hey guys. i have a quick question I would love to get cleared up real quick. I have a benneli nova pump action 12 gage. the barrel is smooth inside, it is not rifled or grooved. I usually dont hunt deer with it, but i want to. I always was under the impression that smooth bores were only used for bird shots and pellets or whatever, so i never wanted to hunt deer with it.I called the gun shop and asked what I could shoot to kill deer with out ofthis smooth bore barrelled gun. The guy told me 00 buckshot. I asked him if i needed a special choke onit to shoot this doulbe 00 buckshot and he said no, that i could just shoot it without a choke just using the smooth barrel. Does this sound correct? can buckshot be used in a shotgun with a smooth bore and can it be shot without a choke? is that how it suppose to be shot?Sorry for the amatuer question but im used to shooting a 270 for deer, not a shotgun - but i want to start practicing w/ it now that i might be able to use it. thanks alot for your help guys, i just want to be sure im using correct ammo for thisbarrel + gunso i dont kill myself lol

My buddy was using his benelli semi this year.. Shooting 3.5" buckshot through a full choke. He was absolutely murder on the deer during drives this year.

hey when you say a full choke, you mean a turkey choke, correct? they are the same thing. i have a turkey choke and its ful i beleive. can i shoot it without choke at all? just the smooth bored barrel...? thanks alot

I believea turkeychoke is extra full, he was using full choke.

If your barrel has removable chokes,, id make darn sure there is some sort of choke in it, or your going too ruin the threads.

it will mess up the threads that are used to screw the chokes into the shotgun? why would this guy tell me that i dont need one then? was he wrong?

Just curious,But have you thought about Rifled slug's.
They were designed for the smoth bore of shotguns.
True it does not give you as much spin as a rifled barrel,
But they do a heck of a job on Deer,And have a longer range.
I myself DO NOT like buckshot,I've seen to many deer that
were just injured and not killed by it.
Yes if you have someone who know's the limit's of it and stay's within it's limit's,Then it might be alright.
But like I said over the year's I've seen Deer that were lamed up and not killed.
When I skinned them out after harvesting them I've found buckshot pellet's under the hide,Broken leg joint's
that have healed over with a Buckshot pellt laying right next to the re-fused joint.

I own a Benneli and use buch shot in my smooth bore barrel, But yes you need some sort of choke tube in the gun or you will ruin the threads... Does your gun come with removable chokes?

Here is a good site for Benelli questions.

http://www.benelliusa.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=17

ok guys. thanks so much for the help. so i conclude that its alright to use 00 buck on a deer with the smooth bore, but not over 40 yards. also, am i correct when i conclude that...
1. a slug can be shot out of the smooth barrel
2.only sabots must be shot out of a rifled barrel?
all these different bores and barrel and chokes confuse me, i like the simple 270. also.. either way, where i will be hunting the longest shot i will need to take would be probably 30 yards (hunting in pines) so the 00 buck will be alright correct? also, yes mine did come with different chokes but i have to find them b/c i never used them. can a slug be shot out of the barrel without a choke, or does a shotgun need a choke on it no matter what. sorry for these basic questions im just not used to using this shotgun and dont want to mame a deer or myself lol. thanks guys i really appreciate it.

maybe a better way to rephrase this question would be...if i have a benneli nova pump with a smooth bore barrel, what type of projectiles can i shoot from it that will kill a deer efficiently? what cant be shot out of this smooth bore....thanks maybe that will help a little

use either a rifled slug, or any type of shot, both using the appropriate choke tube.

you should never fire without a choke tube.