Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting How effective is buckshot?

We have about a 10 acre section on our property that is thick as can be. Been thinking of using a 12 gauge with 3 inch 00 buckshot. It would be almost impossible to shoot beyond 35 yards. Anyone have any experience with whitetails and buckshot?
Would like to hear about your experiences.
Thanks

Take it out and shoot it with the same buckshot you plan to hunt with and make sure it shoots a good pattern and you get a feel for it.

Then when hunting, I always aim at the head of a running deer. If I miss the head, chances are I'll hit the vitals. That's what has always worked for me out to 50 yards, sometimes further.

Its great indoors.

In my early years, I hunted with a Rem. 1100. But I used 3" No. 1 buckshot. No problems with it and some dropped in their tracks.

Inside of 50 yds buckshot is very effective . I'd see what your gun likes best as far as patterns . I used to do a lot of hunting in eastern Va where buckshot was the only thing allowed . Worst thing if you don't drop the deer in their tracks it's usually not much of a blood trail .

35 yards its a dead deer. You can even get 000 if you want. At that range #4 buck would even work. Finding a load and choke combo that patterns good is the same as getting a turkey gun ready. But it is possible to get softball size buckshot groups at 35 yards. Some guns do well with modified, some need up to extra full.

It works, I'd personally prefer a slug if legal.

Buckshot sucks
If you can use anything else, do that instead.

You won't see a lot of deer in there if it's really that thick.

If you do see them, it will be just about as easy to hit them with a rifle or handgun which will give you a better blood trail.

It sucks compared to a rifle but thousands of deer are killed every year in the south on dog hunts with it.
I used it for years on hogs before I could afford a rifle. It patterened like crap in my shotgun but I was shooting at hogs no further than about 30 yards. Even then I found a lot of it never got through to the vitial organs.
So is it effective , yes. Efficent , no.
I finally broke down in 1988/9 and bought an open box Marlin 30/30 on sale from Service Merchandise for $125. I shot it with the open sights for five years until I bought a Ruger Tanger in 30/06. The old marlin killed alot of game and to this day that particular rifle still wears no scope.
But if your concerned about your bullets leaving the property buck shot will work.

I used to hunt with it periodically, and within its limits it's very effective. I bought several brands and sizes and patterned them. My 870 with a modified choke would shoot the Winchester 3" 00 load very well, and of the 4 deer I shot from 4 to 35 yards, all dropped where they stood. Since my pattern wasn't as tight as I liked at 50 yards, 40 was my personal limit. Buckshot can be very effective if you do your homework.

I have used everything from 000 thru #4 . I pattern the shotgun and never had to look for a deer shot within 50 yards never.

Never had it fail on me. Of course you have to know its limitations and how to use it. Like anything else.

I'd take it at that range you mention over a handgun all day long...

At 30-35 yards nickel plated #4 would put a lot of holes in one asap.

Buckshot is damned effective out to about 35 yards. Don't get stuck on just 00. Pattern what works best for your shotgun and go with that; #4 to 000.

Now, that said, I would not hunt that 10 acres. If you have that, then keep it as a sanctuary for the deer. Not only will the deer on your properties use it to escape pressure and stay on your land, but so will deer from adjacent properties when the pressure goes up. I'd not go in it, at all. Instead, figure out where to hunt the edges of it and the travel corridors to and from on different winds and conditions and do that. Give the deer a place to hide where they feel safe, don't go in there, and the deer will stay. If it's really that thick, you MIGHT get lucky - once - and get a shot at something decent, but the greatest odds are that you'll just push things out and they won't come back in there because they don't see it as a safe place to hide.

I killed several deer with buckshot when I hunted with dogs and in thickets as a young hunter.

It's important to try different loads and chokes to see what patterns best. I always used double ought and my dad used #1 buckshot.

Both killed well inside of 40 yards or so. 00 would exit the body more often,but #1 would always work.

This.

Hunt a good edge and use a rifle.

I used it[00] almost exclusively in my first years of hunting and mostly with an H & R single shot.
Knowing it's limitations is key.

Like some others have suggested I think I'd leave that 10 acres alone. But here's some pics of TriBall results.

http://www.dixieslugs.com/photos.html

http://www.dixieslugs.com/images/standard_order_triball_3in.pdf

If you could ask about 60 bucks taken from SE Alabama that question....they'd tell you.....DAMNED EFFECTIVE!!

I once shot an 8pt that would qualify as a dink and found 8 00 pellets in various parts of his body. They had encapsulated and had puss in most of the capsules. I'll never use buckshot because of that.

I've never used it before. With that said, I'd be using a slug. Slugs are bad ass. We're not allowed to use a rifle, shotgun only with slugs only. No buckshot.

Not sure about your tree situation, but I'd be trying to find a tree to climb and get above the thick schit.