#4 buckshot WHITETAIL?

[jaymag]

I always use slugs for my first few shots.I figure he is down or running at this point.At least you have a chance of putting a little somthing more in him while he's bounding off.I hit 7-10 pellets at a 3D deer target at 80yrds with a improved cylinder smooth slug choke/compensator.With a browning A5.I know they are small pellets,but anthing helps to make that blood trail a little bigger.Has anyone shot deer with #4 buckshot with good results?There are 27 pellets in a 12ga 2 3/4 round.Pretty much like bird shot effect.Im sure up close that deer would be blow off his feet,.Im just looikng for a little extra damage after my first shot.They are TOUGH animals!!

[john1911]

Make your slug count and you won't have to worry about it.

Buckshot runs out of oomph pretty quickly. #4 that much quicker. At 80 yards, very little penetration.

[Nnobby45]

In LE, #4 buck is used for situations with excessive penetration concerns.

You want more, not less. 00 or 000 buck. Fed. Tac with FliteControl wad tightens patterns up enormously and penetrates well--lower velocity and all. Same for Hornady TAP which uses same wad, but lead instead of plated shot.

Or opt for standard buck loads with 00 or 000.

[rem870hunter]

try #1 and 0 buck. if you can shoot 3" shells in your gun try the 3" #1 and 00 buck. if i am sitting i'll put a slug in the chamber followed by 2 #1 buck. if i am moving around i'll load 3 #1 buck in the gun.

[Mike_NY]

What's the point of blasting away at a fatally wounded and running deer? Every extra hole means wasted meat. A load of buckshot can destroy a hindquarter and/or perforate the guts and make field dressing much nastier than it needs to be. Deer are not THAT tough but there's no sporting arm made that will "blow one off it's feet". If you want to drop one where it stands it takes a hit to the noggin or spine. They're gonna run with a heart/lung shot no matter what. But they also usually drop within a few tens of yards. Follow up shots will likely miss or be poorly placed at best and the noise just amps up the animal's flight response. Not to mention that while you're swinging and blasting at the running deer you probably won't be able to adequately check the background for other hunters. This is why I only deer hunt during bow season.

Take one well aimed shot, sit tight and quiet, note where the deer was standing when you shot it and what direction it ran. After 15 minutes or so carefully and quietly take up the trail. If it is only wounded it should be laying down fairly nearby. That is if you didn't unleash WWIII and immediatly hoop and holler and give chase. If you are close enough to actually hit a deer with a followup shot you are more than close enough to place a single shot that will do the job. Deer are not a threat target that you need to shoot till they stop.

[Scattergun Bob]

Like your post, I am in agreement with it all.

A reasonably well placed shot with a 1 oz slug is a mortal wound and I have found most deer expire within 50 to 150 feet.

Dave McCracken has shot many more deer than me and if my memory serves has had similar experiences as you and I.

Good Luck & Be Safe

[Ruger4570]

Mike NY: Good first post and on target too.

[zippy13]

Mike_NY
Greetings and salutations!
Nice first posting -- hope to see more!

[Superhouse 15]

If you must use buckshot at long range, the Flite Control is the way to go. It works great from cylinder chokes.

[george_etta]

Had a nice story kid's 1st buck . Kid shot a 4 pt with a '97 win and 4 buck -but ..listening to many french and indian war guys here like author bob bearor ..buck was popular then ..it had a pot shot sort of moving target (those nice slow firing flintlocks)-'maybe get lucky" idea-"maybe wing it" -plus in 1800's they ran dogs for deer . Many guides shown with sxs 12's ..usually with dogs .

No animal's worth wounding use a deer call by "woodswise" take a nice shot and pass on everyhting else .

[Dave McC]

Typically, deer with a slug inserted in the heart/lung run 70 yards at most and collapse from exsanguination.

Put that slug through a shoulder, the blood trail will be a bit shorter but the results are pretty much the same.

In a lifetime of deer hunting with slugs, I've done a followup shot less than 10 times. Needed one maybe twice....

[bamaranger]

There are still counties here in AL where dogging deer is legal, and the use of buckshot on those hunts is not uncommon. The stores always have a bunch of the stuff on the shelves for sale.

I have seen exactly one deer killed with #4B, hit on the run through the chest/ lungs with what seemed to be the entire 27 pellet load at about 15-20 yds. Many passed through and it was a very dead deer.

But, nearly all the buckshot I see in the field w/ dog hunters is OOB. A #4B pellet is relatively small and runs out of energy and penetration power very quickly. There was a move towards #4B for LE in the 1980's, but penetration was not good as I understand it, especially when heavy clothing was involved, and my agency and the academy went back to 00B pretty quickly.

Even in a gun that handles it well, buckshot is a CLOSE range proposition. Say 40-50 yds max and 35 would be better. Where guys get in trouble is the very scenario you describe, they empty the gun on a deer crossing at 60 yds, put a pellet or two on the animal who knows where, and then you have a cripple. Without dogs most of these deer would not be recovered. And some are not even w/ hounds.

I use #4B on called coyotes along with some hevi T-shot.