I found some public land that no one seems to deer hunt that has a ton of sign. It's either bow or buckshot only. It's like 10 minutes from my house, so that's great. Otherwise I wouldn't go to this much trouble.

I plan on reloading TSS in Ts and 4buck to see what works, the best, etc. My range will be based on the patterns. I'm have everything laying around to build the mother of all TSS traps, so I'm not worried about the cost for this.

I'm going to get a dedicated shotgun for this as I don't want to use one of my super nice ones. I'd be more comfortable scoped, so I'm going with a savage turkey gun on this.

What would be the benefits for 20 vs 12 for this application. Any thoughts would be welcome. I'm kind of going back and forth with my own thoughts.

I should also add, the property is a big depression that's all sand, has great visibility, and I'll hunt out of a sling. So I'm not worried about ricochets or over penetration. Thanks!

20 vs 12 for shooting T shot or #4 buck sized pellets? I can't see an upside to using the 20 ga for shooting a payload of big pellets. I would personally go with a gas semiauto to take some of the bite out of pulling the trigger compared to a bolt action. I have a friend that shoots 3.5" Dead Coyote T shot from a Mossberg 835. I know he claims 75 yard kills on coyotes with an improved cylinder choke and he is not a bs'er, he is a coyote killer. How many deer you planning to shoot a year? For the amount of shooting you will do, it is probably simpler to buy shells than to set up to load them. Just my opinion.

 

The number of pellets put down range would make the decision for me. Regardless of the name, “buckshot” needs all the help it can get to efficiently take down whitetail size game. Also, you might consider a red dot vs a scope. I really like a red dot in low light and it’s perfect for buckshot range. Also saves a lot of weight. Good luck on your hunt.

 

Youll blow the choke right out of your gun shooting TSS buckshot in a 20ga.

Deer hunters are using tss #2-4 (NOT BUCK). Tss 4B would be extremely dangerous, like killing a human at 300-400+ yards dangerous.

I wouldnt even shoot tss #2 through a choked 20ga, but its probably doable.

 

Why not #4Buck through a 20g full choke? Pressure like a clogged barrel? Danger of blowing the gun apart?

 

I'd think 12 ga would make it easier. More components to work with. Also, more room in the case.
Since I'd use a slug if it were allowed, in buckshot, I'd opt for as many pellets of the biggest size you can get. Sure a deer isn't a tank, but what's the point in scrapping the bottom of the performance barrel?

As to choking, I suppose that all depends on how it's constructed. But I'd assume you'd start pretty open, and perhaps rely on the wad choice to tighten the pattern. Also how about the idea to use a not so fancy, easily replaced barrel? Say, an 870 express?

Yes, TSS #4 buck would be extremely dangerous to a human. Lead #4 buck is extremely dangerous to a human. The assumption is you know your target and what's behind it -- otherwise find a different sport.

 

If TSS "T" shot is considered buckshot go with that. TSS #3 and #4 shot works great on coyotes. I want at least 3.70" of gel penetration for killing coyotes.

I wouldn't use a 20 ga on deer because of the much lower pellet count.

From KPY Shotshell Ballistics
1250 fps lead #4 buck gets 5.83" of gel penetration at 40 yards and has about 41 pellets in 1-7/8 oz of shot, each pellet has 34.81 lbs of energy.
1250 fps TSS T shot gets 8.78" of gel penetration at 40 yards and has about 42 pellets in 1-7/8 oz of shot, each pellet has 37.49 lbs of energy.
1250 fps TSS #2 shot gets 6.02" of gel penetration at 40 yards and has about 81 pellets in 1-1/2 oz of shot, each pellet has 14.08 lbs of energy.

The TSS T shot gets 50.60% more penetration than the lead #4 buck gets. The TSS T shot will also break bones that the lead #4 buck won't break because the 18g/cc TSS shot is very hard and won't deform.

I would defiantly use a Mylar wrap inside the plastic shot cup with any large TSS shot loads. A I/C extended choke may give you a tight enough pattern for shooting any large TSS shot loads.

 

TSS T shot from a 10ga for deer or hogs. Colonial Choke for non toxic shot. TSS 4s, same gun n choke, coyotes at distances l wont say here, straight smashed. You would be near end zone to end zone on a football field!!!

 

Thanks! I'll explain a little more. It's buckshot only. No slugs due to town laws. It'd be safe to use a high powered rifle at this property. The rest of the state is all rifle outside of a couple towns. Where I'd probably put up a stand I could have 400 yard shots down in a depression if I could use a rifle. It's not the impenetrable dense brush in the south where most people use buckshot. Are there unsafe areas where I could shoot as I can't see through? Yes. But I'm not going to do that. The laws specifically say no slugs. There is no minimum size on shot.

I've been kind of all over the place on what to buy for it as I'm going to probably thrash the barrel. I'm going to get various chokes and just keep going down and see what the loads do. I thought about just picking up an old beater 870 and tapping it. But I like the accutrigger more and I'm just use to rifle ergonomics for this kind of hunting. Plus the stock will fit better, etc. I was asking about a 20 as I'd probably use it on turkeys too vs a heavier 12. I'm not going to be shooting at running deer here. I'd love to use a slug over this, but no one hunts there because of the rules.

I already have a scope I'll throw on it that I use in the dense big woods on a rifle I use there. An illuminated leica 1-4. With a 12, I won't mind the extra weight because of recoil. Astigmatism is the bane of red dots. For a laugh, the only ones that work for me are the cheapest of the cheap.

My goal here is to just eek out as much range as I can. Load a bunch up, check patterns, back up, repeat. My max range will be based on the patterns I get. The stuff I read online are super all over the place on what distances guys are shooting deer and coyotes, but I can't find any patterns at distance. I did play around with a ballistics calculator for a while reading the energies of different sized tss at range and what that means in terms of penetration.

Would it be cheaper to buy premade ammo and shoot it through my maxius? Yes. Very much so. But this sounds like a fun project to tackle.

 

start with what's available.
no sense getting all worked up about T size shot if you can't get it.