# Hunting deer with shotgun



## NaeKid

I found a great video on balistic-testing of a 12-guage shotgun using a deer-slug for hunting. I hadn't thought much of hunting with slugs before, heard about it, but, don't know anyone doing it around here.






The video has taught me much about how the slug would travel through a deer, dropping it on the spot. I would worry a bit about ruined meat though. Can anyone share their real-life experience with hunting with a slug?


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## UncleJoe

The first time my dad took me deer hunting, at 12 years old, it was with a .410 shotgun. Unfortunately we only saw 1 deer that dayand it was hornless.


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## ContinualHarvest

I'd think you'd ruin too much meat using a shot gun (with buckshot). Using a slug is what we have to do in MD in some parts. In an emergency though, anything goes.


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## jadedsoul

When I first started hunting my father made us kids hunt with the 12 ga. Mainly to teach us to be mindful of the area beyond the target. After learning how to shoot and the effective range we were allowed to take it out as our first gun deer hunting. Opening weekend I was in a tree stand on top of a ridge. My first buck walked toward me within 3 hours of arriving. I drew a bead on him and took a shot as he walked toward me, he dropped where I had shot. I waited for my father to come show me how to gut him. Long story short...I hit him in the chest, I ruined the front shoulder, heart, liver, one damaged back strap and part of the hind quarter where the slug had finally stopped. My father did not gut him as I hoped he would but rather talked me through the process. I learned to place my shots better and choose the best possible place to shoot. I also learned you never want to gut a deer that has that much damage to the soft innards such as the guts and intestines. I will never forget that smell for the rest of my life. We did not get much usable meat from that one but was a great learning experience. The next year I shot a doe in the upper neck region and wasted little meat. I know you can use them to hunt deer, but I would consider the range and how well you can place a shot. Weather and wind do affect that type load quite a bit. In a hunting survival situation i would hands down go with a rifle.


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## sailaway

Other than primitive weapons seasons or a neusiance deer permit in Ohio you have to use a shotgun.


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## NaeKid

Good things to know from those who really do know. 

Sail, can you tell me why Ohio has only shotgun hunting for big-game? Could the reason be the maximum distance of the shot-travel?


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## HozayBuck

*It's all about bullet placement, even with a slug from a 12 ga... I have a friend who shoots every deer thru the front shoulders to make sure it drops, wastes a lot of meat but then again he don't ever have to track them...

A slug thru the ribs and thru the heart/lungs will not ruin much if any meat..anymore so then a rifle slug...

Most states have some kind of requirements about type of weapons used around built up areas... never having been to Ohio I'd have to thing it's over populated if they think they need shotgun only laws..

I prefer a rifle..but would hunt with a 12 ga if I had to.. *


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## backlash

I lived on Whidbey Island (north of Seattle) in the 70s and it was shotgun or archery only.
You had to use slugs or 00 buck or larger.
Never shot one but I opted for slugs.
Those things kick bad in my 870.
My 7mm mag could shoot clear across the island in a lot of places so I could see the reason.


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## oldvet

HozayBuck said:


> *It's all about bullet placement, even with a slug from a 12 ga... I have a friend who shoots every deer thru the front shoulders to make sure it drops, wastes a lot of meat but then again he don't ever have to track them...
> 
> A slug thru the ribs and thru the heart/lungs will not ruin much if any meat..anymore so then a rifle slug...
> 
> Most states have some kind of requirements about type of weapons used around built up areas... never having been to Ohio I'd have to thing it's over populated if they think they need shotgun only laws..
> 
> I prefer a rifle..but would hunt with a 12 ga if I had to.. *


Same here HB. My preference is a rifle, but (like you) I will use a shotgun if I have to and think nothing of it. Altho a 12 guage is more effective, a .410 slug is a dandy little Deer getter also.

Papa's (my Grandfather) old L.C. Smith 12 guage was all he ever used for hunting everything from birds to Deer and even Cougars and Bobcats.


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## HozayBuck

oldvet said:


> Same here HB. My preference is a rifle, but (like you) I will use a shotgun if I have to and think nothing of it. Altho a 12 guage is more effective, a .410 slug is a dandy little Deer getter also.
> 
> Papa's (my Grandfather) old L.C. Smith 12 guage was all he ever used for hunting everything from birds to Deer and even Cougars and Bobcats.


I knew an old Sour dough in Alaska who only came into town every 4 to 6 months , he carried an old double 12 ga..slugs for moose, buck for bear and 7 1/2 shot for " Chickens ( Ptarmigan )and rabbits"..I sold him his first gun in 30 or more years, a 22 rifle , said he was tired of biting down on bird shot lol...


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## ContinualHarvest

NaeKid said:


> Good things to know from those who really do know.
> 
> Sail, can you tell me why Ohio has only shotgun hunting for big-game? Could the reason be the maximum distance of the shot-travel?


It must be, it's so flat there!


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## philjam

There are modern shotguns and ammo that approach rifle knockdown power and accuracy. I live on the border between a shotgun only zone, and a rifle zone, so I have both for deer hunting. There are a lot of deer here. 
My rifle is a Remington 760 pump (30-06 caliber.) My shotgun is an H&R 20 gauge single shot rifled barrel. Both of these weapons can drive tacks at 100 yards. The 20 gauge with sabot slugs shoots flat to 150 yds. This rolling hill area where I live and hunt, does not offer a lot of long range shots, plus my age, vision and response time pose limits. 
Both weapons are amazing in their accuracy and energy for my needs.
ps- both weapons are scoped. The rifle has "look under mounts" so the iron sights can be used to acquire a close target


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## sailaway

NaeKid said:


> Good things to know from those who really do know.
> 
> Sail, can you tell me why Ohio has only shotgun hunting for big-game? Could the reason be the maximum distance of the shot-travel?


Naekid, you are correct, it isi shot distance. There is a much higher population density around here. There are some areas you could use high powered but it would be to hard to separate them from other areas.


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## BillM

A shotgun useing a 12 gage slug is accurate out to 100 yards. You should be able to hit a pie plate at 100 yards with a well aimed shot.

Most deer in Ky are shot at an average distance of 40 yards.

As for ruining the meat, you are no more likely to ruin any more meat with a slug than you are with a rifle.

If I was hunting deer for food on a subsistance level , I would likely use buck shot ! You can hit a running deer with buck shot.


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## Jezcruzen

I prefer a rifle. But I was a member of a hunt club for years where much of their leased land was in a county that only allowed shotguns.

I witnessed club members shoot at deer using buckshot at what was impossible ranges. I'm certain some of those deer were wounded and probably suffered a long, painful death because of it.

I stumbled upon a Marlin bolt-action 12 ga. with a fully rifled barrel at Wal-Mart of all places. I bought it. Using Remington Copper Solids, it was hitting with 4" groups out to 100 yds. I killed the first deer using the open sights. I later installed a 4X turkey scope and killed many deer thereafter at ranges my buckshot using club members could never achieve. The longest shot was 165 yds. as stepped off.

My 870 using a screw-in rifled choke tube and the same scope shoots almost as well.


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## eldarbeast

I have a friend who lives in New Jersey and he has hunted with a 12 bore shotgun shooting BRI-Brenneke saboted slugs for many years. He always shoots the deer in the neck and has never had to track one. Meat loss is minimal as the slug doesn't expand very much, but the full energy of this slug is transitioned fully into the deer. Many of the deer taken this way also have a broken neck.

eldar


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## Hbarh

*cut-slugs*

haven't taken a deer with these but have tried them.


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## ContinualHarvest

I was thinking about purchasing a 20 or 16g a. shotgun to hunt deer with. Not sure if I want to deal with the kick of a 12 ga. Plan on using slugs. Would have preferred a rifle and can use one in my county but just about every other county is shotgun only with a mess of legalese and locations on the Eastern Shore that I don't want to deal with.
Gotta love Maryland... I keep thinking about after finishing up college, and heading to WVA.


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## redcat

Here in IL and in IA where I used to live the only legal firearms for deer hunting are muzzle loaders and shotguns. I'd much prefer using a rifle, but I'd have to hunt out of state do so.


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## trebmaster

lower parts of Michigan are shotgun only. i have used a 20ga since i was a kid and it has never failed me. as far as loosing meat, I take head shots and have found it is an effective way to drop a deer. some are scared to ruen the rack by taking a head shot but I have yet to find a good recipy for antler.


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## Ration-AL

Jezcruzen said:


> My 870 using a screw-in rifled choke tube and the same scope shoots almost as well.


hey can you PM me a pic of your 870 with details, i have one as well and have been looking to put a scope on it, i couldn't see a scope would mount without buying the 870 slug barrel with scope pre mounted.


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## Scroggy

I grew up in southern Ohio and we had to use shotguns. Now along the WV border it is all hills and mountains. The rest and majority of Ohio is flat land, and a rifle slug will go a long way. We used to call the shotgun slugs pumpkin balls. Many a hunter had to learn how to follow a blood trail because the deer would keep on running. When I was in my late teens they came out with "sabot" rounds that were much more deadly. 20 gage is the smallest slug I would use. 12 gage is what I would recommend. 16 isn't so common of a size to purchase ammo for here in the states. Oh yes, great forum guys, this is my first post.


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## Jack Aubrey

I've been hunting with traditional muzzle loaders for 20 + years now. I have a 12 gauge, double barrel percussion shotgun I have been hunting deer with since 1998. I use 90 grains of 2f Goex and a patched .715 round ball. It will stop a deer. I have also hunted with my flintlock musket, a .75 calibre( 11 gauge) smooth bore. Not much tracking involved with these guns. Smooth bores will feed the family! JA


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