How far can you possibly drop game with Buckshot?

[freakshow10mm]

Buckshot is legal in MI for deer and bear. I'd limit my shots to 25-30y max with a very dense pattern.

[Tokarev]

Were the old salts talking about the 4 Buck loads the feds used for a long time, along with the military?

Yes. The full-power #4 stuff is what the "old salts" swore by. I talked to several who bemoaned the switch from #4 to 00.

Our current 870 shotguns are 14" barrels with modified choke and will hold a tight pattern out to 35 yards and beyond with Remington reduced recoil 00.

[tpd223]

Shooting at deer with buckshot past 25 yards is a stunt, one that should be avoided.

I know a copper that killed a bad guy at 110 yards with an 870 loaded with OO, but it took him four rounds to get a single pellet on the guy.

[BKS]

I have killed deer with a shotgun with buckshot twice, once with #4 and once with 000 buckshot. The one with #4 was a small deer at about 30 yards, a large amount of the buckshot was found under the skin in the neck area, the one with the 000 was at about 40 yards and was hit with 3 pellets out of 8. All three were complete pass throughs, one in the head and two through the chest.
I would shoot till the animal fell regardless of the buckshot load and would consider 40 yards about maximum with any size.

[Dan Goodwin]

Yes. The full-power #4 stuff is what the "old salts" swore by. I talked to several who bemoaned the switch from #4 to 00.

Our current 870 shotguns are 14" barrels with modified choke and will hold a tight pattern out to 35 yards and beyond with Remington reduced recoil 00.

I know a lot of the terrain along the Rio Grande has thick vegetation and back in the '20s and '30s a nice wide pattern of .24-caliber Blue Whistlers might have been reassuring during the frequent BP firefights.

I'm issued the same SG and load as y'all and would prefer a wider pattern for the things I'm likely to use a shotgun for these days.

If it didn't kick like a mule, the Beretta Xtrema2 with extended tube and loading the 54-pellet 4 Buck 3.5-in. load would be ideal for manhunts in brushy areas. HeviShot 4 Buck or HD 4 Buck would definitely improve penetration.

[Alaskapopo]

The problem with #4 buck is it lacks sufficient penetration to reliably stop threats. Hence its lack of popularity in today's world.
Pat

[Dan Goodwin]

Alaskapopo; I read your stuff and agree with almost all your views. I dig your AO and wish I'd moved there when I got out of college in the '80s. And I are a popo, too.

But we'll have to agree to disagree on 4 Buck. People who regularly kill things other than people swear by it. And people whom I know are the real deal used it to kill fairly small humans in a land far away in the 1960s. Think some BP guys have done well with it a few decades back, too.

This dude is asking about killing deer-sized game in Texas which means relatively scrawny deer in body size.

I also believe if the same shot technology was applied to 4 Buck as has been applied to 00 and 000 we'd see better performance on human critters as well as game.

As it stands now, I keep my personal 870 stoked with WW Supreme 41-pellet 4 Buck for my house and backyard because I believe there is a lot to be said for target saturation. Ten yards is a long shot in my house and I'm pretty sure a fist-sized pattern will usher a bad guy to eternity pretty dang quick.

Stay safe, brother.

[Alaskapopo]

Alaskapopo; I read your stuff and agree with almost all your views. I dig your AO and wish I'd moved there when I got out of college in the '80s. And I are a popo, too.

But we'll have to agree to disagree on 4 Buck. People who regularly kill things other than people swear by it. And people whom I know are the real deal used it to kill fairly small humans in a land far away in the 1960s. Think some BP guys have done well with it a few decades back, too.

This dude is asking about killing deer-sized game in Texas which means relatively scrawny deer in body size.

I also believe if the same shot technology was applied to 4 Buck as has been applied to 00 and 000 we'd see better performance on human critters as well as game.

As it stands now, I keep my personal 870 stoked with WW Supreme 41-pellet 4 Buck for my house and backyard because I believe there is a lot to be said for target saturation. Ten yards is a long shot in my house and I'm pretty sure a fist-sized pattern will usher a bad guy to eternity pretty dang quick.

Stay safe, brother.

No worries its cool to agree to disagree. I have only killed stuff with slugs (bear) and never buck shot so my real experiences is more limited on the subject.
Pat

[Dan Goodwin]

OT, but were the bears you had to shoot on duty and if so, were they cripples that needed euthanizing or problem bears that were getting too nasty?

Brennekes, I presume, and they smashed them?

Only thing I've killed with a Brenneke (KO Sabot)was a big whitetail, hunting, with my tiny Narc shotgun: training and backstraps...can't beat it. Fastest kill with a heart-lung shot in my experience.

[BigTime]

I never shot 00 buck 12ga. over 25yrds,but at 25yrds I know it would do the trick.