have any of you ever used buckshot on a buck or hog? Often when scouting in the woods before deer season I bring along a shotgun loaded with federal premium 3inch 00 buckshot. I have often wandered how buckshot would do on a deer or hog with a broad side shot. I have taken 2 hogs with buck shot targets of oprotuntiy very close range and they where head and neck shots. If you have taken deer or hog with buckshot how well did it work. I have hurd that the buckshot messes up a lot of meat!

Buckshot and deer seem to be a Southern tradition..guess we can extend that to hogs as well.

It's about the pattern more than the buckshot size...a nice, tight, even patter and it makes little difference if it's "0", "00" or "000" (and some folks swear by #1 buck). Want to b able to place all (or nearly all) of the pattern on a dinner plate; which limits rang to a lot shorter than most folks think (if you find the right load and choke combination, that range might be 30-35yards...but 20-25 is more common).

Didn't notice it ruining a whole lot of meat, going to be multiple pellet-paths and some bloodshot meat, but the pellets aren't going fast enough to really rip-n-tear massive chunks.

NJ is a shotgun only state.

so when it comes to hunting, it's slugs or buckshot.
BUT...if you wish to use slugs, you must have iron sights or a scope.

Before I gave up on deer in NJ, I hunted predominantly with a Browning BPS field, full choke installed, with 00 or 000 buck.
I took two with the buckshot [00] and pretty much buggered the deer's right side on one deer, as it was on the run when the shot hit.
The other was a prting shot, which only connected with 3 shot, but all in the chest cavity, and he was dead in about 500 yards of running.

That's when I built a slug gun out a an old 20 ga. mossberg bolt action, and had a smith install a set of Williams sights on her.



She works well, but my days of NJ deer are over. Probably try to sell it off this fall.

__________________
Chris in NH.

"some days, I wish my dogs could talk"