Down here at home in the Michigan shotgun zone we hunt old fields and hedgerows with shots from 30 yds to 140 yds. Transitioned from 870 rifled 12 ga to Ruger 77/44 with 2 1/2 x sope when straight wall cartridge rules were implemented. Did not hesitate to abandon the 8-9 lb 870 trigger for the crisp 4 lb rifle trigger. Tried a 12 ga rifled barrel Encore with Hornady SSTs. Good trigger. It shot well but the recoil was horrid and ammo was $$$.. When the .44 mag failed to exit at 100yds I bought a S & W .460 mag barrel for the Encore. Stiff recoil but not as bad as the Encore 12 ga. I'm still wringing the .460 out, shooting mild handloads. .450 Bushmaster and .350 legend bolt guns and AR platforms seem to be easing the traditional 12 ga slug gun out of the picture. Recent CWD rules permitting any gun during muzzleloader season seems to have cut back on ML use.
Up north...50-60 yd woods shots and sometimes 400 yd shots over farm fields. .308, 7-08, and 30-06 bolt rifles with low power scopes. Sometimes Ruger No. 1 7 x 57 walking in the woods. Others using M94 30-30 lever guns, 30-06 740, milsurp 1909 Argentine, .270 BAR. Most hunters I've encountered are not rifle loonies and often are using family hand-me-downs.....and don't shoot much off season. Most Michigan deer are shot at less than 60 yds so almost anything works.
