Date: 01 Jun 94  17:59:06
From: Ed Harris
To:   Deer Hunters
Subj: Buckshot Vs. Slugs

Buckshot Vs. Slugs For Deer Hunting

By C.E., Harris

(This text is from a letter I wrote to German game officials in
response to questions received on US hunting practices, when I
was with the NRA Technical Staff,  It is repeated here because I
believe its contents are of general interest.



My hunting experience is mostly with the American Whitetail deer,
east of the Mississippi river. These are much larger than
European roe deer, but smaller than your red deer. Adult
Whitetail females (does) typically weigh from 35-50kg, whereas
the males (bucks) are usually over 50kg. In prime farmlands of
Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York state, it is not
unusual for does to weigh 50-70kg, and bucks 80-90kg., field
dressed weight. A very few bucks as large as 100kg are killed
each year, but these are the exception.

Deer hunting along the Atlantic coastal plain from New Jersey,
south into Florida is usually done with shotguns.  In
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and New York, shotguns are
required in the heavily populated eastern counties, but farther
inland as the topography turns to hill country, rifles are more
commonly used. 

In Virginia, most counties east of the Blue Ridge Mountains
prohibit rifles for deer hunting. Shotguns of 20-ga. or larger
with "slug" ammunition are  normally used, but buckshot is
permitted, at the hunter's option.  Nine counties prohibit the
use of shotguns with slugs, and require that buckshot be used
instead.  A brochure summarizing Virginia hunting regulations,
which may be of interest to you, is enclosed. 

Hunting on the larger military bases near the Atlantic coast
compares closely to the manner in which hunting is practiced in
West Germany. The number of hunters is closely regulated, and the
hunt is confined to specific, carefully managed areas of a few
square kilometres each. There is a greater concern for safety
than is required in sparsely settled farming or large National
Forest areas, because of the close proximity of these military
training areas to  buildings and living areas. I have hunted deer
on the Marine Corps Base at Quantico, Virginia, near Washington,
DC, and also at the Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground, near
Baltimore, Maryland.

These two installations require deer hunting be done with
shotguns using "slug" ammunition, or with a muzzleloading
blackpowder rifle firing a single ball. "Buckshot" ammunition
cannot be used on these two bases, because of "safety"
considerations.  Shotgun slugs do not present a long range hazard
like  a center-fire rifle bullet, because of their high
aerodynamic drag, which limits their maximum range to about 700
meters. The projectile is soft, and deforms upon striking, so it
will not carry far. Another reason favoring slugs, is one of
public image, because  less game is "lost" (being wounded and not
recovered). 

The non-hunting public is disturbed upon seeing a wounded animal
flee into a populated area. Because of increasing public pressure
from animal lovers, game managers must ensure that game is killed
quickly and recovered near where it is shot. When slug ammunition
is used, an animal which is hit in a vital area is seldom lost.
This may not be the case with buckshot, because of its maximum
effective range is only about 35 meters, and even large buckshot
has less ability to penetrate brush or other obscuring
vegetation, than does a slug.

At Fort A.P. Hill, near Richmond, Virginia, use of buckshot is
required, in order to be consistent with the local game law where
the base is located. In Virginia there is inconsistency in game
laws, because each local jurisdiction has authority to enact
hunting regulations, which may be more stringent than State law.
The use of buckshot in the nine counties noted is due to
political reasons and local tradition, more than for safety or
ballistic reasons.

The only areas where deer hunting is commonly done with buckshot,
are along the Atlantic coastal plains from the lower Chesapeake
Bay in Virginia and Maryland, south to Florida. Deer are usually
driven by dogs to the hunters. Southern hunting tradition is very
strong, and deer have been hunted in this manner since European
settlers first came to America. Southern hunters believe that
buckshot is safer under their hunting conditions, where hunters
stand on the ground along a trail or logging road, perhaps 100
meters apart, in sight of each other. In such areas the use of
rifles or shotgun slugs for deer hunting is usually permitted
only when fired from an elevated stand (Hochsitz) to reduce the
risk of ricochet.   The emotions on each side of the "buckshot
vs. slug" argument are just as heated in the USA as they probably
are in West Germany.

Government officials feel the use of slug ammunition is safer,
and it is rapidly becoming the prevailing practice throughout the
USA in areas which require shotguns for deer hunting. Hunter
safety instructors I know believe the "safety" favors use of slug
ammunition over buckshot, because in the event of a hunting
accident, a gunshot wound caused by even a large, single
projectile can be treated more effectively by medical personnel,
and is more "survivable" than the massive trauma caused by
multiple shotgun pellets at close range, typical of most hunting
accidents. Unfortunately, some hunters using buckshot may think
it is safe to shoot, due to buckshot's limited range. They might
shoot at what they "think" is a deer, or in an unsafe direction,
which is not acceptable. Mandatory hunter safety training and use
of "safety orange" clothing in most states has greatly reduced
accidents.

As for effectiveness on game, my experience suggests that smaller
animals, such as roebuck, of less than 25kg in body weight, would
be taken more reliably by buckshot than would our larger
Whitetail deer, but also that the meat damage caused by 12-gauge
shotgun slug to a smaller animal may not be acceptable. The same
can be said of larger caliber rifles, such as the .30-'06, which
are quite popular here. In the USA the minimum rifle caliber for
deer is generally 6mm or larger in caliber, and must produce a
striking energy of 1350J. The old .30-30 Winchester is still
widely used, but is viewed by knowledgeable hunters as a
"minimum" caliber. Smaller rifle calibers, such as the .222
Remington (5.6x43mm) or .30 US Carbine (7.62x33mm) are not
permitted for deer hunting in most states.

Buckshot is effective at short range because multiple pellet hits
on the animal increase lethality. As target distance increases,
pattern spread produces fewer hits, and individual pellet energy
decays due to aerodynamic drag. Beyond about 25 meters, buckshot
is inferior in killing power to shotgun slug ammunition. I would
consider 35 meters the maximum effective range of buckshot under
favorable circumstances. Beyond this range deer are killed by
luck, and not by the hunter's skill.

Buckshot can be effective to hunt deer, if its limitations are
understood. If the hunter can discipline himself not to shoot at
game beyond his effective range, buckshot will be effective. In
the article enclosed, I suggest for American Whitetail deer, that
the number of buckshot pellets striking the animal, (not the
total pattern), have a combined striking energy of 800J.  A
combined pellet striking energy of 500J was suggested as not
acceptable, but this would probably be adequate for smaller
European roe deer, if shot patterns ensure multiple hits on the
smaller animal. I would suggest the number of hits to determine
striking energy on the deer be based on the central 50cm of the
patterning circle fired at 35 meters.

Buckshot lose about 70% of their kinetic energy at 35 meters from
the muzzle of the gun, so you must not be misled by energy
figures based upon velocity near the muzzle.  The number of
buckshot pellet hits at 35 meters, to obtain 500J of kinetic
energy on the animal, based on American shot sizes and
cartridges, would be approximately 9 pellets of #4 buckshot (6 mm
diameter), or 6 pellets of #1 buckshot (7.62mm in diameter), or 4
pellets of #0 buckshot (8mm in diameter).

Because a smaller number of pellet hits reduce the probability
that individual shot will strike a vital area, larger shot are
not necessarily better, if their use reduces the number of
pellets in the load. I would recommend that a cartridge contain
not less than 16 pellets of not less than 7mm in diameter to be
acceptable. I am not all that familiar with European shotshell
loading practices, but I believe this would preclude using a
shotgun smaller than 16 gauge for deer hunting, with the possible
exception of the 3" Magnum 20-ga. This is consistent with
generally recognized hunting practice in the USA.

My opinion is that the shotgun slug is much safer than buckshot.
This is because a hunter firing a single projectile must aim, and
therefore must see and identify his target, prior to firing. This
is the first rule of safety. Only shoot when you know it is safe
to shoot!



In Home Mix We Trust, Regards, Ed



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 * Origin: Home of Ed's Red (1:109/120.3006)

