Buckshot for deer?

[Larry]

I know some people that live down south and they use it when running deer with dogs but the shots are for the most part 50yds or less it works good for them. you pattern like you would for turkeys. I wouldn't use it.

Edited October 23, 2014 by Larry

[Grizz1219]

Should be illegal to use... The spray and pray method of deer hunting is dangerous... I was almost hit by two pellets of that crap... I won't hunt with people using it..

[phade]

Should be illegal to use... The spray and pray method of deer hunting is dangerous... I was almost hit by two pellets of that crap... I won't hunt with people using it..

Juat as dangerous as the slobs that lob fosters or sabots or any other projectiles. Spray and pray at 40 or lobbing one skylined 150 yds out. Thats the pot calling kettle black.

[DirtTime]

Juat as dangerous as the slobs that lob fosters or sabots or any other projectiles. Spray and pray at 40 or lobbing one skylined 150 yds out. Thats the pot calling kettle black.

 

 

I can only laugh at this one. This actually just another reason to not allow it! If some d/a who doesn't take the time to site a shotgun or rifle just spits out rounds, not caring where they go, then allowing them to use a shot-shell with a few lead balls inside will never bother to sight in. "It's just like bird-shot, point and shoot! Yeee haw!"........................

[Five Seasons]

Sounds like a typical guy from NJ who is full of sh!t. Nobody kills deer at 200 yards with buckshot

[Mr VJP]

Having idiots in the woods is an issue with any type of weapon or projectile.  That doesn't justify making something illegal if it can be used properly by the majority of hunters who use it.

 

Buckshot happens to be the most recommended round for a shotgun used for defensive purposes.  Why is that if it isn't effective?

 

If idiots could cause things to be illegal, hunting would be illegal too.  Be careful when you wish something was illegal.  Something you like may be the next target for a ban.

 

[Mr VJP]

Sounds like a typical guy from NJ who is full of sh!t. Nobody kills deer at 200 yards with buckshot

 

I doubt it's possible as well.  However, nobody, never and always are words that should be eliminated from the English language.  BTW, the stereo-typical guy from NJ usually moved there from Staten Island or Brooklyn.  I'd have to say I've met many more guys from NY that are full of sh!t.

Edited October 24, 2014 by Mr VJP

[DirtTime]

First off, this was what we in the world of owning and running a forum call a "baited thread". Something to just kick people in the pants to see who they can rile up. The original poster hasn't even commented since he made the thread.

 

 

 

Having idiots in the woods is an issue with any type of weapon or projectile.  That doesn't justify making something illegal if it can be used properly by the majority of hunters who use it.

 

Buckshot happens to be the most recommended round for a shotgun used for defensive purposes.  Why is that if it isn't effective?

 

If idiots could cause things to be illegal, hunting would be illegal too.  Be careful when you wish something was illegal.  Something you like may be the next target for a ban.

 

Now, onto this!

Who said make it illegal? Sure wasn't me! Don't get things twisted, and un-bunch those panties! Just because it's recommended for law enforcement to kill people at 20 feet, does NOT make it really a good option for deer! So ease up dude. The OP asked a question which would get varied and heated results.

We all have an opinion, doesn't make us right or wrong.

[Grizz1219]

Yeah. Nice try. Buckshot users spend no time at the range. At least slug shooters practice. U try having 2 pellets of that crap hit at your feet and above your head into a tree and then tell me u like it. Feel free. U have nothing on me.

[PREDATE]

Buckshot happens to be the most recommended round for a shotgun used for defensive purposes. Why is that if it isn't effective?

This is true, but I would just like to clarify that not just any buckshot is recommended for (home defense). Walls are relatively thin and most buckshot larger than #3 will pass through most walls and possibly endangering innocents. Both my bedside 12's are chock fulla #4

[Grizz1219]

#4's are the best. Wont go through walls.

[DirtTime]

Sorry if I got a bit out of line here. But, like Grizz and I mentioned. Using slugs should make you take your butt to the range and at minimum, sight in. Just spraying shot at ground level, I just don't like the thought of it.

[phade]

Yeah. Nice try. Buckshot users spend no time at the range. At least slug shooters practice. U try having 2 pellets of that crap hit at your feet and above your head into a tree and then tell me u like it. Feel free. U have nothing on me.

Right. You know that hunters using buckshot dont sight in their guns? If someone doesnt sight in their gun, I have a surprise for you...it aint the gun or the projectile that is the problem. Its the hunter.

I have a secret for you, those idiots shooting remington sluggers at 150-200 yds after only sighting in at 50 and doing a SWAG holdover are crazy and should be burned at the stake. That foster that zipped by my head was just as dangerous as your story of two buckshot pellets. Youre letting fear and emotion rule over logic.

Edited October 24, 2014 by phade

[Larry]

I'm not saying we should make buck shot legal for deer but when used properly buck shot can be very affective on deer. Like anything else when not properly used its not going to work very good. You can't say that people who use buck shot don't use the range to sight in.

[Grizz1219]

Logic??? Show me logic in spray and pray. Feel free. Ull give u 5 percent use Buckshot but tell me the other 95 are safe and u are kidding yourself.

[Pygmy]

There must some data out there. Do areas where buckshot is required or commonly used have higher hunting accident rates than areas where it is illegal ?

I remember the wailing, rending of hair and gnashing of teeth here in Steuben County a few years ago when rifles were first allowed after years of shotgun (slug) hunting.

Somehow those dozens of rifle related hunting accidents that many predicted never happened.

I suspect that a safe hunter will be a safe hunter regardless of the implement, and of course, a moron will be a moron.

[Doc]

Interesting discussion. My take on it is that scattershot is generally for jump hunting as in rabbits and birds. The thing being that a pattern of lethal projectiles is generally thought to be more effective on running game. I have to wonder if that same mentality applies when deer hunters use buckshot. Does it promote jump-shooting deer? Is the mentality aimed more toward putting a pattern of lead generally in the direction of a fleeing deer as in rabbits, and hoping something falls down? Do those that use buckshot really take carefully selected, accurately placed shots, where the background is scrutinized, and all safety rules observed, or is it just an instantaneous instinctive process of seeing a deer get up and unloading a pile of lead at it?

 

I don't know, I'm just asking. But if any of this is the case, then I will say that there may very well be some weapons that promote unsafe shooting more than others. No it is not the weapon, but it may very well be the mentality that some weapons foster.

[Larry]

I don't know how you can say shooting at a deer with buck shot is spaying and praying. I don't know if you ever have been on a deer drive or not. But its been used for decades up in the ADK and I don't think those guys are spaying and praying. Using buck shot may be safer then using a slug that may carry up to a mile or  a 30-06 that could travel up to 4.5 miles. Buck shot only travels a few hundred yards.

[phade]

Logic??? Show me logic in spray and pray. Feel free. Ull give u 5 percent use Buckshot but tell me the other 95 are safe and u are kidding yourself.

 

You seemed insistant that spray and pray is buckshot only...apparently you've never seen slug-only hunters fall into that category?

 

Again, it goes back to the hunter. A safe hunter is a safe hunter. You nearly fell victim to the hunter's bad decision, not the buckshot itself.

[jjb4900]

is there really much difference in the safety aspect of jump shooting or shooting at running deer with buckshot then there is jump shooting and shooting at moving game with any other type of shotgun ammo (except slugs)?........not really.

[phade]

is there really much difference in the safety aspect of jump shooting or shooting at running deer with buckshot then there is jump shooting and shooting at moving game with any other type of shotgun ammo (except slugs)?........not really.

 

I think you could and should include slugs in that weapon. Its six in one and half dozen in the other. One single projectile running for a mile vs. a handful running for a couple hundred yards. Both are equally dangerous in my mind. The common denominator is the hunter pulling the trigger.

[jjb4900]

I think you could and should include slugs in that weapon. Its six in one and half dozen in the other. One single projectile running for a mile vs. a handful running for a couple hundred yards. Both are equally dangerous in my mind. The common denominator is the hunter pulling the trigger.

I decided to omit slugs from my comment due to the fact that the topic is about buckshot......obviously if you start slinging slugs around at running deer the whole game changes.

[Uncle Nicky]

Yeah. Nice try. Buckshot users spend no time at the range. At least slug shooters practice. U try having 2 pellets of that crap hit at your feet and above your head into a tree and then tell me u like it. Feel free. U have nothing on me.

 

Been there, done that. But I don't blame the buckshot, so much as I blame the former hunting pals I was with. All deer drives come with a degree of danger, which is why I try to steer clear most of the time.

[phade]

Been there, done that. But I don't blame the buckshot, so much as I blame the former hunting pals I was with. All deer drives come with a degree of danger, which is why I try to steer clear most of the time.

 

So does climbing a tree or dragging a deer out (heart attack)...it's all relative.

[Two Track]

until I moved to NY, I always had mixed load of 00 buck and slugs out deer hunting.  Most accidents I heard of were by idiots/unsafe hunters - did not matter if they had slugs only or were using buckshot.  They were mistaken targets: someone wearing brown without any orange, farmer's brown cow, etc.  Or they were shooting into/through brush they could not see through because they just knew a deer was there.

 

My dad knows at least two farmers who use bright orange paint to label their cows as COW on both side of their body in large letters.  Even their Holstein dairy cows.

 

You just need a more substantial backstop for a slug.  If shooting a deer on the move, more care is needed to make sure there is good backstop for the shot and no one is down-range from you.  In my family, if the shot will be a skyline one, the deer gets a pass. We prefer to take a shot from an elevated position or towards an enbankment/slope so we know it goes into the ground.  Whether it be slugs or buckshot (which is legal where my parents live).

 

Edited October 24, 2014 by Two Track