Author Topic: buckshot for deer? (Read 1884 times)

stillborn · « **on:** September 24, 2006, 03:29:57 PM »

Well I found a spot that has whitetail/ferral hog hunting, but they only allow the use of bows and shotguns with #4 buckshot. Nothing larger than the #4 buckshot. How close would I have to be to take a deer with #4 buck? Where would I have to aim? These are Texas deer and are not the largest in the world.

What do yall think?

thanks,

still

Masterblaster1 · « **Reply #1 on:** September 24, 2006, 03:49:56 PM »

Do yourself a favor and get a wad wizard choke tube and federal premium copperplated buckshot and you should be good out to 30 yards or so.

stillborn · « **Reply #2 on:** September 24, 2006, 04:36:20 PM »

Those are little up there in price, would a turkey choke do the trick? Well, I will have over a year to get one, lol. I already have a hunting trip lined up in San Antonio. I was just looking into the hunting laws where I plan on moving when I finish school. Would there be much notacible difference in damage between 00buck and 4buck?

still

R.W.Dale · « **Reply #3 on:** September 24, 2006, 05:29:02 PM »

The hardest to find deer I've ever shot was hit with a full load of number 4 broadside in the heart lung aera at a range of less than 25 feet

The deer ran almost 100 yds in the thickest cover leaving almost no blood as none of the pellets fully penatrated. I literally had to trail this animal on my hands and knees in order to see the tiny droplets of blood.

If where you hunt requires use of no4 or smaller I'ed leave the scattergun at home and take up bow hunting.

stillborn · « **Reply #4 on:** September 24, 2006, 06:25:08 PM »

An arrow can do more damage than a shotty?

WylieKy · « **Reply #5 on:** September 25, 2006, 05:52:27 AM »

Go with the bow. Less meat damage, quicker kill, easier to trail, same range as a shotgun (with buckshot, not slugs), quieter. It does take some more skill, and hours of practice. If you are unable or unwilling to put the time and effort necessary to become proficient with a compound bow, look into local laws and consider a crossbow. Most areas will let you hunt with a crossbow during gun season, and some even consider it the same as a standard bow. I hunted with one for years, and with a scope, I was confident out to 40 yards.

WylieKy

Syncerus · « **Reply #6 on:** September 25, 2006, 06:21:32 AM »

Do some penetration testing at 25 yards with buckshot. It will really open your eyes. It'll probably make you go out and buy a bow that day. No kidding.

Syncerus

kyote · « **Reply #7 on:** September 25, 2006, 07:24:16 AM »

what gauge shot gun?and what inch chamber..that would help make a decision..but number 4 buck in 3" mag out of a full choke in 12ga.will stack tex white tail up like cordwood.and I would bet if you aimed at the shoulder at 60 yards(that be 41 pellets traveling towards the vitals)you would be feasting on the beast that evening.good luck..

John R. · « **Reply #8 on:** September 25, 2006, 09:43:08 AM »

I most definitly would not shoot at a deer @ 60 yds. with no. 4 buckshot, because you're probably not going to see it again. The last deer I shot with a shotgun was 10 years ago at a range of 30 yds. It was a broadside shot with a 12 guage 3" mag with 00 buck. The deer hit the ground and immediatley jumped up and ran off. There was no blood trail whatsoever. I looked and looked some more and never did find that deer. That was the last day I've ever hunted deer with a shotgun. Do yourself and the deer a favor and buy a bow.

R.W.Dale · « **Reply #9 on:** September 25, 2006, 10:59:29 AM »

Quote from: stillborn on September 24, 2006, 06:25:08 PM

An arrow can do more damage than a shotty?

If you're limited to buckshot it certianlly can.

Masterblaster1 · « **Reply #10 on:** September 25, 2006, 12:10:41 PM »

Yes number 4 is light, if i was forced to use it i would use copperplated only, with the wad wizard. Yes the wad wizard is expensive but well worth it. I personally use the Federal premium 000 10 pellet load with the wad wizard and can keep all ten pellets in the vitals of a deer at 40 yards, no joke. At 25 yards it is a slug. You show me a deer that can stand up to 10 70 grain pellets! I have to agree that a bow would give you better results on the boars, but at 30 yards with a tight pattern of number 4 buck i'm sure the small deer you speak of would be in the freezer.

stimpylu32 · « **Reply #11 on:** September 25, 2006, 12:29:56 PM »

The first thing i would do is find another place to hunt , any place that is so hell bent on just wounding a deer by only letting you use #4 buckshot out of a shotgun is no place i want to hunt .

Just my .02

Wynn · « **Reply #12 on:** September 25, 2006, 03:18:30 PM »

I have taken many deer and hog with oo buckshot on a piece of Federal land here in Florida that is shotgun, bow and muzzleloader only. The use of #4 buckshot would, in my opinion, be highly unethical. If you insist on hunting in that location, take the time to become proficient with a bow. All game should be harvested as cleanly as possible and #4 buck just leaves to much room for error. The lack of penetration by pellets that small at any range but point blank, will most likely cause the animal to run off to die in a horribly painfull manner.

kyote · « **Reply #13 on:** September 25, 2006, 03:34:21 PM »

Quote from: John R. on September 25, 2006, 09:43:08 AM

I most definitly would not shoot at a deer @ 60 yds. with no. 4 buckshot, because you're probably not going to see it again. The last deer I shot with a shotgun was 10 years ago at a range of 30 yds. It was a broadside shot with a 12 guage 3" mag with 00 buck. The deer hit the ground and immediatley jumped up and ran off. There was no blood trail whatsoever. I looked and looked some more and never did find that deer. That was the last day I've ever hunted deer with a shotgun. Do yourself and the deer a favor and buy a bow.

Sorry you had bad luck with your shot gun.All we could really use for hunting in the jungles were shotguns.we had up to 30 dogs that ran deer.I hunted for over 25 years using a remington 870 with 3" shells.most the other guys used 2 3/4" 1 buck I used mainly 3"00 buck and occasionly 1 buck and 4 buck.all 3" magnum.and if you do not pattern your shot gun with what you want to use.well then you cripple things and can't track them.kinda like buying ammo for your rifle then going out hunting with out sigthing in.most folks with shot guns do that.just buy ammo and shoot at dirt and think thats good then go hunt.
I find more crippled animals and dead animals after bow season that I care to remember.granted there are a lot of GOOD bow hunters.But I believe most don't really know what they are doing.
and to say a shot gun is not good for texas white tail useing number 4 buck shot is...well you really don't know your shotguns.

John R. · « **Reply #14 on:** September 27, 2006, 03:45:01 AM »

60 yds. with #4 buckshot is pushing it to the limit with any shotgun. (mine was a 3" mag 870 also,patterned @ 40 yds., not impressed) I bought a 31/2" Super X2 3 years ago and don't hunt deer with it either, mainly because I can use a rifle, which will kill from point blank to 300 yds and anything in between. A shotgun is pretty much a point blank to 30 yd. weapon (I know deer have been killed farther than that with them but past 30 yds. its a gamble.)

OSPD312 · « **Reply #15 on:** September 27, 2006, 04:11:44 AM »

Growing up in the low country of South Carolina, I am very familiar with buckshot and deer...thats all we hunt with... when you shoot a deer with #4 buckshot, you can watch the life melt out of them...no you are not gonna get alot of range, get yourself a turkey choke or a good full choke...#4 in a 10 gauge is great too...#4 is plenty to get the job done.

P.S. always shoot winchester in buckshot...federal buckshot is underpowered

John R. · « **Reply #16 on:** September 27, 2006, 07:14:03 AM »

I still say 60 yds. is to far to try to shoot deer with #4 buckshot. Within 30 its probably ok at best. If I had to shoot a shotgun I would at least use 00 buck.

kyote · « **Reply #17 on:** September 27, 2006, 08:40:55 AM »

John R.yea most folks are limited with a shotgun.I agree.But I am lucky I guess.I have shot so much trap and skeet.and have tested shotguns and buckshot for hunting purpose just because I loved doing it.I have shot coyotes and rolled them over dead at 85 yards with 4buck 3" mag.had witnesses.and the deer I shot.every one retired thier winchester model 12s and bought either the rem 870 or the 1100 in mag.as they could not believe the shots being taken and killing deer.Then they were makin better kills with thier new shotguns.
but for texas white tail.I think that guy would be doin just fine.

OSPD312 · « **Reply #18 on:** September 27, 2006, 09:18:06 AM »

Many people in my family swear by #4 buckshot when hunting for deer...I always shot an extra full turkey choke off of my gun to get more range...I have seen deer dropped at 60 yards with #4 before...they looked like they had been hit by a truck...I wouldnt take a shot any farther than that IMO...lots of the old timers around Charleston and Georgetown S.C. use the 10 gauge with #4...give you about 10 or 12 more pellets. As I stated in my previous post, the #4 is plenty to kill a deer.

Jack

WylieKy · « **Reply #19 on:** September 27, 2006, 10:28:37 AM »

How much meat is ruined when a deer is hit with shot? I must admit to having never shot at a deer with any type of shot. It seems it would be similar to hiting the shoulder with a rifle round, where you lose most of both front shoulders. That would play a big part in any consideration I gave it.

WylieKy

ospd325 · « **Reply #20 on:** September 27, 2006, 10:44:41 AM »

Due to the small size of the buckshot there is really not alot ruined

hammerless99 · « **Reply #21 on:** October 09, 2006, 07:06:43 AM »

In the small town that I live in does not allow any "single projectiles" hunting. I Have other places within 40 minutes of home that I hunt with rifle but I had one spot in town that I thought I would try so I took my 12 ga pump and my 28" full choked barrel and a 24" barrel w/Poly chole and a wide range of 3" buckshot to the range to pattern.

I strongly recomend patterning your gun!!

I took 8" paper plates at 30 yards and found only one load that consistently put at least 4 pellets in the plate and it was the #4 buckshot out of the 28" barrel. All the other loads (00 to #1) wouldn't even destribute the pellets in any kind of even pattern around the plate but the #4 was very eveyly destributesd pattern.
I only hunted the area a couple of times that year, didn't get a shot and now I don't even consider going there so I don't have any killing experience with it. If I were to hunt with it again I would limit my shots to 30 yards and take a neck shot rather than hope a pellet would be able to penetrate to a heart/lung.

flintlock · « **Reply #22 on:** October 09, 2006, 07:37:44 AM »

Hammerless...Try opening up the poly to improved...I get better patterns with 00 and 1s with an improved out of my Browning B-80...Seems that the larger buck spray more with a more restrictive choke...I also prefer the Winchester Supremes out of my gun....(or my gun prefers them)...LOL

Todd1700 · « **Reply #23 on:** October 12, 2006, 01:20:21 AM »

In my younger days here in Alabama most people hunted deer with dogs and shotguns loaded with buckshot. So did I. While number 4# buckshot would not be my prefered buckshot size anyone who thinks that it won't kill whitetails (especially our smaller southern ones) doesn't know a lot about it. The thing about buckshot is that it has a pretty limited range. Most of the horror stories you hear about wounded and lost deer with buckshot are due to people taking shots at deer outside the lethal range of buckshot or due to bad hits on running deer. Out to 40 yards buckshot is lethal but it's lethality drops rapidly past that point. Use a range finder from your stand; know your 40 yard kill zone and stick within it. I'd also use high power 3 inch shells and copper plated shot.

single action · « **Reply #24 on:** October 14, 2006, 03:15:43 PM »

first deer i ever killed was shot with #4 buck. I was 11 years old using an old savage 311 16ga double shotgun. sitting on an wood pallet about 8 feet up in an old oak tree. fell asleep and when I woke up there was a doe about 20-25 yards away shot her in the head with both barrels. she fell where she stood and so did I! Found out years later they gave me the old gun and the buckshot just to get me to shut up about going deer hunting ! They never expected me to even see a deer, never mind shoot one. The next year they let me use a 30-30. Still have that old shotgun though!

S.S. · « **Reply #25 on:** October 23, 2006, 08:45:24 AM »

The first Firearm My parents ever bought for me was a
.20 Ga. single shot. I mostly hunted small game with it.
A few decades later I decided to take it Deer hunting
with me. Really heavily covered area. It has a 2-3/4 chamber only
and #3 buck was the biggest I could get. A six pointer came up the draw,
and I am not a sport/trophy hunter so I aimed right at its head.
Range was right at 35 yards. BOOM----Flop the Buck simply collapsed
where it stood. Impressive ! I thought. Until I got to it.
One single pellet had hit in the neck just below the head.
Deer was down but not dead. Aparently the pellet had enough energy
to break/fracture its neck but not kill it. Second (point blank) shot killed it instantly.
I was surprised that only a single pellet had hit it at that range. It is a full choke
and I honestly figured it would make Swiss Cheese out of the deers head.
Did I get the deer? Yes! ... Did the Shotgun do it's job? Yes!....
Does this make me an advocate of small sized buck-shot?
Not By a long shot ! Had that pellet struck a couple inches lower,
the buzzards would have probably recovered that deer for me a few days later.
I am sure it would have ran off wounded.
I was very luck that day. That is the only deer I have ever shot with Buckshot.

spenceinva · « **Reply #26 on:** October 28, 2006, 03:48:08 PM »

This comes up every year and every year people say how they shot a deer with buckshot and it ran off,etc.,etc. You have to practice with a shotgun just like a rifle, if you are missing or wounding deer with a shotgun it is you not the shotgun. That said, we kill plenty of deer here in VA every year with 3.5 inch number one buck, drops em dead out to 45 yards, don't shoot farther than that because I know my gun. Have killed plenty with 3 inch OO and number one also. My son at 8yo killed a nice doe last year at 30 steps with his single shot Rossi .410 with a 3 inch OO buck load (5 pellets), we had patterned the gun and knew that 35 yards was the max his gun/load would work and it did. I'm going to pattern his new shotgun tomorrow, Benelli Nova youth 20 with number 2 and number 4 buck. And as someone above stated pattern with all chokes, I've seen identical guns pattern better with extreme opposite choke tubes with the same load.

Good hunting,

Spence

R.W.Dale · « **Reply #27 on:** October 28, 2006, 04:24:59 PM »

Quote

if you are missing or wounding deer with a shotgun it is you not the shotgun

Quote

KROCHUS: The hardest to find deer I've ever shot was hit with a full load of number 4 broadside in the heart lung aera at a range of less than 25 feet Shocked

The deer ran almost 100 yds in the thickest cover leaving almost no blood as none of the pellets fully penatrated.

So enlighten me as to how this occourance was MY fault

spenceinva · « **Reply #28 on:** October 28, 2006, 06:10:00 PM »

Easy to explain, you either had one hell of a weak load or you met a deer made out of squirrel hide.

Spence

Ranger J · « **Reply #29 on:** October 29, 2006, 04:27:54 AM »

For several years, before the big storm, my wife and I used to take yearly trips to the Biloxi area in Mississippi. We were about three-quarters through the state one time when we saw some collie size animals along side the road. Turned out they were full-grown deer. It’s a wonder you guys don’t use #7 ½ birdshot.

RJ