3 inch. 12 gauge

Black bear & whitetail

Thanks!

I would want 3 inch 000 for bears, but I would definitely prefer slugs for bears or deer. For defense against human attackers, I keep 2 3/4 inch #4 buck.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Buckshot is pretty poor stuff for bear.

I doubt up close any bear could stand a load of 00's.

I saw a very large wild boar killed graveyard dead with 1 load of 00B.

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S&W Accumulator

If you are legal hunting check your state laws. Distance is a factor.

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Steve
The Lounge Rant Master

WINCHESTER DOUBLE X MAGNUM, 3" IN 00 BUCK.......

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

yes 100% legal

15-50 yds

I have to agree with shouldazagged, Slug is best for Deer or Bear. Slugs can be quite accurate out to 50 or 60 yards and IMO are more effective at these ranges than buckshot. BTW, for hostile 2 legged aggressors I prefer 2 3/4 #3 loads, because IMO sixteen 30 caliber balls should be very effective as a deterrent.

Pick up some Federal with the flight control buckshot. Even out of a cylinder bore, you will be amazed how well it patterns.

I was going to say this^ but dsink beat me to it. The Flite Control shot cup paired with 00 lead shot is the best thing going for any kind of shot. I get 4-6" patterns at 20 yards with my 18" Imp Cyl barrel. (870 Police Magnum)
I have used this load on coyotes, deer, pigs, and raccoons out to 50 yards.

I greatly prefer slugs for bears and deer, but you asked about SHOT, and that is the best SHOT around for critters bigger than groundhogs.

If you want to talk about SLUGS, we can have that conversation also. (Hint, it rhymes with fennekkee.)

DIXIE TRI-BALLS! 3 - 300 gr hard cast 60 caliber balls @ 1100 fps from a 3 1/2" shell & 24" bbl that will all hit a pie plate @ 40 yards. It's more like 3 slugs in one than buckshot. 3" shells too. I'd go up against anything with these. NOT so fun with rotator cuff issues though.

I've not used any of the specialty buck shot. Only have used the
standard loadings from major US brands. In these loads the pattern can differ wildly depending on your gun. Not legal in
Ohio for deer. Just occasional use on varmits and night fox calling.

Up in Alaska, where the "big Brownies" prey, our guide carried a 12 gauge loaded with slugs.

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"The Dude abides"

OO or OOO buck on Black Bears maybe...if really close. On Grizzlies good old Foster slugs with a mag tube extension. One of my hunting partners was up in our Elk area 2 days ago. Saw a large sow with 2 year old cubs and a bit later saw another solitary. Bear. No elk of course...still too nice up high so they don't get pushed down by the weather yet

I once pulled 8 pieces of 00 Buck out of a healthy 6pt. that I had killed with a rifle. They had become encapsulated with a couple abscessed. The buck was probably shot the previous year. The only thing that I would consider using buckshot on after that are two legged varmints.

Buckshot is a poor and inhumane choice for hunting deer or bear as compared with slugs. Wounds more often than it kills when used beyond short distances.

Never hunted deer with buckshot, slugs sure do work. Buck works good on coyotes in brushy/wooded country.

I bought a box of 3" 12 Gauge 000 Magnum Buck once. From my 26" Ruger Red Label O/U, those five rounds punished me with recoil that has left a lasting impression, and I'm not recoil sensitive. The pattern from 000 is poor, because there are so few pellets. Slugs are a good option.

For deer slugs all the way. For social encounters 4ought buckshot. With the slugs I have an old wingmaster with slug barrel with rifle sights. With the buchshot an old wingmaster with 20" bbl and a big brass bead, that particular shotgun was one of the police turn in shotguns thing it cost me $200. Stripped the stock, used a sealer on all exposed wood, inside the forend and on the buttstock. About 4 coats of true oil came out nice id I do say so. Frank

I was going to say, I'm no hunter and thankfully, my chance of coming across a bear is near zero...

...but...

If my memory serves me correctly, I recall reading that with bears, their fur/hide is thick and tough, too much for average buckshot at any distance besides right up close and personal.

With slug technology being what it is now, I'd stick with that.

I hunted a lot of deer in the 70-80’s on dog drives where everyone used buckshot. You need to try different brands and different sizes of buckshot in your gun to see what performs the best just like choosing rifle ammunition.

A friend of mine down in S Miss told me about a recent deer hunt.
He was out in the woods.
His gun was loaded with Buck, Ball (Slug) and Bullet.
Now that's strange!
OK, it was a Drilling.
He jumps a Turkey which flies away through the woods.
A few minutes later, he hears a noise behind him.
Its a turkey, standing on the trail.
He selects Buck and goes for a head shot.
Turkey down and flopping, he walks over and finishes it off.
Later when he when he cleaning the turk, the only wound he can find is a slash on the side of the head.
No buckshot penetration.
That is a good thing!
Mid body penetration with a load of Buck will give you Ground Turkey!

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

Individual Shotguns will pattern individual brands and sizes differently. You absolutely must pattern all of them to find the load your individual shotgun shoots well. I generally used a common paper plate at 35 yards to pattern which I felt simulated the vitals of a Whitetail deer. If you can put the bulk of the pattern of a paper plate at that distance you have a winner.

This was over 15 years ago, but I once did a comprehensive test of the patterning performance of six different open choke shotguns with different brands of 00 Buck shells. It is very true that every gun and every shell patterns differently. Nonetheless I would never use buckshot for hunting anything at ranges beyond 20 yards except under emergency conditions and if nothing better was available.

iI AM NOT A FAN OF BUCKSHOT, FOR DEER OR BEAR, EITHER. I SIMPLY RESPONDED TO THE OP'S QUESTION, AS HE ASKED IT......

I MUCH PREFER SLUGS FOR A MORE HUMANE, AND IMMEDIATE KILL. MANY ENLIGHTENED JURISDICTIONS ALLOW OPTICS ON SHOTGUNS. MY CHOICE OF WEAPON WOULD BE A RUGGED MOSSBERG PUMP, WITH A SCOPED SLUG BARREL, AND AN INTERCHANGEABLE UPLAND GAME BARREL---TO COVER ALL OF THE BASES....

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.