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Old September 7, 2012, 01:48 PM   #25
Brian Pfleuger
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Join Date: June 25, 2008
Location: Austin, CO
Posts: 19,578
I only hunted a couple of years with fancy slugs, killing many deer before that with $5/15 Winchesters.

As to meat damage, so far as I can tell, if you shoot meat, you damage it, if you don't you don't. From handguns, rifles, archery equipment and shotguns, I see no appreciable difference in "blood shot" meat if you shoot the meat.

Shotguns certainly have penetration in spades. I've seen a regular 1oz slug hit a full grown deer in the left ham and end up just in side the right front shoulder. That's a solid 2 1/2-3 feet of penetration. Which is about 1 foot and a half more than you need.

As to the weight of the guns, you've either got some heavy freaking rifles or some very light (and horrendously recoiling) shotguns. I've hunted with or used a number of different brands over the years, Savage, Ithaca, Browning, multiple Remington pumps and Autos and probably some I don't remember, most of them, with a sling and scope, weigh very near 10 pounds. I don't think I've had a rifle that weighs over 7.5.

I'm not telling anyone not to use a shotgun. If that's what you like, go for it, but I'd take just about any rifle between 223 to 30-06 before I'd take a 12ga.
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