Deer and shotgun?

[al4x]

 

 

As a general sporting thing I don't think shotguns are a good choice for Deer. In some situations though they work. I'm not talking Deer drives and taking pot shots.

 

 

why should deer drives be taking pot shots?

 

Standing guns stand very still usually against trees etc and the deer move very early and pretty slowly, so shooting is pretty straight forward. I prefer a rifle but at times certainly on the ground we did it on that had been tried. It was enclosed and shot hard with rifles for a month or so and we still came out after a day with about 20.

[highseas]

I've shot a fair few in the past in very thick cover and it works well. But you drive them with plenty of people and it was muntjac. What I can say is AAA's knock them down very humanely

too true how many time have you een walk up shooting and deer gets up at your feet or comes back towards you.

we use 4,5 guys walking v slowly thrue thick woods and 2 guns me and the head man shooting, deer and fox, we have 800ac of christmas trees and the damage they do is mad! we have tickets to shoot out of season and at night! shot guns are humane no doubt people who say other wise have never used them

[wildfowler.250]

Thanks for the replies! All very interesting

 

(a)he had reasonable grounds for believing that deer of the same species were causing, or had caused, damage to crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber or any other form of property on the land;.

 

If you cannot make that part work for you then you need to take up knitting!

 

That was along my initial train of thought! So why don't more people do it?

 

ATB!

[al4x]

simply because it is frowned upon by the BDS who would like to see it made illegal. In practice stalking is far better and pays better if the landowner sells the stalking. Generally those interested in shooting deer just go down the FAC route it makes for easier shooting and less carcass damage. AAA's will spread out a fair bit and getting a stray shot in the gut doesn't do much for the carcass value.

[wildfowler.250]

simply because it is frowned upon by the BDS who would like to see it made illegal. In practice stalking is far better and pays better if the landowner sells the stalking. Generally those interested in shooting deer just go down the FAC route it makes for easier shooting and less carcass damage. AAA's will spread out a fair bit and getting a stray shot in the gut doesn't do much for the carcass value.

 

That seems to sum it up pretty well when you think about it

 

Thanks

[Dunkield]

Unlike a fox, for instance, you aren't often just 'getting rid' of deer.

You may have a lot you need to cull, but you can organise culls to get on top of those numbers with rifles. I have been on a few culls where large numbers of deer were removed in one session, all done with rifles.

In most cases you are shooting them to eat yourself or for someone else to.

A rifle bullet placed in some areas can waste a lot of good meat, close up with a shotgun would probably render the carcass utterly useless?

 

I am in the rifle only camp too.

[henry d]

I`ve shot one with the shotgun and it worked OK and I know it has it`s uses, I do prefer the rifle though

[TJ91]

Unlike a fox, for instance, you aren't often just 'getting rid' of deer.

You may have a lot you need to cull, but you can organise culls to get on top of those numbers with rifles. I have been on a few culls where large numbers of deer were removed in one session, all done with rifles.

In most cases you are shooting them to eat yourself or for someone else to.

A rifle bullet placed in some areas can waste a lot of good meat, close up with a shotgun would probably render the carcass utterly useless?I am in the rifle only camp too.

 

 

Why?

full choke with AAA in the head from 20 yards would leave little of the head left but the rest of the body would be fine surely!?

 

I dont shoot deer but regularly 'stalk' them, i like to try get up close (for pictures) and have had them wander up to the hide within 10-20 yards

 

 

EDIT:

I will add that i wouldnt point a shotgun at one, if i wanted to shoot deer i woul use rifle

but i do see why some people would/do use shotgun

Edited April 4, 2011 by TJ91

[mowdy]

As i said in my last post i use a shotgun with slugs for deer, accuracy with my gun and slugs is 3"groups @50 meters so no problem as to shooting deer with slugs with my gun ,slugs will do the job just as well as a rifle if you know how to shoot slugs and keep the range down.As for meat damage well there are many rifles calibers that cause a lot more meat wastage than slugs on deer .

I use slugs as another tool in the tool box some time's i need it and some times i don't .

Slugs are a leagal form of deer control as is states on my Fac ,soif you do not like slugs just do not use them .

 

Bob

Edited April 4, 2011 by mowdy

[al4x]

AAA's don't do that much damage in reality, keep it head and front end and its not really an issue. What you will find is inside 30 yards the pellets stand a good chance of exiting. Evil things large shot cartridges.

[Dunkield]

Why?

full choke with AAA in the head from 20 yards would leave little of the head left but the rest of the body would be fine surely!?

Head shooting with a rifle can be an iffy business if it goes wrong, I can't imagine what a head shot with shot gun could do like if it didn't go to plan.

As with all of these things we all know what can be done (.22 rimfire for instance) but you should be looking for a margin of error if things don't go quite according to plan.

[TJ91]

Head shooting with a rifle can be an iffy business if it goes wrong, I can't imagine what a head shot with shot gun could do like if it didn't go to plan.

As with all of these things we all know what can be done (.22 rimfire for instance) but you should be looking for a margin of error if things don't go quite according to plan.

 

but if you arent confident with the shot and are worrying about if something goes wrong then the shot shouldnt be taken!?

[Dunkield]

So you would need be confident that that deer wouldn't move it's head at exactly the wrong moment?

[TJ91]

So you would need be confident that that deer wouldn't move it's head at exactly the wrong moment?

 

it could move its body all the same

 

i arent disagreeing that shooting it in the body would make a mess and ruin a lot of good meat

just saying shooting in the head from 20 yard with AAA wouldnt

[CharlieT]

TJ91

 

I don't quite know why you wish to pursue this why don't people use a shotgun more business.

 

For those of us that shoot for sport it is illegal, simple as that.

 

For farmers, growers and foresters where using a rifle is inappropriate or unavailable, for whatever the reason, the law permits the using of a shotgun. Same goes for slugs, they have their place in certain circumstances.

 

I keep a few slugs in the truck so that if I don't have a rifle with me and need to deal with deer I can. However, the shotgun exemption is in place to deal with marauding deer and I'm afraid to say that when deer are in the sort of numbers that cause the sort of damage that requires the farmers exemption to come into play creeping round the countryside with your trusty 12 bore hoping to get close enough is just plain daft and a waste of time. Why do you think the weapon of choice is a rifle.

 

I appreciate that deer drives on Muntjac in thick cover does work and the same probably goes for Roe but this is pure and simple pest control and would be defensible in law. It is not legal for young TJ out for a stroll with his 12 bore to bag one for the freezer.

 

I am being a bit selfish about this because the "farmers exemption" makes it legal for me do do something about the 100 hinds that might descend on my mowing grass in the next three months. If this clause is rescinded because hobby shooters bend the rules we farmers will loose a useful exemption.

[TJ91]

TJ91

 

I don't quite know why you wish to pursue this why don't people use a shotgun more business.

 

 

 

maybe you should read my first post on this matter

i am not pursuing anything here, not saying people should or shouldnt shoot deer with shotguns, infact what i am talking about is not to do with the original question asked

i am merely saying that shooting 1 with AAA at around 20 yards in the head wouldnt cause meat damage

i have said i would not shoot one with a shotgun but understand why some people do

Edited April 4, 2011 by TJ91

[CharlieT]

 

maybe you should read my first post on this matter

i am not pursuing anything here, not saying people should or shouldnt shoot deer with shotguns, infact what i am talking about is not to do with the original question asked

i am merely saying that shooting 1 with AAA at around 20 yards in the head wouldnt cause meat damage

i have said i would not shoot one with a shotgun but understand why some people do

 

Although I addressed my reply to you because I was carrying on the conversation I made a grave mistake in saying in my post "I don't quite know why you wish to pursue" when I should have said CZ452 wishes.

 

My sincere appologies

 

Charlie.

[henry d]

.....i am merely saying that shooting 1 with AAA at around 20 yards in the head wouldnt cause meat damage....

 

Yes, but you miss the point. If you stalk up to one then a rifle is in order, if you are in thick forestry and either stand near a track or have deer walked/driven to you, then you may not be able to get a head shot and then there could be damage to the carcass.

 

Charlie, best of luck keeping them out

[wildfowler.250]

Thanks for all the replies. I have acquired all the info I was looking for. In a nutshell, crop protection and AAA shells is ok.

 

[al4x]

does remind me the last time we did any some got mixed up with Vietnamese pot bellied pig and made into sausages now they were seriously good but there was a bit of a story with the pig

[CharlieT]

Yes, but you miss the point. If you stalk up to one then a rifle is in order, if you are in thick forestry and either stand near a track or have deer walked/driven to you, then you may not be able to get a head shot and then there could be damage to the carcass.

 

Charlie, best of luck keeping them out

 

 

Thanks Henry. I sometimes think we shut the sheep out to feed the deer rather than make a bit of silage.

[TJ91]

Yes, but you miss the point. If you stalk up to one then a rifle is in order, if you are in thick forestry and either stand near a track or have deer walked/driven to you, then you may not be able to get a head shot and then there could be damage to the carcass.

 

 

 

ahh yes, i never thought of it that way , i was just going on people creeping up on them with shotgun

good point

 

i will be sure to get a rifle if i ever want to shoot a deer

[henry d]

Thanks Henry. I sometimes think we shut the sheep out to feed the deer rather than make a bit of silage.

 

Very nearly P-M-S-L

Edited April 4, 2011 by henry d

[Catweazle]

i will be sure to get a rifle if i ever want to shoot a deer

 

Of course you would, but the exemption isn't aimed at you. If I find a deer has got over / through the fence and is now trapped and distressed, and possibly dangerous in a confined area, I can shoot it without fear of being prosecuted.

 

If the deer were regular visitors then I have the option of bringing in someone with a suitable rifle or improving the fencing, probably both.

[njc110381]

why should deer drives be taking pot shots?

 

 

Sorry, I wrote that badly. I wasn't suggesting that driven deer = taking potshots. Rather that taking potshots is bad and drives aren't legal in the UK as far as I'm aware?

 

EDIT... The head shot issue that Dunkield brought up isn't such an issue with a shotgun. With a rifle shot it's pretty easy to mess up but if you shout at a Deer so it looks at you then shotgun it the pattern is big enough to make up for any small movements. Unlike a rifle shot which only gives you one chance, a shotgun blast gives you more margin for error. Not saying it can't go wrong, but it's far less likely.

Edited April 4, 2011 by njc110381