[lefteye]

Yes, you better duck Chad. I am curious about these two statements in your post:

"the wide spread of the shot gives you greater hit probability."

and

"Every time I have shot buckshot or birds hot within ten yards it looks like one big hole with maybe a couple stray pellets a inch or so away."

Pick a shot distance - any shot distance - only one of those statements can be correct at any specific distance, be it 5 feet, 5 yards, 30 yards, or whatever.

So, which of your two statements is true?

If #6 birdshot is a good deer load, why do hunters find #6 shot still inside small targets such as squirrels, rabbits, pheasants, ducks, etc? How can I expect a #6 shot pellet to go through both lungs of a deer if that same pellet won't go through a squirrel, rabbit, pheasant or duck?