Is Buckshot commonly used for Deer hunting anywhere in the U.S. these days?

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I didn't ask where it was legal, read the question.

Just about anywhere dogs are used to hunt deer, which includes central to eastern N.C. I have never been on a dog hunt where anything but buckshot was allowed to be used.

Look up deer hunting with dogs on YouTube. Most of those deer are shot with buckshot and that's a lot of deer.

One would think it is commonly used where legal.

In the eastern part of Virginia there are many areas/counties that are shotgun only. The tradition for many is to run the deer with dogs, much like you would hunt rabbits, by having the dogs move the deer out of the thickets, and I can assure you there are very thick thickets to be had. Buckshot is the preferred ammo in those conditions.

I did years ago 3" 00 Buck shoot the doe's in the head.

















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What's in a name?

Virginia, North and South Carolina for sure . Lot of the areas where dogs are used buckshot is most common

Kill alot of pigs with buckshot, and a few deer

As has been said above, many here in the SC Low Country run deer with dogs. In some circumstances buckshot is required, in others it is preferred. There's a lot of boxes of buckshot loads on the store shelves here.

I have never run deer with dogs, buit would like to experience it. I have a tentative invitation to join a dog hunt last day of the season (Jan 1.) A neighbor here, originally from Wisconsin, went on his first deer hunt with dogs last week, killed a nice buck.

At one time, it was all that was allowed for hunting deer in New Jersey, I don't even know if they allow hunting in New Jersey any more.

A friend, now retired, who worked for the NYS DEC as a fish and wildlife technician, was sometimes required to eliminate problem deer populations in areas where it wasn't possible to allow hunting. He worked those jobs mainly at night and often with buckshot. He said nothing puts a deer down so fast as a load of buckshot within its effective range.

Thanks guys that answers my question. I live a sheltered life out west and didn't realize there were so many states still allowing hound hunting. Hounds aren't even allowed for Lion and Bear anymore in WA.

It is HUGE in Mississippi.

Buckshot is one of my favorites for hogs and deer. 2-3/4" #3 in a 20 ga does the job quite well. The fun gun is an Ithaca 37, IC choke.

I've used it a bunch of times
Of course, it's like everything else.
You have to find some your shotgun and
choke likes, and may have to play with chokes
if your shotgun has a changeable choke.

He's been gone for years now, but I can't
recall my pawpaw ever using anything but
00 buck for all his deer hunting
Some of them back then used punkinballs

Its been many years ago. But when I was a teenager I used to deer hunt in southern New Jersey with my grandfather and uncle. They belonged to a hunt club and they used to do deer drives. One time you would be a driver and on the next drive you would be a stander. you would leapfrog or alternate throughout the day. Buckshot was all that was allowed. I killed my first Buck (6 point) with 00 Buckshot while I was one of the standers. Used a 12ga Rem 1100. I was 13 years old. Back then Deer season was only 6 days long. Monday through Saturday. No Hunting on Sunday.

That load is nothing to Sneezer at.

A good shot with buckshot will drop them in their tracks. A bad or even marginal shot and you never find them.

My dad was a big believer in buckshot. Always carried a couple of loads of Hi-Vel #1 buck in the game pouch of his shotgun vest.
Biggest buck he ever killed was a load of #1's.

So many people talk bad about buck shot, like it won't kill a deer. I never have used it, but I've never run deer with dogs. It must work, dead deer don't lie. In our area where dogs aren't allowed, it doesn't make any sense..

And a patient and thoughtful fella can wait for things to align then shoot 2 or 3 critters with one shot. Did that to hogs 3 times with #3 buck.

What is this marginal shot you refer to?

I think that's why its usefulness is limited to certain areas and hunting styles. There's always that goofy guy that will take a 125 yard pot shot at a buck with it even though he's never practiced farther than 40 yards..

Some years ago I hunted with a friend in South Alabama who carried a Remington model 11 16 gauge loaded with number one buckshot and also a Remington model 7 in 308. He was prepared for most any situation and killed lots of deer.
To the OP;
Thanks for starting an interesting thread.
Merry Christmas to all!
Rick

Definitely one you want to pattern your gun first. Don't just slip a couple 00 in the old scattergun and hope for the best. Used within 50 yards its very effective

I lived in Mississippi in the 70s. I hunted one year in a hunting club where dogs and buckshot were what most used. I used a rifle. I did not like that kind of hunting at all. Most shots were at running deer, and many deer were wounded. After one season of that, I switched to bow hunting at a different place.
Some like buckshot for deer, but it’s not for me.

In places in MS you still have to use it.

My brother shoots the number 1 buckshot i cast and load for him out of several 12 gauge shotguns.

Numerous deer have fallen to them.

I have killed deer with buckshot. I have also shot at deer 30 yards away that I hit but ran off sporadicly dripping blood never to be found. After patterning it in my shotgun I have never used it since. My shotgun.clusters pellets together around the edge of the.pattern. From the patterns I got I could be centered on one at 40 yards and not hit the vitals. I would use a rifle. I have killed deer running with a rifle and a muzzleloader.

I’ve killed well over 100 deer with buckshot, probably closer to 200. Took a buddy from work who lives around Ithaca New York dog hunting in Ga last Sat for his first time. We killed 4-5 at the club. On a good day we can break 20. Kill over 200 every season at that one club. I clean missed one Sat. A rare occurrence but she got in the thick briars and that stuff sucks up buckshot energy about like cotton plants.

The day before at the local DOE bomb plant (SRS) they killed 57 on a 4 hour controlled hunt.

Surprised no one offers guided dog hunts. I had two Australian guys find my kennel on line, contact me and came to the US for a week of hunting. One of the Aussies killed 4 in one day.

So yeah, it works. Load, choke and distance are all important factors.

Our club is running dogs tomorrow and Sat, then Wed,Thurs, Fri, Sat next week. If I weren’t working I’d be dropping hounds at daylight tomorrow

Don't think it is legal here, used to be down east.

I've never wanted to use it, or slugs.
I know it will kill, so does a 22.


Heck, the 30-30 sits due to ballistics.

Sounds like a fun time

30 yds? 40 yards? Meh, Show me one in the open running wide open at less than 50 yards and I’ll show you a dead deer 9.5 out of 10 times. 60 yards and he is in real trouble and likely will get a truck ride. At 70 yards you wouldn’t want to be him, but that is starting to push it.

At 30 yards they usually fold like a dove with one shot.

12ga 00 buckshot is .33 cal cruising at 1300 fps. 3” holds 15 of those hornets.

When the hood rats discover it and learn how to make it shoot they’ll go extinct killing each other

I killed a small buck in Montana. A 12 gage with 00 buck in brush along the Missouri river. About 30 yards, he folded on the spot.

The shot load hit the neck just behind the head. As I remember about a 8 or 10 inch circle.

I've never seen or heard of anyone using it here, though it's legal. Never tried it myself either. Honestly, I didn't realize it was legal to run dogs on deer in other States before reading this thread

buckshot maybe good for small southern deer. in north jersey seen it fail 89% of the time in fact Jersey finally allowed slugs cause of so many wounded deer

Dude, I'd love to get in on a deer dog hunt someday. #bucketlist

Like most everything, inside its range limits and placed correctly, its immediately terminal. It's not legal here for deer but having hog hunted a time or two I don't understand why it wasn't, because a bird barrel with a slug wasn't better, safer and certainly didn't make hitting them on the run easier.

Not all buckshot is equal, also like most things.

I've been working on spent trap hulls and a 0 mold, heat treated of course, to get some 5 gallon buckets full. For whatever.

Fond memories of 12 gauges and #1 or 00. Busted a small 7 point front chest shot with a 16 gage and #1 running uphill behind an old Confederate cemetery. When Blue cut loose with his distinctive deep bark I knew a buck was headed out of that Cutover. Beagles black&tans Walkers Redbones don't laugh I killed two does two golden doodles walked out of head high pine trees you couldn't see 40 yards through but Kali&Belter barked them up to me and #1 handled its business.

The first 100 or so deer I killed was with buckshot, and most of them were being run with dogs. But, you need to pattern your shotgun with different size and makes of buckshot. One of my 12 ga. shotguns shoots Rem #1's best and will consistently put 12 buckshot in a 9" square at 40 yds. IIRC, there is 16 #1 buckshot in a 2 3/4" shell. Another 12 ga. shotgun likes Federal #4 buckshot and will consistently put 21 in a 9" square at 40 yds. Again, IIRC there is 42 buckshot in a 3" magnum shell. Neither of those shotguns shoots 00 worth a darn.

Hey look, another tard and/or sock.

That's a heck of a HOG, DD. Will those #3 Buck go through the shoulder of a hog that big and into the lungs?

I carry that load in the top barrel of my 20 O/U Citori when sneak hunting ducks and squirrel in East Texas timbered river bottoms in case a nice buck is jumped or comes by on the hunt for a doe.

If I spot ducks on the river I ecchange the buckshot for smaller pellets and put the sneak on them.





asus netbook keyboard

Years ago most hound hunters in E Texas preferred #1 Buck. They used 12's full choke for tighter patterns and most guns patterned better with #1B than 00. This was especially with paper hulls and no shot cups.

My first gun after college and entering a practice in Lufkin was a 12 Ga Browning Auto 5, FC. It's unreal how bad it patterned 00 even with plastic hulls and shot cups at 50 yds. May get only 2 pellets to hit a 2ft by 2 ft target.but it was deer death with #1s.

Woodsman uncle killed a buck ahead of hounds once which was shot at 110 paces with #1s out of his single shot Full C Winchester model iirc 37.
That gun and load killed a heck of a lot of deer.

Hehehe. Great posts, Hardin.

Great info. I preferred the 2 3/4 inch magnum 1 Buck.

Seems they penetrated deeper. May have just been my thinking.

I've seen bucks hung and skinned that were killed by a couple of shot hitting behind and in front of the shoulder (neck) where a few shot that hit the shoulder fell out on the ground as the hide was pulled down after having not penetrated the shoulder blade. Of course those deer had run a bit before falling and I guess the pellets worked back shallow from it.

I think Buckshot gets a bad reputation from dumbasses who can't follow sign or fail to follow up and track the deer after the shot, as you know.

I've also found some real nice dead bucks withing 100 yds of feeders in West and Central Texas where the shooter failed to follow up after the deer didn't fall at the shot.

A lot of guys just assume they missed when the deer runs off.

I've used it here in Idaho during short range weapon hunts. A 3.5" 00 buck load with 18 pellets put a deer right down at 70 yards. I held a little over it's back and it was very effective.

Bb

Rabbit hunted for many years with 6's in the right barrel and no4 buck in the left ,just in case a deer jumped

Every hunter should experience it at least once in life. It's a lot of fun. I don't prefer it over still or stand hunting, but I am a dog lover who really appreciates dogs fulfilling their breed purpose. So much of the vegetation in the deep south where dog hunting is common is impenetrably thick. I believe having dogs put pressure on those areas is beneficial overall.

I have a few issues with dog hunting. The first is that in most places where dog hunting is allowed, the season goes from bow to dog hunting. I wish they'd give the still hunters a week or two in the woods after bow season without the dogs stirring everything up. Hunters might be working a deer and have it patterned but never get it into bow range. The instant the sound of dogs echoes through the woods those deer change their patterns.

I don't know if it's most, but too many dog hunters are goddam slobs. They'll let their dogs out in places knowing full well their dogs are going to push deer off of private property. They also set up to shoot down public roads. Litter is pretty common where they have set up as well.

There are a number of places in FL where dog hunters regularly use Buck shot. I killed my first deer at 7 years of age with a 20 Ga single shot and Buck shot.

Buckshot is effective if you hit something vital but you cannot control where each individual pellet is going to land.I killed exactly one buck with a 12 gauge loaded with 00 buckshot.The buck was running broadside about forty five yards away.I shot three times and he went down.As I was walking up to him,he jumped up and started running away.Bam,I shot him again and down he went.As I was walking up to him,he again jumped up and started running away.Bam,I shot him again and down he went.As I was walking up to him,he again jumped up and started running away.Bam,I shot him again and down he went,this time for good.I counted about twenty five pellets that hit him before I killed him.There was only eight or nine pellets in each 2 3/4" 12 gauge.He had pellet holes from his head all the way across his body to his tail.Deer shot with buckshot is way different than shooting one with a high powered rifle.Probably each pellet is more like a 22 rimfire.The wound channel for each pellet isn't much larger than the pellet itself.If your lucky and it hits the right spot,you got your deer.Closer the range,the odds are in your favor.The farther away,the odds are against you.Since your not going to find much blood,you probably think you just missed,but you may have wounded the deer and not even know it.I will never shoot a deer with buckshot unless I absolutlly had no choice.And if that was my only choice,I'd keep my shots within thirty yards.

Currently buckshot is not legal in Tennessee, but at one time it was legal for my county and one adjacent county by private act. This was during the early days of deer population recovery and the deer were in the deepest cover imaginable. About the only way to see one was to hunt with dogs (which was illegal) and let the dogs drive the deer by the hunters on stand. Shots would be close and fast, so buckshot was the ticket. Most of my family participated. I still remember my uncle reminding us not to shoot does, because that was where the bucks came from. Today there are so many deer that dogging deer is not used here any more. Matter of fact, if someone dogged the deer the hunters with tree stands would be PO'd.

I want to kill at least 2000 deer a day

Shooting deer off airboats, swamp buggies and in front of dogs a shotgun is a required piece of equipment.

I am not saying buckshot won't kill a deer. It will kill a grizzly bear. I do most of my shotgun hunting with aBrowning Auto 5 Magnum 12. I bought it new in 84. First day I hunted with it I went deer hunting and slipped through thick woods till I jumped a bedded deer and killed it. I emptied it at the deer and put several pellets in it. I patterned it later and wasn't impressed. I used to have an Ithaca Mag 10 and it threw a.vicious pattern of 00 Buck. It was too heavy and long to use where buckshot is useful. In my opinion a Handy rifle is a better choice. I would rather have a 30-30 or a pump or semi auto 30-06 for a driven or dog hunt. I have done both and.most of the deer I shot were slipping out in front of the dogs and not being pursued. They were not running but sneaking away.
If you have never deer hunted with beagles or hounds, I highly recommend it if you get the chance. It is fun and exciting to hear the race and have them coming to you.

jaguartx: I too killed my first deer with a Winchester 37 12 gauge full choke and buckshot. It was the first gun I ever bought. I worked for 2 weeks tearing down a shed for a man and salvage the lumber, nails, and tin on the roof. Rode my bicycle to work and back, 7:00-5:00 and brown bagged lunch. I was 13 and my mother had to give permission to the owner of Coleman’s Hardware. I got the shotgun, slip on recoil pad and 2 boxes of shells for a little over $40. This was1962. Killed the deer in 69 while hunting squirrels on the Bogue Phila River near Cleveland MS. Always carried a few buckshot with my high brass sixes. Buckshot are deadly on deer ahead of dogs. They are usually in high gear and near heavy cover. Also deadly on men. Had a neighbor with same last name but no kin. JT fought in Korea. 7 of 113 men on his company survived attacks by red Chinese and N Koreans. His weapon of choice was a Browning A5 with a mag tube extension and a duckbill spreader with buckshot. It would penetrate the heavy quilted clothing that they wore. He said they would stack their bodies up like cordwood to use for sandbags. He liked Browning 30 cal machine guns too. Said a supply Sargent back stateside helped him get the shotgun rigged properly. Used it on night patrols and probes. He had a bad drinking problem from his experiences. Hunted in several Mississippi clubs that used Walker hounds and beagles. Shotguns with buckshot used because of heavy cover, closeness of standers, running deer and valuable dogs. Easier with dogs than people trying to drive deer in heavy cover like sloughs, brakes, cutover.

For a feel of hunting with dogs and buckshot and shotguns, read “Race at Morning” by William Faulkner, one of the world’s greatest writers. It’s from The Big Woods. No wonder the culture of hunting with dogs is so prevalent in Mississippi. You’ll be captivated and taken along. The Bear is good also. Made into a movie.

Yes. I started out hunting deer in Virginia in the 1970s using an Ithaca M37 with an IC choke and 2 3/4" 00 buckshot. Then moved to a New Haven 600, just a rebranded Mossberg 500, with a C-Lect choke and 3" rounds. Even managed to kill some. I never lost a deer to buckshot. In thick woods where shots are close, or anywhere shots are close, it's very effective. I still use it, though I've moved to 3 1/2" rounds. (Winchester black box high velocity rounds are my go-to. Real shoulder breakers.) On weekends when the hunt clubs and their hounds are moving things around, it's great for picking off a deer that is slinking into the bottoms to avoid the dogs.

Virginia is a weird state. The eastern part is a mix of shotgun-only, rifles-in-stands, and rifle hunting counties. Some of the counties that have the highest deer numbers, and produce the highest harvests, are shotgun-only. Like Southampton - which perpetually produces the highest harvest. Our DWR, in the past, has actually advocated going to rifles state-wide, but the Va law lets the counties set their own rules. As a result, we have this (map I created after reviewing all county ordinances): (I hunt mostly red counties.)




Going from the Blue Ridge Mountains east to the ocean, this is pretty much the way it works.






That's my experience, with only a few exceptions. They run their dogs through property without respect for anyone already there. The dogs go onto private land and Va law allows the owners to enter private land without the consent of the owner to retrieve their dogs. Hunt clubbers use this as an excuse to drive on private land. Hound hunting is under fire in Virginia. Lots of land owners are getting sick of the trespassing. So far the legislature and DWR hasn't put a stop to it, but they won't have a choice eventually. Land owners are rising up and their $ and political clout is going to eventually get the practice banned or restricted. It's inevitable. And the slob, littering hunt clubbers will have brought it on themselves.

The good part about the hunt clubbers is that they generally don't go too far from their trucks. That would be effort. If one doesn't mind hiking to the center of a big property, across which the hunt clubbers will hope to run their hounds, you can pick off deer the dogs get moving. The clubbers don't like that. Apparently they think any deer their dogs move belong to them. But it's a reliable way to kill deer.

Whatever floats your boat. Go for 2001 if you want to. Not me, but “numbers” is part of the southern dog hunting heritage. Not much trophy hunting going on, but on some occasional “special hunts” there are horn restrictions.

There are slob hunters in every type of hunting. I’ve seen it in all types so no need to try to single out dog hunters. We should stick together. This is coming from someone who has been a licensed big game guide in the west and Midwest with a specialty in bow hunting.

The garmin collars we have now have changed dog unting in these parts. We rarely have a dog get off our property, and when we do we unload guns and find the landowner to ask permission to retrieve the dog(s). We don’t get permission, we don’t go. I’ve sat on a property line many nights trying to sweet talk a dog back across the line. Picked up 100x more trash than has accidentally flown out the back of my truck.

Until a few years back the SC deer season opened August 15th & closed Jan 1 with “unlimited bucks” written in the hunting laws. That is 4.5 months of consecutive rifle, shotgun, bow, muzzle loader or whatever you wanted to hunt with. There are now reasonable numbers restrictions. Ga has a 2 buck 10 doe limit and many guys around here hunt both states, and sometimes more than 2 states.

I’ve tested buckshot patterning from about every manufacturer and some homebrew shells. There is new technology that makes tight patterns easy as can be. Want to shoot a sub 6” pattern of 00 out of an 18” cylinder or improved cylinder bore? Can be done easy enough…..

Virginia is definitely a weird state when it comes to regulations. I live in Rockingham County 40 minutes from the Wva line. Rifle only , 2 week rifle season. Next county over which I hunt also is Greene , rifle but dogs are allowed and season runs 7 + weeks. Then I have a friend in Norfolk who has a big farm in Surry Co. I hunt with him and its Muzzleloader and shotgun only even if sitting on a field where a 270 would be undergunned

I haven't used buckshot for deer hunting in many years, it was in 1979 aboard Camp Lejeune with a well-used 12-gauge Remington 870 shotgun checked out from Special Services, the #1 buck did the job.

My family in the Low Country of SC used shotguns with buckshot for deer through the 60's and 70's when they ran dogs. I still have my grandad's Belgian Browning A5 with a full choke barrel and a front sight bead; can't imagine the number of deer that were killed with it over the years. My grandad was partial to Winchester high brass with #1 buck; it always seemed to work.

I have known a few people down east that used to run dogs and use shotguns with buckshot, but they have all moved on to "still hunting" with rifles these days.

StarchedCover

You do NOT want to use full choke. It will blow patterns. If I shoot #1's, I use a Mod choke. OO or OOO and I drop to Imp Cal. Pattern boards don't lie.

BULLSHIT GALORE!! I used 000 and it worked dime fine outa a Remington 870 with 26" full choke!! A running buck was a dead SOB out at 75 yards!

Yes! I’m going to in Florida in January.

Using Kick’s Buck Kicker chokes, which pattern very well.

Buckkicker is what I use in my 870 Supermag and 11-87. Yes they do pattern great , Remington 00 in 3" or 3 1/2"

Somewhat like .22 guns and ammo, every shotgun has its preferences with buckshot. I have found that most pattern better with more open chokes, but that is not without exceptions. I’ve an old Winchester with a FC that will pretty much vaporize a grapefruit at 30 yards. Same barrel shoots slugs exceptionally well also. It is the only exception in my inventory.

Gotta disagree with you. You might be right most of the time, cause I dont know. But, that's not the case all the time. The tightest shooting shotgun I ever saw patterned was a WesternField with a 32" full choke barrel shooting 00 buckshot. It easily out shot Long Toms. At 40 yds, it would put 7 out of 9 buckshot in a 12" square every time, 8 most of the time, and some times all 9 buckshot.

I saw this gun patterned with #6's also, and to this day, I've never seen a tighter pattern. When hunting squirrels, if they were within 30 yds, you held just off the head. If you held on the body of the squirrel, you picked up a bloody mess, nothing to eat....shot all to hell.

My dad owned this gun, but because of a family agreement when he got the gun (before I was born), the gun went to another member of the family. I hunted with it for a couple years when I was just starting to hunt with a 12 ga. and would give my left arm to have it.

I grew up hunting a lot with shotguns and always thought a modified choke was the best for buckshot. However, today after patterning my gun, the Kick’s Full held the tightest at 40 yards with 3” “00”. I used Imp, Mod, Imp Mod, Lite Full, and Full. I just ordered an Extra Full to see if it is even better. A buddy in Georgia that hunts a lot more than me with buckshot now says their club all uses the Kick’s extra full. Every gun and load is different so you have to try it out but don’t be afraid to choke down on buckshot.

Yup. Those three. It's the tradition there

I had a coyote walk threw a OO buck pattern.
The next coyote dropped with #4 bird shot.
I have killed over 50 deer with rifles.

Kick’s Buck Kicker Full and X-Full (owned by Comp N Choke in Ga) shoots about the best I’ve seen with traditional 00 loads. A cylinder bore or improve cyl will shoot just as good or a touch better with one flavor of buckshot…….Federal Premium Buckshot WITH the Flite Control wad. There are a few flavors of it…

00 buck w/ Flight Control:
2.75” 9 pellet 1145 fps
2.75 8 pellet 1145 fps
2.75 9 pellet 1345 fps (my fav because it’s fast and you can load an extra shell or two in most guns)
3.0” 15 pellet 1345 fps (hard to find)
Maybe more? 1B?…


The shot comes out of the rear of the wad versus the front. The stuff really shoots VERY tight, and needs NO choke at all. Shooting it with a restrictive choke actually spreads the pattern.

Virginia also has the .23 caliber or larger law on deer and bear.

Mostly it is a throw back to .22 rimfire being inadequate... as I understand it.

Regardless, it is a silly law.

OOO buckshot is a good choice for me when reaching out to 50 yards.

Typically, I won't push OO past 35... 40 is tops.

Rifle hunting, is my choice, where permitted.

Wow... some of y'all push OO to 70 yard... I have never even tried that.

I patterned a 12 pellet load at 40 as a boy and never even rethought it...

I may give it a rethink at 50, 60 and 70 this afternoon. Y'all got my curiosity up.

I have killed my share of deer with a 12ga Shotgun. I have patterned many different loads out of several chokes. The best patterns I got out of my Rem 1100 were 2 3/4" 00 Buck magnum (12 pellet) with a skeet choke. The best I got with a full choke barrel was 2 3/4" magnum #1 Buck (20) pellet.

A fluke errant shot can kill at 200 yards. Patternboards don't lie. UNLESS you are using a special barrel/choke combo... I would like to see the 75 yard spread you are throwing... lol

A neighbor's wife shot a decent buck this year that had been shot 4 times previously. All the hits had been marginal and healed except for a broken front leg, also healed but knobby. and a little crooked.

Shotguns and buckshot are required on the state "Game Lands" that adjoin our property and hunters can use dogs for part of the season.

It sounds a little like a war zone next door when dogs are pushing deer to multiple hunters. That's why they are required to use shotguns and buckshot.

I hunt from blinds placed in the hedgerows or woodlots between hay fields and I can use a rifle on our land on unsuspecting relaxed deer.

Most folks think buckshot works like birdshot. Yes and no. Assuming one does some pattern work and finds the combo that works at 30 yards, what does it do at 40/50/60 yards? Shoot the paper at those ranges or you’re guessing.

So far the discussion seems to focus on exterior ballistics. What do we know about terminal ballistics? My guess is very little. Well, buckshot does not deform very much unless it strikes heavy bones. I learned this shooting hogs at 30-40 yards with 20 ga, #3 buck. On three occasions I shot a mature sow in the neighborhood of 200# and the shot passed through and killed 2 shoats in the 30-60# range. The shot passed through them as well.

The next question I pose is what influences one’s opinion re: buckshot size? Do you think a fewer number of slightly larger wound channels are more lethal than a larger number of somewhat smaller diameters? My experience is somewhat limited in this realm because after having to shoot 2 large boars twice with OO buck I quit using it. I never had to send a second dose of #3, and that was administered about 65 times.

Eastern NC is about the same.

Some county laws say the rifle has to be in a elevated stand. Growing up almost all deer hunting was with hounds, nowadays there's too many people that moved here from somewhere else and don't understand the practice and want nothing to do with it.

by golly my grate Uncuh Bart, ….he wack dem deers good wit dat dubble odd buck, tree hunnerd yard aint nuffins for him

Interesting on putting em down asap. I've shot a lot of pigs and quite a few deer with buckshot. And its maybe a 50/50 at best to put one down. I don't recall one going more than 100 yards after being shot though. obviously head shots do the DRT thing. But body shots only if a pellet hits CNS and you simply never know there.

Determining where it’s legal WOULD uhhh derrr aid greatly in seeking the answer to your question. I.E. commonly used in context of deer hunting.






















dumb ass

You don't have a clue!

Correct spelling is Dumass

A lot of people still hunt with nothing but a shotgun here in Louisiana. One of our WMAs have a shotgun only hog season In February slugs or buckshot. A full choke will work with buckshot but each gun is different just like a rifle some shoot a tighter choke better. 75 yards with buckshot is a Hail Mary with the best pattern. A 50 yard shot on deer or hogs should be a dead animal. Buckshots best use is where dogs are used to drive the deer. Standing on an old logging road while the dogs run the deer out of the pine/briar thickets Buckshot is the best option.

These are the facts not internet make believe by old dudes who don’t get off the couch

Buckshot is still legal here in NJ for deer hunting. I killed my first deer, a doe, in a controlled hunt in New Jersey's Great Swamp in 1980. I used a Remington 1100 trap gun with fixed mod choke and 2-3/4" number 2 buckshot. The doe was running full speed at 100 feet or so, and I rolled her like a rabbit.

By the way, the State made us demonstrate we could shoot a killing pattern (I forget the distance), live fire.

I never found a specialty choke that shoots 00 significantly better than a standard full choke, and mostly they do worse.

Out of my Maxus II (Invector +) with a standard full choke and shooting Winchester Double X 12 gauge 3 1/2" 15 pellets 1,400 fps, this is what it will do at 40 yards on a 12"x12" target. A very good pattern.:


This is a Carlsons Buck Shot choke, .710, in the same gun with same ammo:



Out of my Winchester SX4 (Invector +) 12 gauge 3 1/2" with standard full choke and Winchester Double 12 gauge 3 1/2" 15 pellets 1,400 fps.:


Same gun and load with Buck Kicker Full:


Carlsons Buckshot Choke .710:


Patternmaster Big Game choke (total garbage choke IMO - doesn't pattern any buckshot load well):



I will say that Winchester Double X high velocity is the most tempermental buckshot load I've fired. 1,400 fps is damned fast for 00 load. Recoil is tremendous. Winchester Super X 3 1/2" 18 pellets at 1,200 fps tends to pattern a bit better and is a bit easier on the shoulder. The same shell loaded with 54 pellets of #4 patterns best - very well in fact.

My experience with buckshot is that the load a shotgun likes might perform well from any choke. In patterning many shotguns with buckshot I have found no rhyme or reason some chokes make tight patterns while others don't. I never shoot past 35 yards with buckshot and have had good results generally. I really like the 27 pellet load of #4 buck from Federal but finding it is tough. For the most part have used 2 3/4 " 9 pellet loads of 00. And mostly I have used cylinder or improved cylinder choked shotguns.

No, it doesn't, and this is an absurdly dumbazz thing to believe and pass on. The shot is contained in the wad like all shot are and fires in a normal way. The wad system and shot are designed to stay together for a good distance. The wad has fins at the midsection and rear to begin to slow the wad down and separate it from the shot. This is unlike a more normal shot wad that flowers out from the front. The Flite Control does so from the rear but the shot is in the front of the cup.

You are correct that a wad stripping or retarding choke hurts the performance of the Flite Control shells. A standard smooth non-ported choke tends to pattern best with the Flite Control shells. Some constriction is ok as long as the choke isn't retarding the wad as the shot passes through the barrel. One of my Benelli M1s patterns best with the #1 Buck Flite Control from a factory Benelli flush-fit modified choke tube. Only shooting patterns at various ranges can tell a shooter how each combination of shell and choke is performing. Anything else is guessing.

Slow down there, jerky….lol…..but you are correct that what I said about the flight control wad was wrong. My experimenting / discecting of factory loads is a few years removed. The shot coming out of the rear of the wad was something entirely different we were playing with….that strange wad was a 2 piece wad with the load pushing the front piece of the wad after all 3 components exited the barrel. The concept worked ok, but the wad in front of a load of shot ended up steering the load inconsistently and causing what was basically pattern POI shifts. I heard that some major shot shell manufacturers experimented with this as well.

Yes, the flight control wad has the fins farther back with the front part of the “cup” not having the traditional wad pedals. My H&K imported M-1s shoot flight controls about the same with cyl, imp cyl and skt chokes. Anything more restrictive starts to degrade patterning.

On the 00 / 000 aspect….many guys I hunt with say the 000 penetrates more and they get more exit holes than with 00. Basically the frequent times when 00 stops under the far side hide, the 000 would have punched thru leaving a better blood trail. That is what they say but I’m not sure I buy 100% of that.

Where is the TSS version of buckshot? I’ve been waiting on that to surface but haven’t seen any yet