00 Buck Preference

F

Freedom-First

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What brand of 00 Buck do you deer hunters out there prefer? I have a Mossberg 835 and am planning to use the 3" shells. I'm thinking I want something with a buffer and will use a full choke.
 
00 Buck

I don't hunt deer with 00 but I do hunt coyotes with 3" #4 copper plated Buck and have found Federals give me the best pattern. I would suggest that you buy some different brands and pattern each brand to find out which is best in your Mossy you might be surprised, try different chokes also extra full turkey works well for my needs. Do you have to use Buckshot? Slugs will give you more range but because of an oversized barrel your Mossy will need a slug barrel or you could buy another Mossy just for slugs.
 
Thanks for the reply.. Yeah.. I kinda on a tight budget this year and don't have a slug barrel for my gun. That's why the Buckshot.
 
Wise move... Since there are relatively few over bored barrels, folks fail to bring that up when suggesting slugs. Lack of knowledge on specific models is another reason.
Maybe you can get a standard bore barrel for regular slugs in the 2 3/4-3 inch market.
For me I consider 35 yards my max with a 40-45 yard shot with 00 buck if the family is starving.
Brent
 
I did a pattern comparison with a friend of mine a few months ago. The buffered Federal 00 was the best. For us, anyhow. If I remember, I was shooting 2 3/4s and getting an 8" pattern with the 9 pellet Federal @ 30 yards from a cylinder bore.

I wish you luck with your hunt and hope that you get a chance to come up north and hunt real whitetails. The kind you can't use shot on.
 
The kind you can't use shot on.
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Never done seen a beast like that...:D Would that be copper or stainless steel armor?:rolleyes: Inside 40 yards, it would be a mighty beast to shrug off 00 buck... 'Specially if you brain the bugger.
we hung many north michigan deer that were quite large taken with a single 2 3/4 inch 00 Super "X" winchester round.
 
Well that clarifies things don't it...:D I thunk you meant just "large unit" deer...
I won't load buck for anything but after dark 2 legger hunting. I have, over the last several years, assured myself that my skill with my gun will put a slug where I want it and the .30-30 Marlin totes pretty nice too...
Brent
 
You'll have to experiment with your gun and choke and see what it likes. There's no magic rule that applies across weapons.

That being said, Federal does make some nice patterning buckshot and I would try it first. There's a 3" Flight Control 00 round made for deer hunting. It's put meat on my table at 40 yds + a few steps. I've never shot it from my 835 though, only my 870's and 11-87.
 
You'll have to experiment with your gun and choke and see what it likes. There's no magic rule that applies across weapons.

That being said, Federal does make some nice patterning buckshot and I would try it first.
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+1

00 buck has put a lot of meat in the freezer over the years. Use what ya' got - in the safe and between your ears. Don't let the nay sayers slow you down.
 
As I always do when the buckshot question comes up I'll once again suggest trying 000. With modern loads and chokes that will often place a full load of shot in a very small circle well beyond 30 yards, even to 50 reliably, it is worth a thought to the fact of the greater retained energy of 000 buck.

Yes there are fewer pellets but if you've the pattern at that distance the additional retained energy and resultant penetration of those pellets is a advantage.

And as many others will suggest EVERY barrel is different so it is quite possible that you will find that the larger shot will pattern better. I've found that to be the situation in my old Mossberg.
 
I've gotten better patterns with Federal's "Flite Control" buckshot. It's really the only improvement out there, everything else is pretty similar between brands. I confess I haven't fired the Federals in a 3" load but it was great in a 2 3/4". I have also had guns that patterned better in Modified chokes than Full with buckshot.
 
I didn't see anyone say it, but make sure you experiment with your chokes. They will all thow different patterns and tighter chokes don't always throw the tightest pattern when using Buck shot.
 
I've killed more than few deer with buckshot. For me, I always used Number 1 buck. It patterned well out of my mod choke Mossberg 500, and always seemed to me to be the best balance of shot size vs shot count. Always 3" mag loads too, except one time I shot a deer with a short magnum load. He didn't seem to notice the difference. My longest shot was about 45-50 steps my closest was about bayonet range. No 1 did the job.

Having said that, I will admit that I was impressed with 000 buck which had only been around, at least as far as I knew, a few years when I stopped hunting. That stuff killed like lightening. Those big pellets snap bones like toothpicks.

My only experience with 000 was a miss. A big doe came by me (we hunted with dogs) and I drew down on her at about ten yards. When the gun cracked she shifted gears and went out of there. I stood there like an idiot, completely forgetting I had two more shots in the Remington 1100. I MISSED HER?!?! WHAT THE........

I walked over, and there in the side of a little tree, about six inches in diameter was the the entire pattern of 000 buckshot. All twelve pellets. You could have covered them with a coffee cup.

I lost my shirttail that day. :D
 
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