Opinions, opinions, opinions.
Ya gotta love 'em. For what they are.
Not much.
However "interesting" is a kind word that comes to mind.
Here's the skinny on buckshot for use on deer sized game.
I have a ton of experience with std. 9 pel 00 buck loads & toss in more than a modicum of shooting with 0, #1, #2, #3, & #4. I hand load buckshot for special applications, like someday when I might not be too crippled to get out & call yotes.
I've developed #3, & #4 buck in 3" mags that are effective
ON PAPER out to 60 yards on yote type targets. These are loaded slowly & painstakingly with buffer & shot hand stacked in the wad for best performance. P.I.T.A. but I need only load 25 or so. These are NOT deer worthy. Most buck at distances past 50 yards loose lot of energy.
The roundball being a very inefficient projectile.
About buckshot and the roundball in the front loading rifle?????
Come on now. That's apples to swiss cheese and not a fair comparison at all.
Remember in longrilfe & military musket days a SMALL bore was .50 caliber.
Buckshot is .38 & smaller & the roundball from a .50 cal. muzzle loader will be around 1500 f.p.s. The round buckshot might be lucky to break 1250 f.p.s. from the std. 12 bore load. Get it?
When I & my sgt. developed the SWAT team & chose weapons we examined buck very closely, shooting literally cases (ouch
) of buck of different sizes all in the std. 12 bore load thru the std. 870 riot gun, 20" with sights & i/c choke.
We determined the MAX
EFFECTIVE range of that load of 00 buck
(Rem. & Win.) was just 25 yards. Indeed we sometimes completely missed a torso target with ALL 9 pels of 00 buck. Not often but it did happen.
For "sporting applications range can be increased a bit by using plated shot, copper or nickel, size 00, mod choke. You might maybe get 34 to 40 yards from your s.g. & load but ONLY IF YOU PATTERN your weapon at your set max distance.
Using a super turkey full choke & buckshot is BAD ADVICE. I suggest no one do that. Shot charges compress going thru a tight choke, buckshot won't compress as well so a dangerous situation can occure when forcing really big lead balls thru a really tight choke. Bad idea.
Pattern the load & s.g. That's the key.
How many of you would knock off the sights of your rifle, use only the front sight, and go deer hunting without so much as trying to see how your now crippled rifle performs?
About Dixie and the TriBall load.
It's absolutely worth giving that load a try. 3 large balls (buck?) will stay more closely together in flight for up to around 50 yards. But patterning is the only way to know for sure.
Dixie makes some darned good, thinking outside of the box, s.g. loads and they are not all that expensive.
I never tired the TriBall as untill this year Ohioans were not allowed buck except in certain crowded area. Now were are allowed (this fall) rifles of certain calibers. Buck only in certain crowded urban districts.
Everyone that uses a s.g. with any shot charge should pattern the s.g. with the choke selected for whatever use.
Pattern. It ain't hard and you need not be anal about it.