Shotgun Deer Ammo

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Brian5582

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So I figured I will start what may be a good debate. I searched for this and didn't see anything on this so here goes. What do you use deer hunting as far as shotgun ammo goes (this is more for us here in MA) Slugs, Buckshot or some style of newer sabot style slug? I for one use strictly Remington Slugger's I might switch to a new style magnum slug as soon as I get my new shotgun. At the moment I hunt with a 16ga. and there isn't much out there for slugs.

Now my reason behind this

1) I have killed quite a few deer as well as helped butcher many others and you would be surprised how many I have found with either buckshot pellets right under the hide or even in the meat but completely healed up. Now I know there are probably even more animals hit that the blood trail is lost and the animal bleeds out internally and goes to waste.

2) I will not hunt with people using it because it seams to travel through the woods a lot bouncing of trees and such. When I was 15 and hunting with my dad we were pushing through the woods with my grandfather and a family friend we were walking in a line probably 300 or so yards apart my grandfather was on one end friend in the middle and my dad and I on the other walking together I was carrying the gun and my dad was teaching me how to hunt walking with me unarmed. Well a deer busts out and runs away from us evidently there was someone else in the area and shot at the deer which ended up being towards my dad and I. He unloaded the gun all 5 rounds well needless to say after the hunt my dad and I had to change our shorts. You could hear the pellets going through the trees and hitting the ground around us. That was the longest 30 seconds of my life we didn't know what to do move, dive on the ground or what. Well we made it through it but no one I know or hunt with will use it ever again. As for the guy doing the shooting after we found him (hunting on my uncles posted farm) and talked my father out of shooting him we saw the deer. It was a beautiful 8 pointer well it was before the guy shot half an antler off. It was laying on the ground still half alive with 3 of its legs broken and almost blown off. 100% true story
 
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I personally use the old Foster style slugs in my smooth barrel 20 gauge pump shotgun (groups are OK, but I won't shoot past 50 yds with it). My buddy in CT uses a rifled slug barrel in his Mossberg 500 and has great success w/ Remington Copper Sabots (very pricey ammo).

I don't know any one who hunts deer with buckshot. I would use buckshot for home defense, but not for deer. YMMV

Best to buy a couple of boxes of each brand and go try them out at the rifle range. Some shoot any kind fine and other ones are more finicky.
 
I know of a few people that hunt with it but I think it is because they cant shoot for a damn. One says it is good for shooting through brush the other says he puts it in for a hail marry after the slugs. Both are idiots and both use 20ga. 0buck that doesn't equal very many pellets but when I try to talk them out of using it they say well it has killed them before then I say ya but how many have you lost or missed and they don't want to hear it.

Like you say home defense yes hunting NO but I have met a lot of people that use or have used it.

I have had good results out to 60-75 yards with 16ga. Remington Sluggers I am going to try something else as soon as I get my Benelli M2 to see if I can get out there further but lets face it we don't get many clear shots passed that around here.
 
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Everyone has his/her own preferance. I personally feel that buckshot should not be used for most deer hunting situations. The exception is when we hunt Nantucket. That stuff is so thick you actually have to crawl through it on your hands and knees. No bull. Aside from that, most any slug that shoots well FROM YOUR GUN will do the job. I own a pile of shotguns. Some are quite picky about what slugs they want, and others don't seem to care.
 
Buckshot has its uses when used properly. Problem is very few know how to use it right. Most are yahoos who blindly empty the gun like the dumbass in Brians description. Buckshot should be properly choked (they make special buckshot chokes) and then patterned just like a turkey load.

I butcher most of my own deer and we have found many buckshot pellets that only wounded the deer we ended up killing later on.

I shoot only slugs, fosters in my smoothbore and Lightfield sabots in my rifled slug gun. I get sub 3 inch groups at 125 yards with the Lightfields.

I also will only hunt with a 12 guage. I have witnessed several lethal hits with 16's that simply were never found, my buddy used to love his browning sweet 16 with brenneke slugs, not anymore. Never had that problem with a 12.
 
I only use slugs. I find buckshot to be ineffective and unsafe. Not to mention that it blows the deer all to hell.

I hunt w/ an 870 Rifled Slug barrel and Remington Copper Solid Sabots.
 
Considering how liberal the state is I'm honestly surprised buckshot isn't outlawed here. I've always had a hard time wrapping my mind around shooting animals with pellets that don't have wings. Oh well.

If I attempt deer hunting here I would go with a Rifled Barrel and Sabots.
 
I use a Mossberg 695 bolt action slug gun, witch has a rifled barrell. I have tried all sorts of slugs out of it, and pretty much any sabot will get the job done. I currently use the Hornday 300gr SST round because it groups very well all the way out 125 yards, and I got a crap load of them on sale at Dick's.

Buckshot isn't outlawed because most uneducated antis just assume all shotguns use pellets, and are more safe because the shot doesn't travel as far. I've heard of someone saying that shotguns are okay because the projectiles only go 40 yards. Sometimes its good to keep the uneducated ignorant.
 
Sabot slugs only. In my case Remington Copper Solids thru my Browning Gold 12ga. Topped with a Nikon Slug Hunter scope I can reach past 150yds with amazing acuracy (although I would be hard pressed to shoot a slug over 100yds)
 
These buckshot /slug threads can be counted on to appear every year.
Dont want to use buckshot? Then dont.
Never hunt with anyone who uses buck? Fine.
Whats next? Oh, lets make it illegal because you dont like it.
A 16 isnt enough on a deer and a 12 is needed? LOL.
Plenty of deer die and are not recovered during bow season. Should we make that illegal also?

Maybe we should call this the FUDD forum instead.
 
I will put in the buckshot if i'm pushing through the thick stuff, then switch back to a slug when i'm out. Only had to use it once. Put all 13 ooobuck pellets in the kill zone at 16 yards, almost ripped her in half. Dropped in her tracks, that's the way i like it. It's getting hard to find though.
 
Plural of Mongoose said:
A 16 isnt enough on a deer and a 12 is needed? LOL.
Click to expand...

Thats not what I said Plural. I said " I will only use a 12" because of what I have seen. I never said no one else should.

Buckshot has its uses when used properly. Hunting where you do you know this as well as anyone. Where I live in western mass it is different, mostly hardwoods and many yahoos blast away the entire contents of their gun at deer 50-80 yards away expecting it to magically drop them in their tracks.

But then again you have also experienced what a stray pellet feels like so if anyone was against it it would be you, and the fact you are not speaks volumes that it does have uses.
 
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My Ithaca 37 shoots a 3" group with open sights using Federal Classic slugs at 75 yds. They are becoming hard to find so when I do find them I stock up. Have killed alot of deer with these slugs so thats all I shoot!
 
Well, my Sears Roebuck bolt action 12 guage will put all 9 pellets in a 00 buck shell inside of a 1" circle at 500 meters! It's a tactical sniper version, issued only to elite units during the Vietnam war. It was originally intended for taking out Charlie at 1000 meters with 000 buck, but realistically, it's only good for about 800 meters, and then the pellets will open up to about 4 inches.
 
after doing a lot of reading up on this (it's my first deer hunting season), I'm going to try 3" Remington Premier Accutip bonded Sabot Slugs. http://remington.com/products/ammunition/shotshells/slugs/premier-accutip-bonded-sabot-slug.aspx

They seem to have the best ballistics (1900 fps, 385 grain) and reports of good accuracy out to 150 - 200 yards. I want to make sure I hit what I'm aiming at, and it dies quickly. They might be a little more expensive on a per-shell basis, but I'm only planning to use a couple of 'em. I'm using a Remington 870 with 20" rifled slug barrel.


On a related subject - I'm researching shotgun scopes. Best value in a shotgun scope? Bushnell XLT Trophy? Is it better to save for a Leupold or Nikon??
 
I don't think buckshot should be illegal I'm just surprised its not here. I've never been in a situation where it would be advantageous over a slug or a sabot, but then again I've never lived in a state where deer hunting was shotgun only. Easy fix make center fire rifles legal [smile]
 
StevieP said:
after doing a lot of reading up on this (it's my first deer hunting season), I'm going to try 3" Remington Premier Accutip bonded Sabot Slugs. http://remington.com/products/ammunition/shotshells/slugs/premier-accutip-bonded-sabot-slug.aspx

They seem to have the best ballistics (1900 fps, 385 grain) and reports of good accuracy out to 150 - 200 yards. I want to make sure I hit what I'm aiming at, and it dies quickly. They might be a little more expensive on a per-shell basis, but I'm only planning to use a couple of 'em. I'm using a Remington 870 with 20" rifled slug barrel.


On a related subject - I'm researching shotgun scopes. Best value in a shotgun scope? Bushnell XLT Trophy? Is it better to save for a Leupold or Nikon??
Click to expand...

Reading aint gonna do it. The only way to find out what slug you should be using is to buy several different brands and shoot them till you find one that groups well out of your gun. Slug guns are funny and can be very finicky when it comes to what they like to eat. All sabot rounds will cost you 15 to 20 bucks a box of 5.

I dont know much about the remingtons other than they are significantly smaller than many other slugs at only 8 tenths of an ounce. I shoot 3" Lightfield Commanders, at 1800 fps, shooting a 1 1/16 ounce slug. Super accurate out of my gun I get less than 3 inch groups at 125 yards. They carry over 1200 ft/bs of energy out to 150 yards. Lightfield is the leader in long range slug technology.
 
As long as you know what's beyond the target then use whatever Ýou want. Crawling through and firing into thickets is not something I would find enjoyable. Good way to shoot unintended target. Ymmv.
 
StevieP said:
On a related subject - I'm researching shotgun scopes. Best value in a shotgun scope? Bushnell XLT Trophy? Is it better to save for a Leupold or Nikon??
Click to expand...

For less than $150, Nikon Prostaff Shotgun Hunter Scope 2-7 x 32. I've got a few non-high end scopes (Simmons, Bushnell, Nikon), and I find the Nikon to offer the best light transmission in low light.
 
All of the scopes out there now are pretty good for cheap $$! Unless you are going to be shooting a spring air rifle or something like 416 Rigby then you should be good to go.

I use to be an optics snob, but use/own many scopes now. The Bushnell Trophy series is a solid line for reasonable $. I would never shell out the big $ now for top end scopes now. Unless you are shooting 1000+ yds and need all that stuff it just seems a bit over the top. Heck all cheap scopes have some kind of coating and they are pretty impressive compared to std scopes from the 70s IMHO.

So you can pocket the $ and buy more ammo or another toy that goes bang, LOL.

I got some Bass Pro Shops Redhead line of 1"diameter 3x9 scope w/ rings for $30 to throw on an 22 and scope is nice enough I'm going to try it on my slug gun!

Funny, now that I am older I am leaning towards just using iron sights. They work great, but many folks never try them out.

YMMV
 
I shoot Remington Sluggers out of my Winchester pump and they group well out to 75 yards and thats all I need for the deer hunting I do. My dad has a Mossberg 500 with a rifled barrel and he does very well with the Hornady SST's but damn that rifled barrel adds some weight.

As others have said Stevie P you need to run some different slugs down the barrel to see what that gun likes. I recommend that you do it soon before the ranges start to get crowded. I need to get there myself and finish working up my black powder load and fine tune the new sights.

Bob
 
I am upgrading to a 12ga because of the lack of ammo options for the 16ga. not its ability to kill a deer. I want to extend my range past what I feel comfortable shooting with a 2 3/4" 16ga shell. I am going with the 12 and not 20 because I intend on using it for duck hunting as well.

I was simply making a point that for the most part zones 9 and up have a lot of hunters and the buckshot seems to be dangerous for how far it can travel.

Yes plenty of deer are not recovered during bow season however being that I butcher my own deer I have seen first hand the amount of animals hit with it that are not killed thus noticing how ineffective it can be.

I think someone may have had their panties in a wad when they responded. Forgive me for asking for peoples opinions. There is no need for bashing them.
 
As far as scopes go, I found the new Redfield 2-7x32 to be a great value. It's very clear, has a life time warranty, and holds a zero perfectly on my 12ga.
 

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