Slugs And Buckshot: Comparison and Recoil?

[wisconsinshotty]

After My Cross-Country Practice, I decided to go to the nearest Farm And Fleet store. After picking up 50 pounds of whole corn for the upcoming rabbit season, I decided to test some ammunition for the upcoming Shotgun Deer season. I bought 12 gauge 2 3/4 inch Rifled Slugs and 12 gauge 3 inch 00 buckshot. I am curious to know what is better for a great sized deer, what will be a better accurate shot, and what recoil is worse. Is there anydifference between th recoil of regular shot or is it harder?

Thanks and God Bless.

[joel the signman]

they both kick pretty hard.i would use the slugs for deer hunting .they will drop the deer cleanly the buckshot you got to pick out shot might take more than one.save thebuckshot for home defense.Im sure some southerners might disagree

[wisconsinshotty]

thank you....so stick to slugs??

[rockman57]

I agree to disagree hehehe j/k
Southerner<-----------
I think there are several factors for you to concider before making your choice.One would be your gun.Is it a slug gun with a rifled barrel?If so I would definately use the slugs.If not you may want to try both through the gun on targets placed in the ranges you expect to be seeing your deer.Personally I have taken many deer with buckshot and nary a one with a slug but I know Joel has taken many with the slugs and maybe none with buckshot. One idea I'd concider would be put a slug in the barrel and buckshot in the magazine in case a running follow up is needed.Hope this didn't mess ya up.
Good Luck,
Rock

[joel the signman]

i knew you southerners would disagree

[wisconsinshotty]

well im torn...i could just do a half and half combo in my guns magazine!!

[RMc]

Originally Posted by joel the signman

i knew you southerners would disagree

Reply from LA (Lower Alabama):

Some of us use bigger buckshot than others!

See: http://www.deerhuntersclub.com/forums/shotgun-hunting/559-biggest-buckshot.html

[joel the signman]

Its all good as they say in the hood

[Dixie Slugs]

I really think that most shooter/hunter do no realize the number of buckshot hunters in the Soutern tier of States.
You will hear little about them or about buckshot in the rag writers! Having spent my entire adult life working for the gun and ammo companies, I saw the amount of buckshot sales and inventories.
While buckshot loads have been improved some....there is still a great deal of improvement to be done. The major problem with today's buckshot is it is too soft....that's why the buffer is there!
Specialized loads can be put together by experienced reloaders using good buckshot (Hornady & Ballistic Products) that have been heat treated.....one hour at 450 degress and water quenched. This reduces deformation and makes for more penetration and bone busting.
Another trick is to load #00 in stacks of two, rather than stacks of three! This allows tigher chokes to come into play!
As for Foster slugs......sad but true...they run too soft and lead the barrel bad.
It amazes me to see the hunter/shooter looking to buy the cheapest ammo. You get what you pay for! Ammo is still a small part of the overall cost of hunting! Buy the best you can find!
Recoil.....slugs and buckshot recoil about the same as heavy turkey and waterfowl loads.
If you are going to shoot slugs, by all means put some sights on your gun! Tru-Glo has some great products!
Regards, James

[ARhunter51]

Im new on here, so this is my first post ever. But anyways, I am a fan of the slug. I killed my first deer with a slug out of a 4-10. An eight point, and it dropped instantly. that was when I was about 8 though. Although I say I prefer the slug, I did fill my doe tag with a buckshot last yr. also the doe dropped instantly. That was from about 40 yrds. so I think you go with what you prefer.