Here in Long Island New York we have a three week shotgun deer season in January. We must use slugs only in New York State, buckshot is illegal. I have seen deer shot with all variations of slugs including sabot, Remington copper solids, slugger 2 3/4" as well as 3". All 12 gauge shells worked fine. The 20 gauge sluggers did not produce one shot stops and required tracking. They did not produce heavy blood trails. Both deer that I was involved in tracking were recovered. One other deer that I know of was shot with the 20 gauge but was not recovered. I was not involved with the tracking but know the people involved well. They stated the blood was heavy at first but ran out after a while. I never saw a deer shot with a 16 gauge but would not hesitate to use one.
