I have a Sauer&Sohn 12x12x30-06 acquired in 1965 or 1966 at the Rod and Gun Club while stationed in France (just before DeGaulle closed our bases there). I shot a roebuck with the rifle barrel while there and a Roosian boar later when I transferred to Turkey. It dispatched them very effectively.
After separating and moving back South, I worked up a "hard buckshot" load for it, casting my own buckshot from linotype at a 0.313 diameter (having slugged my tightest barrel and calculating a "fit" allowing for a shot sleeve). I also packed them in cornmeal, not having any polyethylene powder available to me at the time.. I killed two whitetail bucks with that load at moderate ranges (up to 35 yds as best I recall on the last one). The effect was devasting, dropping them instantly. I don't like buckshot generally for deer but these did very well indeed. The drilling was a dream come true for me in my days of youthful dreaming. It's still a versatile and effective arm for deer hunting in lots of different circumstances.
stuffit
