[Jerry D]

Can anyone put in order the size of pellet/balls ranging from the smallest buckshot to the largest with the SG and SSG sizes in. The reason being I don't know how SG and SSG fit into the scheme of things. I remember a chart a while back but have been unable to find it :scrutiny:

hmm well sure enough as soon as I post I find some info. Correct me if I am wrong. SG = 00 buck and SSG = no.4 buckshot.... well if I recall correctly I once saw a nice buck get shot with SSG. I think about 5 holes were put in the deer's chest, none fully penetrated. The just went into the chest cavity. The deer dropped where it stood. All holes were in about a 5" circle or so... and the deer was shot at about 15 yards - farther might be a different story which is why I guess most people choose 00 buck as a minimum...

[KevinAbbeyTech]

You will find just about everything you ever wanted to know about sizes of shot at this address:

http://www.shotgunworld.com/amm.html

[Sunray]

No buckshot is reliable past 30 yards or so. Spreads out too much and loses too much velocity.
"...none fully penetrated...just went into the chest cavity..." It did if Bambi dropped where he stood. The chest cavity is where any projectile has to go. That's where the heart and lungs are. Sounds like you need to learn a bit about deer anatomy and where to place a shot. This site isn't too bad even though it's an archery forum. A bullet needs to go into the same place as an arrow.
http://www.rubsnscrapes.com/Articles/deer_shot_placement_anatomy.php

[Jerry D]

... sounds like you need to learn a bit about deer anatomy and where to place a shot.

Why do people always try to start ****? I was simply stating my experience with buckshot and I get told I need to learn more...

I said that all 5 holes (so for those that know how many pellets are in a shell they can understand that 5 of ? hit the deer.) were in the chest cavity. Is it not possible that some could have hit farther back in the gut area with a more extreme spread or a stray pellet in the buckshot which is why I specified the "Chest cavity" which is about a 12" circle.

I also said that none fully penetrated which is a performance thing. I am a rifle hunter and most times we get full penetration.. I think it might be possible on a smaller deer if you don't hit the ribs and are using a larger size buckshot from a close range to get full or close to full penetration.

[lions]

#000=.36"
#00=.33"
#0=.32"
#1=.30"
#2=.27"
#3=.25"
#4=.24"

If my memory serves me, these are the correct sizes.

[lions]

I read your post a little closer and realized this is probably more what you are looking for:

Table of Buckshot Size
Size --- Diameter
#000 or LG ("triple-aught") --- 9.1 mm (.36")
#00 ("double-aught") --- 8.4 mm (.33")
#0 or SG("one-aught") --- 8.1 mm (.32")
#SSG --- 7.9 mm (.31")
#1 --- 7.6 mm (.30")
#2 --- 6.9 mm (.27")
#3 --- 6.4 mm (.25")
#4 --- 6.1 mm (.24")

I found this at: http://www.reference.com/browse/shotgun

It is a little over halfway down the page.