Shotgun deer hunting

[wildcat junkie]

11 hours ago, wolc123 said:

   Muzzleloaders are legal here, but have the major drawback of no quick followup shot.  

If you don't have time to make the 1st shot count, how will you have time for a "follow up shot"?

Of the 50 or more deer I have killed over the last 35 years or so, I have had to shoot 2 a 2nd time. One was after I walked up on him as he was crawling away with a broken back. The other after I clipped the tops of the shoulder blades on a close jump shot. That 2nd deer was shot with a traditional muzzleloader using a patched round ball and real black powder. I was able to reload and put another ball through the back of his head from the same spot where was standing when I made the 1st shot.

When I started hunting deer in Southern Indiana in the late 1970s, I opted for the greater accuracy of muzzleloaders over the shotguns available at that time. Make the 1st shot count and you won't need another.

Edited October 25, 2018 by wildcat junkie

[Culvercreek hunt club]

2 hours ago, chrisw said:

I haven't carried a shotgun for deer since rifles became legal in the southern tier. I always hated slug guns and even now if I'm going where I can't carry a rifle I'm packing my muzzleloader. It amazes me the guys that are still carrying shotguns in the areas I hunt, I honestly don't see a single advantage to hunting with one over a rifle.

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I grew up shotgun hunting. No rifles allowed where I was and hunted. I can see how they beat folks up at the range but I can't honestly say that I remember the recoil of the slug gun while shootign at deer. (or a rifle for that matter).  (not counting the two times I got scope eye...lol) Inside 50-75 yards there is something to be said about the 1 ounce of lead with that diameter hitting a deer. I've taken more deer off their feet immediately with a shotgun than I have with a rifle. This past spring bear hunt I went on in Quebec, the guide actually prefers a 12 ga with slug over a rifle for the hunting. He said he like the hitting power and the bigger hole for blood since they are so fatty. Those bait distances were in the 75 and under range. 

[Culvercreek hunt club]

If I were giving a newbie advice on a new gun  and they were on a tight budget I would have to ask what they really wanted to hunt. If it was purely deer I would probably say rifle. If they also wanted to small game hunt I would have to suggest a shotgun. In both cases I would suggest a used firearm if they were really trying to keep the cost down. Lots of good deals to be had if someone wants to spend a little time and they don't wait until the last minute. 

[wildcat junkie]

2 minutes ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

If I were giving a newbie advice on a new gun  and they were on a tight budget I would have to ask what they really wanted to hunt. If it was purely deer I would probably say rifle. If they also wanted to small game hunt I would have to suggest a shotgun. In both cases I would suggest a used firearm if they were really trying to keep the cost down. Lots of good deals to be had if someone wants to spend a little time and they don't wait until the last minute. 

A pump shotgun with a vent rib and screw in chokes can serve well as a slug gun.

The I/C choke tube and some sights that clamp onto the rib will do a good job with foster or other weight forward type slugs.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

2 minutes ago, wildcat junkie said:

A pump shotgun with a vent rib and screw in chokes can serve well as a slug gun.

The I/C choke tube and some sights that clamp onto the rib will do a good job with foster or other weight forward type slugs.

I probably din't explain that all that well.  I did mean if they wanted to small game hunt in addition to deer hunting I would opt for a shotgun. I have shot way more deer with a shotgun that a rifle just becasue of the amount of time I carried one. I still hunt in a couple areas that don't allow rifle so it gets to go on a walk around at least a weekend a year. 

[wildcat junkie]

8 minutes ago, wildcat junkie said:

A pump shotgun with a vent rib and screw in chokes can serve well as a slug gun.

The I/C choke tube and some sights that clamp onto the rib will do a good job with foster or other weight forward type slugs.

 

4 minutes ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

I probably din't explain that all that well.  I did mean if they wanted to small game hunt in addition to deer hunting I would opt for a shotgun. I have shot way more deer with a shotgun that a rifle just becasue of the amount of time I carried one. I still hunt in a couple areas that don't allow rifle so it gets to go on a walk around at least a weekend a year. 

Well, nothing says you couldn't still hunt small game with an I/C choke and sights on the rib.

Edited October 25, 2018 by wildcat junkie

[Culvercreek hunt club]

1 minute ago, wildcat junkie said:

 

Well, nothing says you couldn't still hunt small game with an I/C choke and sights on the rib.

I'm with ya. I think we are in the same mindset on this. 

[moog5050]

A few years ago a friend of mine started deer hunting.  Firs thing he did was buy a 30-06.   After 1st season he sold it in favor of a slug gun realizing many of the areas around here are shotgun only.  Slug gun can be used in both but not vice versa.    

[grampy]

My first shotgun was an Ithaca Model 37 in 16g. Purchased in 1970 with money made working after school and weekends. Killed just about anything running, or flying on the farm with it. And a pile of deer too, with the old remington foster slugs. Still try to get the old girl out for rabbits or tree rats once a year. If guns could talk, that one would have a lot of stories to tell.

[Hunter007]

1 hour ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

Is a shotgun really cheaper? If you take the versatility of loads out of the equation because let’s face it 90% of deer hunters don’t hunt small game. A shotguns really not cheaper excluding the cheap Chinese clones that I wouldn’t consider owning or recommending to anyone starting out.



This is a scoped rifle package ready to hunt by it and a box of ammo and you’re ready to hunt after a few rounds at the range.



Here’s the same shotgun as what’s in the video, slightly more money than the scoped rifle package but this is with no scope and just a bead sight. Not saying deer can’t be killed with it but I would venture a guess to say a new hunter has a much higher success rate with that scoped rifle than they do a shotty with just a bead. Not only that what is a cheap box of slugs cost these days 6$ a box for 5 sheds 1.20$ a shell.

You can always find Winchester white box or core-lokts for 15-16 bucks, .80$ a round

Insignificant for the average guy that only shoots 5 rounds a year but if we’re talking cheap that’s a dollar savings every year.

So for less money, less recoil, better range, better accuracy, easier shooting someone can spend less money and have a scoped rifle instead of a shotgun.

Sounds like a no brainer to me!


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This  is true but many people just starting to get into guns and hunting with not much money ,   may want a do all gun something for home defense small game big  game   try some trap or skeet shooting. 

Or just have a hand me down shotgun  from a family member to use . Not to mention depending where you live there are more places open to shotguns then rifles . 

There are a few places I hunt even though the zone now allows it still only allow shotguns, For example .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 25, 2018 by Storm914

[wolc123]

10 hours ago, wildcat junkie said:

If you don't have time to make the 1st shot count, how will you have time for a "follow up shot"?

Of the 50 or more deer I have killed over the last 35 years or so, I have had to shoot 2 a 2nd time. One was after I walked up on him as he was crawling away with a broken back. The other after I clipped the tops of the shoulder blades on a close jump shot. That 2nd deer was shot with a traditional muzzleloader using a patched round ball and real black powder. I was able to reload and put another ball through the back of his head from the same spot where was standing when I made the 1st shot.

When I started hunting deer in Southern Indiana in the late 1970s, I opted for the greater accuracy of muzzleloaders over the shotguns available at that time. Make the 1st shot count and you won't need another.

I agree on the importance of making the first shot count.  The problem is,  I am not perfect, and having that quick second and third shot is cheap insurance to cover mistakes (like the unseen branch that caught my first bullet aimed at my bggest Adirondack buck in 2014).   "Doubles" are another big bonus of those extra shots.  Three or four button bucks were able to join their mothers in "deer heaven" (my family's food supply), thanks to my having more than one shot quickly available.  Shoulder blade shots on the big doe are wonderful for that.  It is not just fawns.  One time, two bucks showed up on trail of a doe I had killed with my muzzleloader, quicker than it would have taken me to reload it.   Fortunately, I didn't have to because I had my pump shotgun up in the stand for backup.   That "double" would not have happened, if I was limited to just the muzzleloader.   

With a tally a bit higher, over 35 seasons of my own, there has been a few more that I shot a second time, some of which were not necessary, but it always bothers me to see an animal suffer.    I would rather use an extra bullet and wreck some meat than have to watch that any longer than I need to, or risk it escaping.   

     

Edited October 25, 2018 by wolc123

[wolc123]

9 hours ago, grampy said:

My first shotgun was an Ithaca Model 37 in 16g. Purchased in 1970 with money made working after school and weekends. Killed just about anything running, or flying on the farm with it. And a pile of deer too, with the old remington foster slugs. Still try to get the old girl out for rabbits or tree rats once a year. If guns could talk, that one would have a lot of stories to tell.

That was my first gun also.  It has got the job done on deer every time with the "deerslayer" barrel, since I put a Weaver 1X scope on the receiver.  Buck fever probably caused my first and only lost deer with it, with the open sites, when I was 16 years old.   The modified barrel failed miserably on grouse however, never even managing to knock a feather off one.   It has been more than 30 years since I had that barrel on it.  I last killed a buck with it in 2012, and usually hunt deer with it a time or two each year, just for old times sake.  

Edited October 25, 2018 by wolc123

[Bigfoot 327]

10 hours ago, wildcat junkie said:

If you don't have time to make the 1st shot count, how will you have time for a "follow up shot"?

Of the 50 or more deer I have killed over the last 35 years or so, I have had to shoot 2 a 2nd time. One was after I walked up on him as he was crawling away with a broken back. The other after I clipped the tops of the shoulder blades on a close jump shot. That 2nd deer was shot with a traditional muzzleloader using a patched round ball and real black powder. I was able to reload and put another ball through the back of his head from the same spot where was standing when I made the 1st shot.

When I started hunting deer in Southern Indiana in the late 1970s, I opted for the greater accuracy of muzzleloaders over the shotguns available at that time. Make the 1st shot count and you won't need another.

I most instances I would agree that with "Make the first shot count and you won't need another", however I can remember at least one time when that really wasn't the case.

Friend bought a ML and was itching to get a deer with it. We put on a drive through a postage stamp piece of woods right behind a neighbors house. (Standers were a proper and safe distance from the house). Friend was on stand near a barn watching an open field. Drive worked far better than most.....A large doe exited the patch of woods and went straight to the friend who drilled it with the ML from 15 yards. He looked up after shooting to see the buck of a lifetime -a 180-200 class B+C buck bearing down on him! The buck came to an abrupt stop at 20 yards, briefly leered at the friend fumbling to reload, and left for parts unknown like it had been shot out of a cannon. We never saw the buck again nor did we ever hear of it being harvested.

Friend gave the ML to one of his sons and he never hunted with one again.

[wolc123]

1 hour ago, Bigfoot 327 said:

I most instances I would agree that with "Make the first shot count and you won't need another", however I can remember at least one time when that really wasn't the case.

Friend bought a ML and was itching to get a deer with it. We put on a drive through a postage stamp piece of woods right behind a neighbors house. (Standers were a proper and safe distance from the house). Friend was on stand near a barn watching an open field. Drive worked far better than most.....A large doe exited the patch of woods and went straight to the friend who drilled it with the ML from 15 yards. He looked up after shooting to see the buck of a lifetime -a 180-200 class B+C buck bearing down on him! The buck came to an abrupt stop at 20 yards, briefly leered at the friend fumbling to reload, and left for parts unknown like it had been shot out of a cannon. We never saw the buck again nor did we ever hear of it being harvested.

Friend gave the ML to one of his sons and he never hunted with one again.

Prior to the advent of the rifled shotgun barrel, there was a good excuse to use a ML during gun season.  This example clearly illustrates the futility of doing it now.   If and only if, I was down to my last doe permit and my buck tag was punched, I might do it.  Most likely not though, until I use up the last of my triple 7 pellets and change to Buckhorn 209 powder, because the shotgun is a lot easier to unload and clean.