00 Buckshot Who Actually Hunts With It In NC/SC?

NCFubar

NCFubar

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A local LGS has a waiting list for 00 Buck but we starting talking about who actually hunts deer with 00 buck ... slugs sure but buck shot? Outside of maybe half dozen “shotgun only” states which are in the NE during gun season rifles rule. In my 30+ years hunting I can only remember 3 or 4 deer I took with 00 Buck and that was because it was a club cull hunt and the property did not allow rifles.

All the 00 Buck being sold in the Carolinas now seems to be bought for HD and training (as well as hoarded) ... or am I missing somethin?
 
I have. Don't anymore much. With the right load and within the effective range of your pattern it can be quite effective.

Problem is many hunters suck at estimating range. And many other suck at shooting TBH..

So you end up killing deer with healed shotgun wounds and pellets embedded.
 
I have used it quite effectively when hunting with dogs. The effective range is not very far, and you need to pattern your shotgun. My favorite deer shotgun, an Auto5 Browning, really likes #4 buck and does fairly well with 00. It does not like #1 or 000. I imagine most sales are for home defense.
 
When I hunt with a shotgun, it's number one buck. Family has a shotgun that would be damaged with anything larger. Older gun with a polychoke machined onto it. Screw that puppy down and it will group #1 buck like you won't believe.
No 00 where that gun lives.
CF
 
I hunted deer for many years with buckshot. We ran dogs on drives and everyone had to use buckshot. Slugs and rifles would be too dangerous. I used 3" Magnum 00 Buck for years with a Browning A5 Magnum mainly because the 00 Buck patterned the best. When it was stolen I went to a Remington 1100 Magnum and switched to 000 Buck again because it patterned the best. Killed many deer with buckshot. Very accurate and deadly out to 50-60 yards with a gun that throws a good pattern and I've seen them killed in the 100 yard range. Usually at that range only a few of the shot actually hit the deer in the vital area
 
Not 00 but #1 out of a 16ga, works really well actually. I don't do it often but there are a couple of close quarters stands that I use where a shotgun makes more sense, or a bow.
 
Tried 00 once. Well placed shot on a slow walking deer at 30 yards. Never found a drop of blood or the deer. In all fairness it was with a short barrel Rem 870 police magnum. (Factory improved cylinder choke) My stash is now for HD and I use move efficient means of dispatching dinner
 
My BIL shot a 10 pt. buck. When we skun him out we found nine scars in about a 6" circle right behind the shoulder where it should have been. That indicates <30 yards. We found no damage on the inside of the rib cage. Shot placement was excellent, pattern size indicates well within recommended range, but that buck survived until he walked by someone using slugs.
 
I grew up hunting with shotguns. The only thing I hunted with a rifle was squirrel (with a .22).

Times changed and so did I, though. And honestly, I enjoyed deer hunting with my .243 a lot more.
 
I still have a stand or two (well up till this year, haven’t had time to prep this year) that are “shotgun stands” ie close brush where a rifle would pass through and through without expanding. So they get buckshot. I’ve never not found one I’ve shot from a stand.
 
agree with the above:

1. "Not 00 but #1 out of a 16ga, works really well actually. "
2. "And honestly, I enjoyed deer hunting with my .243 a lot more."
 
I've patterned guns to 50 yd with effective 00 patterns. TX Hog guide says it's his favorite.
Federal flight control is wildly tight with IC to LM chokes in my 870 and M2
 
I cant help but believe alot of it around here goes to hunting, just due to conversations and questions regarding specific loads people are looking for..... ALOT of " Im in alot of brush, so I want those 000 buck for penetration" or "The copper plated ones melt through hide!"

But Im betting a great deal of it right now is just people hoarding, or stocking up..... just had waaaay to many come in asking for WHATEVER buck shot we have.... with no preference whatsoever.
 
I’ve probably killed 60 deer with 00...... I head shoot deer, because I like to cook and eat, just don’t like cooking and eating lead. I’ve never busted an antler with 00, despite head shooting 20+ bucks, nor have I ever had to track a deer I’ve shot in the face..... with a 20ga sxs, not 12ga. I usually take a rifle, but I don’t hesitate to go into the woods with 00 either. That said, I use about 4 rounds of 00 per year.
 
Never had a deer take a single step after taking buckshot to the head, can you say that about a rifle shot? If it’s cruel, you’re doing it wrong.
 
Joem said:
Never had a deer take a single step after taking buckshot to the head, can you say that about a rifle shot? If it’s cruel, you’re doing it wrong.
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For every one you shoot in the head, there are several more that hunch up and run away never to be found. Plenty of morons in the woods or should I say bushes.
 
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Joem said:
I’ve probably killed 60 deer with 00...... I head shoot deer, because I like to cook and eat, just don’t like cooking and eating lead. I’ve never busted an antler with 00, despite head shooting 20+ bucks, nor have I ever had to track a deer I’ve shot in the face..... with a 20ga sxs, not 12ga. I usually take a rifle, but I don’t hesitate to go into the woods with 00 either. That said, I use about 4 rounds of 00 per year.
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Where do you get 00 in 20 gauge? I did not know anyone made it. How many pellets does it have?
 
Schattenreiter said:
Just a quick question. How many of you who think buckshot is not used hunting actually hunt???????
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Thank you for asking that question. I the 70’s and 80’s our club averaged killing around 50 deer a year. All with buckshot and we almost never lost a wounded deer. Some had to be tracked but I’ve had to track them hit perfectly with a 30-06 too.
 
As stated above, 25 years ago, in rural counties, nearly everyone who deer hunted used a shotgun because mose deer hunting was done with dogs. That started changing in the 90s in my area as more money came to the larger cities and people began leasing land and still hunting became more popular due to all the TV programs. As this transition occurred, there were less people hunting with dogs, therefore, less people using shotguns. The current situation is being caused by the public fear and has nothing to do with hunting. The hunters are the one's complaining the most about not being able to find buckshot. Most of us out here in the sticks could care less about what is going on in the cities so we don't follow the news very much, ergo, many had no clue until they went to WalMart and found nothing.
 
rdinatal said:
Is this like 'jumbo shrimp'? Seems that a perfect hit is DRT.
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Nothing, I repeat nothing is perfect. I have shot many with a rifle, a shotgun, a bow and a pistol. I have seen DRT shots from rifle and shotgun as well as pistol Even had at least one with a bow that fell in its tracks. I have seen deer killed with a single shotgun pellet in them and also seen them carry a load a mile or more before dropping. I have had hits with a rifle that turned the deer upside down only to have them get up and run off. I shot one once with a black powder rifle at 75 yards that showed no signs of even being hit. That one walked out of the field I shot it in and came right past my stand while I was trying to reload. Walked 20 yards passed me and fell dead just inside the tree line. The only weapon I have never had one walk away from is my pistol. Every deer I ever shot with it was DRT. Shot them directly under my stand in the woods and as far out as 50-60 yards.

Hunting is a bit like fishing. If you ain't get hung once in a while you ain't fishin.
 
rdinatal said:
Is this like 'jumbo shrimp'? Seems that a perfect hit is DRT.
Click to expand...
I am not sure what you consider to be a perfect hit. I had a deer shot straight through the heart (yes, the heart had a big hole through it when we dressed the deer) run about 300 yards before it fell. I have had many deer run off into the woods with double lung shots. Usually they fall within 100 yards. I have never been a great fan of head or neck shots unless I am real close because of the size of the lethal target and the very real chance of a hit in a nonvital area. The head or neck shots do put out their lights very quickly if you are either lucky or very very good at hitting a small target that is fairly well hidden. A shoulder shot is great since you can break the bones and put the deer on the ground quickly. It does, however, ruin a bit of meat. I did have a nice little 6 point buck take a hit that broke both shoulders and still skooted along on his chest into the woods for about 20 yards. A spine shot will put a deer down very quickly but is another risky shot. I had a doe walk under my stand several years ago that had been shot a little high and had a chunk missing from just above the spine. An inch lower would have been quickly fatal. That deer had been shot by my nephew during muzzle loading season. It was, in fact, the only deer from the 60+ at which he had shot that was not recovered quickly. He is a cool and disciplined shot who had never missed a shot at a deer and had only wounded this one.
 
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