Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Anybody kill a deer with a single shot smoothbore shotgun

The equivalent of a baseball pitcher's knuckleball.

I have to admit that I've never shot a deer with a smooth bore shotgun, or any other shotgun for that matter. I do have a smooth bore rifle sighted barrel for my 870 that shoots pretty well and I've chased deer with it, but it's been around 20 years since the last time that happened.

I hunt a lot of military bases in VA and many of them only allow buckshot. I don't know how many whitetails I have shot and seen shot with buckshot out of smoothbores but it is well over 150. It is amazing to see just how effective the combo of a smoothbore and a load on 00 Buck is on deer at ranges of 50 yards or less.

Had an uncle who used a single shot 410 for deer, dont know how many he shot, probably 7 or 8.

Recently.
2 3/4" Remington reduced recoil OO.

Killed my first buck with an 11-87 and 28" bird barrel. Used an Activ slug. Shot another before I got another 11-87 with a rifled barrel and scope. It's still my dedicated deer gun unless I'm in an area where shots over 125 yards are possible. I normally hunt big woods in the north now. I track and still hunt too, so I get to see a few areas where 200-300 yard shots across beaver meadows etc can happen. Otherwise, I'd use a slug gun. I have the mist confidence in them...never let me down, not once.