Your favorite shotgun and shell for dog hunting

wildcat3

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I use to hunt with an old man that swore by #4's. I always use 3 1/2 00 buckshot with a full choke.
 

Treetall

Twelve Pointer
Beretta a400 with briley mag extension with kicks buck kicker extra full shooting winchester 3.5 inch supreme 00 in black box. Nasty combination
 

boomer

Twelve Pointer
Mossberg 835 or 935 , according to how I feel that morning , with 3.5 shells with either #1 buck or 0 buck. It is harder and harder to find #1 or 0 buckshot in 3.5 shells
 

DRS

Old Mossy Horns
My favorite is my Rem. 11-87 with a rifle sighted 21" smooth bore and Brenneke KO slugs. Being, I now also hunt with one club that is buckshot only, my 11-87 wears a 26" barrel, improved cylinder and Federal FCW OO buck patterned the best. I tried a couple buckshot chokes and several regular chokes with #4 thru 000 buckshot in every brand I could find 2 3/4 and 3". Shot at one deer this year with it, one shot was all that was needed.

I have a Rem. 870 Wingmaster, I bought from a pawn shop for $150. It is well worn and abused, but the action is smooth as silk. The barrel is a 30" full choke. It is a killer duck gun. However, that thing will sling half the load of Remington 3" 000 into a piece notebook paper at 80 yards and the entire load at 50. Just hard to swing it in the woods. LOL.
 
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wildcat3

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I’ve always used a full choke. I had thought about trying a buckshot choke though. Any of them you liked or did not like ?
 

catfishrus

Twelve Pointer
Mine has a hasting barrel on it...the factory barrel wouldn't group so my dad ordered a barrel from Cabelas....its made for buckshot but if you look down it...it has a type of rifling inside of it with a twist...different but groups well.
 

gregor187

Six Pointer
After trying many many combinations over the years I finally found my match about 10 years ago,,,,,,,,Benelli Super Black Eagle II with factory full with Remington 3 1/2 OO buck.. I guess I will take that combination to the end. (hopefully many many many years from now....lol)
 

DRS

Old Mossy Horns
I’ve always used a full choke. I had thought about trying a buckshot choke though. Any of them you liked or did not like ?

I was not impressed with the buckshot chokes used with my 11-87. If you have a RemChoke I would be glad to send you them to try, given I could find them. I think the 2 I tried were Kicks and Trulock. A friend uses a Primos extrafull turkey choke in a Rem. 11-87 Preimer and shoots Rem. 3" 000 buck, that thing throws a super tight pattern. It is one of the tightest patterning shotguns I have ever seen.
 

shotgunner

Ten Pointer
I have 3 guns I deer hunt with.

A 870 Purpose with a 26" (fixed) full choke. Ordered the barrel from a guy out west (Illinois) I think. Hate I lost his number because he had any combo barrel length/choke you could dream of.

A 870 Magnum (looks like a Wingmaster) with a 28" modified (fixed choke)

One of the new model A5 with a 28" barrel and a Kicks High Flyer (full) choke. I have a Kicks Buck Kicker choke for it but have not patterned it yet.

My daughter is shooting a Benelli M2 with 24" barrel and a Kicks High flyer (full) choke.

With all that said some friends of mine have started hand loading our buckshot. Amazing the difference it makes especially with consistent patterns. I have a couple of loads from them and honestly they are lethal in all 4 guns to at least 60 yards. Plan on working up my own loads for all 3 guns over the summer but the ones I have from my buddies are already plenty good enough to hunt with.

I know some are going to say that is to far with buckshot. But I compare it like this to a rifle: The average guys buys his rifle, shoots a couple or 3 different factory bullets out to 100 yards. Picks the best group, sets the scope 1 or 1.5 inches high at 100 yards and goes hunting. If lucky shoots his gun at 200. But swears it will kill at 400. You should not compare this rifle/hunter combo to the guy that has spent hours at the range and reloading press building a load for his gun. Then spent hours at the range shooting his rifle at multiple distances to truly know what it is doing. Yes we have spent hours reloading and shooting buckshot to assure we know what OUR guns are capable of. Thank the Good Lord for the Lead Sled.

The thing that always frustrated me with factory buckshot was I could shoot five out of a box and 4 might pattern great and one awful, or 3 great and 2 awful. With these handloads we are getting very consistent patterns. If the gun/choke combo shoots it bad one time. It shoots that load bad every time. IF it shoots that load good, it shoots it good every time. I hope to develop loads for my gun and my daughters Benelli M2 and then load us about 100 for each of us. That should last several years.
 

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I got a Remington 12 sportsman that is deadly. I also use a 870 with a full choke. Double 00 buckshot.
Them deer run wicked fast down there in the Sandhills ;)
 

bertienchunter

Twelve Pointer
I have two shell/choke combinations that work really well. I shoot a Benelli SBE2 with a Kicks buck kicker Full choke. The best shell with this choke is Remington 3.5 inch 00 Buck. I can put all 18 pellets in a 15 inch circle at 50 yds. At 75 yds it can put 13 of 18 pellets in a 20x24 sheet of poster board.

I can also shoot factory full with Winchester grey box and put 14 of 18 in a 20x24 sheet of poster board at 50 yds. Factory full with Remington shells shot really well with 16/18 pellets in the same size poster board.

The benelli is deadly with the factory chokes and almost too tight with the buck kicker.
 

whitty

Six Pointer
That’s true. I have a pure gold buckshot choke that does really good in my SBE. My buddy has a pattern master buckshot choke and it shoots really good in his SBE. When we swap our chokes with each other we don’t get the same results. That is something I really don’t understand the reason behind.
 

silvertip

Six Pointer
Rem 870- 21 inch barrel with Primos Dead Deer choke with 3in copper-plated 00 federals. I have used Patternmaster and Kicks both but this does the best in mine.
 

Buffet Trout

Twelve Pointer
My club allows rifles, so I’ll always use one here.

Back home though, we have to use shotguns. There, I use a mossberg 500 and modified choke. First shot is #4 buck, followed by a slug. 3” #4 buck has 40 pellets and knocks them down really well out to 50 yards with a wide pattern that usually gets neck, legs, and chest. And then the slug finishes them if needed. I can also eject the first round easily and then fire the slug if one steps out at 75-100 yards. My remaining rounds are all #4 buck bc if I am still firing, he’s moving and this gives my my best chance for contact.

#4 buck doesn’t bleed well, but the dogs will find him.

I also use a red dot scope, which helps with the slug.
 
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nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
That tells the story right there that buckshot is way more than a 35 yard deal if you take the time to pattern your gun and match chokes and ammo.
 

QBD2

Old Mossy Horns
Close range work, as in I can't see 40 yards in any direction...rem 870, modified, 3" Win Super X #1.

Longer shots, Franchi affinity. Buck kicker XF and 3" Rem Express 00.

But my favorite dog gun is my 6.5 grendel AR. 120gr fusions and a FF3 red dot.
 
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gregor187

Six Pointer
I have two shell/choke combinations that work really well. I shoot a Benelli SBE2 with a Kicks buck kicker Full choke. The best shell with this choke is Remington 3.5 inch 00 Buck. I can put all 18 pellets in a 15 inch circle at 50 yds. At 75 yds it can put 13 of 18 pellets in a 20x24 sheet of poster board.

I can also shoot factory full with Winchester grey box and put 14 of 18 in a 20x24 sheet of poster board at 50 yds. Factory full with Remington shells shot really well with 16/18 pellets in the same size poster board.




The benelli is deadly with the factory chokes and almost too tight with the buck kicker.[/QUOTE

Times Two on the above,,,,,,Especially Factory Full and Remington 3.5,s just aint normal
 

22LR

Twelve Pointer
I use a Benelli M2 28" barrel with Kicks Buck kicker XF choke. It does good with Winchester double x magnum copper plated OObuck
 

klim

Twelve Pointer
First one Browning Gold with XF Kicks-bucker Winchester copperplated 00 buckshot. Second Remington 870 with XF Kick-buckicker with either Winchester unplated or Remington unplated 00 buckshot (shoots both loads bout the same.)
 
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