There's another thread that got me thinking, does anyone who don't run dogs really still hunt with buckshot?
Yes. Some woods are more suited to rifles. The woods where I hunt are more suited to a shotgun and buckshot. Where I hunt, if you can shoot 80 yards with a shotgun, it will cover 90% of the opportunities you get. Though a rifle would technically cover 100%, hitting a deer running flat out in thick woods is difficult. One of the most difficult shots I've made on a deer dog hunting was on a buck that was crossing a road tight enough that the bushes scrub both sides of my toyota when I drive it. I shot him twice crossing that road at 40 yards or so. Some might could have done that with a rifle, but not me.
