kodiakhuntmaster

Hey tazman,
You mentioned something about some people in your family using buckshot very successfuly. Where do you aim at on a buck when you are using buckshot? I have only gotten does with buckshot and I aimed for the neck or head. But on a buck I guess you would have to go for the heart lung area right? Does buckshot "passthrough" when you shoot behind the shoulder?

Oh, and can I e-mail you another question?

"Hey ya'll, watch this"

timbercruiser

Not Tazman, but I've killed a lot of deer with buckshot. It is my opinion that regardless of the weapon you use, the lung area is the #1 target. Ocasionally you will get pass through if the deer is close enough, depending on the body size, but not usually.

Crowpecker

I've harvested dozens of deer in Va using buckshot. These deer are usually running or at a sast walk, being chased by dogs. Shots are normally under 50 yds and buckshot is ideal for this providing you have a shotgun/load combo that patterns well. Usually, when I'm shooting a doe or a buck that I don't care about mounting, I'll aim for the head or upper neck area chich usually puts them down instantly and without much meat damage. On a decent buck, I'll shoot just behind the shoulder and it's just as devastating when you get a heart or double lung shot. In normal buckshot ranges (under 50 yds) almost every deer I shot with buckshot in the boiler room passed clean through. It sure does a job on the rib cage if you hit that though. I've had the pleasure of living and hunting in several states and I have to say that hunting in Va with dogs and buckshot was the most exiting hunting I've ever had. It sure beats sitting in a tree stand "hoping". The other thing is when I used buckshot, I've never had a deer get away. Where the big anti-buckshot crowd gets their idea that buckshot is not a good choice is because of so many stories of wounded deer getting away. 99% of the time when that happens is because hunters take risky shots that are just too far for buckshot. Sure, you can hit them past 50 yds, even kill them, but the chances are greater they'll get away wounded, minus a leg, ham shot or worse, gut shot. Just my opinion. Used correctly, buckshot is awesome!

Tazman

Well crowpecker said it all, buckshot does not knock them flat like a slug, usually they get at least a bound in after it hits them, the boiler room, buck or doe to me is the ticket, my first deer ever was a doe on a dead run with buckshot, 9 pellets in her head, she skidded about 15 feet she was running so fast. Never take a shot at a deer running full tilt unless the area is wide open and you have bird hunted enough to know how to swing though/lead a moving target.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club