Buckshot was (as you can tell by the name) designed for hunting deer (Bucks) by allowing hunters to hit a variety of vitals with enough force to take down big game.
Each shell typically has 4-8 course lead/steel pellets.
Most commonly however, hunters use slugs to hunt big game (Check out our page on slugs [Here] ), and instead use Buckshot / '00 Buck (Pronounced "Double Aught") for home defense purposes, due to it's incredible stopping power.
The Purpose:
As described above, the initial purpose was to hit multiple vitals in big game animals (Such as the lungs, heart, liver, etc of deer) - However, most hunters dislike hunting with buckshot due to the risks of:
1.) Damaging a large surface area of the animal's hide or meat
2.) Risking hitting a variety of areas that can taint the meat (ie. gut shots)
However, using buckshot for home defense allows people less spread than Birdshot (for more accurate hits), and overwhelming force hitting that specific targeted area.
The Effect:
This is the effect of Buckshot (Federal Personal Defense '00 Buck) [Which features 9 pellets instead of 8] at 10 yards. The accuracy to center-mass is much higher, and leaves significant holes in the target.
Multiple things can factor into the spread as well, such as:1.) Barrel length
2.) Chokes (Tighter or wider shot patterns)
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But essentially, this is what "Buckshot", or more so "'00 Buck" looks like, and what it does.
More articles on the way! Stay tuned, Shotgunners!
