[CTI1USNRET]

If you've put 00 buck in a deer (or black bear) at close range I'd like to know:

the distance
the spread
penetration (depth or exit wounds)
effect on bone
mushrooming of pellets
how far the deer went before collapsing

TIA

[Mossy Bloke]

...all the time when I was in the Marine Corps.

If we hadn't shot our limit by the last week of the season we'd go out with 7 or 8 other guys and get on line and just start walking through the thick stuff. (Deer drives were illegal on the base I was stationed at)

Since we weren't hollering or anything, just walking, the deer would hunker down and wait until the last minute to jump up and run. That's when we'd take 'em.

I've hit plent of deer with buckshot that way. It takes them down pretty quickly. I don't remember much in the way of specific examples of what you're asking, but I know it would crumple them quickly. Most shots were probably from 30 to 50 yards with no exit wounds unless you happen to hit them in the neck.

They wouldn't run far at all, in fact, I remember most dropping on the spot as soon as you hit them.

[griz]

A lot of my hunting is in counties that allowed ONLY buckshot for deer. I perfer rifles, but buckshot works at what I would consider close range. Once you get much past 30-40 yards, you are only putting a couple of pellets in the deer, and that may or may not be enough. At around 25 yards 00 buck (3 inch mag) out of a modified choke usually puts about 7-10 pellets in the deer. Our deer are seldom big, and about half of the pellets will penetrate the deer completely. Range makes a big difference in penetration because buckshot slows down quickly and looses energy. Mushrooming depends on whether or not you hit bone and how hard the shot is. The premium loads use plated shot which is harder and seldom flattens out. My experience is deer hit with buckshot don't fall to the shot unless the spine is hit. However, if you get enough pellets in them the deer will go down soon enough and leave a decent blood trail.

For what it's worth, when I have to use buckshot now I use #1 instead of 00. I don't need the extra energy per pellet since I don't take long shots, and the extra pellets in the load increase the chance of a hit that will drop the deer in it's tracks.

[Greybeard]

Ya might benefit from patterning some 5-packs from a few different mfgrs. Different ranges, different chokes, ect. And understand that your perception/definition of "short range" may be quite different than others' ...

FWIW, altho a little less velocity, I've found that Federal's "Tactical Buck" holds the best group from my 870 with modified choke tube. If I do my part, at 15 yards, all 9 pellets will typically stay on a 9" picnic plate. :)