 15 yards, dropped in his tracks. Good for me since 10 yards ahead was a brook I didn't have to traverse. Back to buck shot. At 50 yards it will penetrate from one side to the other often stopping at the far side skin. That means all the energy is dissipated in the animal.
Important is to be broadside for good penetration you get a little more angle when shooting from the rear due to hair growth direction.
I am not saying take long shots but the 000 pellets have enough punch at 100yards to easily penetrate a whitetail. The problem is you don't know where the pellets will land a long distances.
Lets not forget a 000 pellet can kill a person out to around 500 yards. Good reason for not taking reckless shots.
In swampy heavy brush 000 rules. In Jersey type woodlands with a lot of hunting pressure I hunt the swampiest thickest area, it's where the big Uns go.
Another two cents!!!