The one thing I learned, back when I used buckshot for swamp deer when I was a kid, is that you need to pattern your gun with multiple sizes to find out which shoots best out of an individual gun. My best patterns were obtained out of a modified DHE barrel using #1 buck. It was a true 40 yard gun. The full barrel patterned ok but not as well as the modified barrel. I bought my buckshot from Herter’s in five pound bags. The larger size buck didn’t pattern that well out of that gun. Results would probably be different with a different gun.
I took a few swamp deer with that gun and load. Two wend down immediately and one ran for about 25 yards. None of the deer were shot over 30 yards. I melted candle wax over the shot as a buffer. It worked well. About ten years later I shot another deer in that swamp with buckshot just for the hell of it. I shot it on the run and it collapsed immediately. I generally don’t shoot at running deer, but that one was about 10 yards away and it was a broadside shot.
I no longer use buckshot for anything. For one, its illegal in NY. As I got older, I decided not to flaunt the law. Second, I found that the best tactic for me was to use a .243 or .270 and pick an opening in the brush. I never shoot through brush. You sometimes don’t get an opening but that’s ok. A couple of years ago I passed on a big nine pointer that I really wanted. He didn’t step out of the brush and I couldn’t find a clear opening, so I passed on the shot. He was only twenty yards away. I felt good about not chancing a shot through brush.
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