Opening Day II -- Teal

[Stan Hillis]

Be careful what you wish for, Garry. While I don't know your particular situation I can assure you that buckshot is overrated for deer. And, I'm coming from a region that has a long-standing tradition of using it for deer run by dogs, though the practice has fallen out of favor in the last 30 years or so.

I'm of the belief, from personal experience, that nothing has wounded more deer that went off to die than buckshot. Buckshot is a deadly killer at close range but few hunters I've come in contact with seem to understand just how close that really is. I once shot a buck at 35 yards straight on in the front of the chest with 00 buck. Trailed him a few yards with tiny sprinkles of blood which stopped, then lost the trail. Killed him two years later and recovered the buckshot in the front of his chest that were barely under the skin, in tissue, and encased in a clear, gristle-like substance. Buck was perfectly fine, health wise, when I killed him that day with a .300 Savage.

[mobirdhunter]

Hey, Stan, I grew up in Virginia, so I’m very familiar with hunting with buckshot…and I don’t dispute a single word you’ve written. I just want to have the idea of carrying an old double with buckshot, even if a close shot never presents itself. If I never kill another deer, I can die satisfied.