When all the shot is in a close group it is akin to a large fragnible slug. You know how the poor farmers used to turn their birdshot loads into poor mans slugs by cutting around the base of the shell so all the little tiny pellets would impact as one? When all the pellets are together then the energy is not the individual ammount per pellet, less anyone here beleives that 2 ft/lb birdshot pellets can bring down a deer. Yet when the birdshot is in one mass it does.
Also there is a saying that within 3-5 yards all loads of shot or slug are bassiclly the same.
"When Earnest Hemingway was about to go after a leopard into the cat's grass bed his assistant realized that he had forgotten the buckshot loads. All that was left was some #8 birdshot. Hemingway said, "At the distance I'll be shooting it doesn't matter what load I'm using". He killed the leopard in one shot."
Here are some accounts of actual bear/buckshot encounters.
"I went Bear hunting in Michigan this year after waiting seven years to get a tag. This is my first bear hunt and it was a full moon, so like deer the bears were moving late. I opted to take my 3 1/2 inch mossberg and use buckshot. The bear came in fifteen yards and never moved another inch. All eighteen pellets hit the bear. A nice humane kill. That Mossberg is one bad gun within 50 yards.
mich buckmaster
Quad, thanks for the reassurance of using the buckshot. I have used buckshot for deer and coyotes. I only use it in areas where my shot will be within 70 yards. I would put a 3 1/2inch buckshot against any gun. I once shot at a doe and dropped two deer with one single shot. I use a turkey choke and can put 12 pellets in a paper plate at 50 yards. I would say that is very deadly. The bear I shot, all eighteen pellets went right through the bear makin a hole about the size of a galf ball. A couple pellets went and hit the other shoulder, destroying it. A good, clean, humane kill. Thats what we all strive for."
“Quad-
Here are the examples I know of.
1) Several years back, a farmer I knew had a problem black bear, so he took to keeping his shotgun handy. The bear appeared close by,, he grabbed his gun, and shot it once with 2 3/4" OO. The bear dropped dead at the shot. Two pellets had hit in the head and pierced the skull.
2)A fellow I know also had a problem bear coming to his property. He shot it in the chest and shoulder, it was slightly quartering towards him. That bear took off running, and was shot again, in the side of the ribs. That slowed him up but didn't kill him. A final shot brought him down, and killed him. OO buckshot.
3) A good friend was working at a logging camp, and they had a problem bear. One day they surprised the bear, which ran up a tree. He shot it with a OO 2 3/4 shell. This dropped the bear to the ground, where it began thrashing about and trying to get up. A follow up shot at close range to the head killed it.
4)A fellow I met had worked as a guide in northern BC. They were heading through the bush when they surprised a grizzly on a carcass. The bear charged, and was shot once in the shoulder. This didn't even faze him. A second shot to the head put the bear down. 3" Copperplated 00.
I only witnessed the first one, but have no reason to doubt the other stories. The RCMP aropund here have taken to carrying slugs to deal with bears when the CO's can't attend, and I heard it was because the 00 wasn't doing too well. That is hearsay, of course.
When i carry a shotgun for protecton, they would come out the barrel as slug, OOO, slug slug slug. I throw the buck in there to give me a higher hit chance. Right or wrong, it's what I do.”
"The outfitter himself carried a 12 gauge loaded with OO Buckshot. Turns out he had killed a charging grizzly with it a few years earlier. It was a medium-sized sow which charged him while he was field-dressing an elk. He hit it in the shoulder the first shot, doing great damage and knocking it down, but it got up and charged again. He shot it in the head at close range, killing it. Ruled justifiable self-defense by the powers that be.
OO buck wouldn't be my choice for bear defense, but this guy had results you just couldn't argue with.
Good Shooting, CoyDog"
And just an interesting note on what is capable with slugs.
"A few thoughts on slug effectiveness which some of you may not have heard about. I know that the common Foster-type slugs, as used in many American states, do just fine on whitetail deer, and even on black bear (although they're made to expand, so may not penetrate deep enough to reach the vitals on a heavier animal). Brenneke's do rather better on penetration, as they are specifically designed NOT to expand, on the principle that a 7½-inch-wide hole in an animal should be enough for the job! I understand that several grizzlies have been taken in Alaska at close range with Brenneke's, but that at 35-40 yards and further out, the velocity loss is such as to limit penetration, even with these hard boys.
I know that in Africa, several Cape buffalo have been taken with both Brenneke and Foster slugs. They were shot from broadside, and the Brenneke's proved capable of shooting right through them if no major bone structures were hit. When shoulder or rib bones were hit, the Brenneke's turned them into bone shrapnel, and stopped under the hide on the far side. The Foster slugs generally didn't perform well if bone was hit, but would do adequate damage to heart and lungs. The range on all of these shots, as far as I'm aware, was less than 30 yards, in heavy bush. (On all occasions, a hunter with a heavy rifle was standing by to back up the slug hunter if necessary - on at least 3 occasions, it was VERY necessary, as the buffs didn't seem to think that a shotgun slug in the ribcage was a sporting proposition!)
I don't think anyone's taken rhino or elephant with slugs. I daresay it might be technically possible to reach the heart or lungs with a clear side shot, and no intervening bone, but I think the animals' reactions to a muffed shot might be rather hairy for the close-range shotgun hunter - and I don't think a slug would turn a charge from the big beasties!"
"We have an excellent field report on the results of the Brenneke 12-gauge slug on a buffalo at 9 yards. It achieved full penetration, destroyed the heart (rendering it inedible), and lodged under the skin at the far side. It did not drop the beast in its tracks, but it killed him in a few yards. We have always preached that the 12-gauge Brenneke slug is a very efficient defensive projectile for heavy animals - providing that you use it at short range. Its ballistic shape is poor, cutting its effectiveness down radically as range increases. If you get involved with a dangerous animal, remember he cannot hurt you if he cannot touch you. If you use your weaponry properly, at 20-yards and under, you should make out very well."
Now who thinks the shotgun is bad?