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CrisPer,

In my state, about 2/3rds of which is shotgun only (and growing), buckshot is limited to use in only a small portion of the state where big social deer drives are a local custom. Elsewhere it is prohibitted because it just isn't all that effective except at spitting distance, where it is very effective. It just looses that lethality very quickly - a good thing for social deer drives in thick underbrush, a bad thing for the deer some yahoo shoots at too long range.

So most of our state is limited to lead, near bore diameter " rifled slugs" that fly "straight" only because they have the weight distribution of a badmiton shuttlecock and which have no rotation in flight. These were an advance over the "pumpkin ball", which is just a near bore diameter ball seated in a shotgun hull. Both are for using smooth bore shotguns to hunt deer. Both propel thier "bullets" at about typical shotgun velocity. I'm not old enough at 47 to have experience with pumpkin balls, but I do have experience with so called rifled slugs, They are effective as hell at short ranges. Some regular shotguns shot them well some didn't. But I'd say that most were plenty good shooting enough for 30yds.

Then cam smooth bore shotguns equipped with rifle sights. Again some shot better than others and some rifled slug loads shot better as well - ussually the largest diameter slugs, no suprise. Range was extended to maybe 50-75yds. Very effective terminal performance, ranging from bore diameter holes through and through to 2" flattened disks inside the offside hide. Either way, decent shot = dead deer.

Then came rifled slug barrels. Early results with the rifled slugs equalled more consistent performance but not a heck of a lot of range improvement, call it 75yds, but reliably so. Then slug development lead to first full diameter slugs designed to take the engraving, now 100yds, then sabots and sub bore hard lead "bullets", maybe 110yds but poor terminal performance compared to the full diameter slugs, and no expansion due to their hardness. On to more advanced expanding sabot "bullets". And here we are today, "bullets still evolving, but incrementally, at about 125-150yds capability and good, reliable terminal performance.

In my area, the 20ga is the hot ticket because of its flatter trajectory, and guys are pushing past 150-175yds with very specialized 20ga "rifles" shooting tipped semi streamlined sabot bullets.

As an alternative to shotguns, muzzleloaders have always been a legal choice for both their own season and for the firearms season. The evolution with the muzzleloaders has been similar to that of deer hunting shotguns. Few cap locks, fewer flintlocks, almost gone from the woods, along with lead round balls and to a lesser extent, lead conicals. Many more inlines and many more sabotted bullets, some pistol bullets, some special designs for the purpose. Velocities are through the roof compared to old round ball or conical shooting, ranges are extended, but not so much as the change in shotgun ranges. Terminal performance is reliable and as good as the round balls or conicals but even at the longer ranges.

We have a deer population problem, and the state game dept has gone along with all of the "advances" (some will argue that term) because they improve efficiency, now just as earlier firearms development did, and allow more hunters to kill deer.

Now I'll tell you that I prefer hunting in a rifle area, but that is entirely because, up to now, just about every slug gun option was a truly utilitarian, soul less weapon, where as my rifles have souls and beauty and worksmanship beyond mere utility (at least most of them) and I am hunting for the whole experience and not just to kill a deer. Other options have existed, for example the paradox type guns, but they were just not practical. But, in hind sight, it was only amatter of time until some more than utilitarian options were brought to the market. This is not the first fully rifled shotgun/slug gun to hit the market, but other have had there problems. Hopefully this one won't!

As far as effectiveness, in the thick areas, there is no loss slug gun to rifle. And less and less in more open areas. The advance of the slug guns and their projectiles has all but doomed any hope that we might see a reversal of the creep of slug gun only regulation. That hope might have rested in the need to kill more deer. Advances in slug guns and muzzleloaders make rifles only marginally more effective for a lot of hunting, so there is no need for the game depts to fight the legislators and publics perceptions of very limited range with shotguns and muzzleloaders. At the same time, we won't be seeing the game depts advocating to limit advancements, which would prove counterproductive to their goal of killing deer.

My thoughts,

JPK