hunter5325

My buds that live back east always say it's so thick and most shots are inside 75yds so they don't feel too handicapped with a shotgun, but that's just them. Most my shots on Muley's, elk, and pronghorn are between 150 and 400yds so a shotgun would very much handicap most western hunters.

rem 700

I'm glad I have the option of a centerfire rifle...I've used shotguns very little but I do like my muzzleloaders for the slight challenge anyways

MichiganWhitetails74

180 yards is a cumfy shot.....200 does get a little silly....I will only push 200 in low to zero wind, a good rest....and a range finder I trust.

EKM

No I didn't.... pretty good adaptation to get around the regs; however, if that is your world, then....
It seems even more unlikely that I would consider going back east or down southfor hunting.... except for perhaps waterfowl --- I hear the Mississippi flyway is pretty awesome. Of course that is using a scattergun for what it was intended.

harter66

Are any of Y'all checking out the 12ga FH .I keep trying to tell people and noooooobody listens it don't take a an 8" howidzer with a 175lb AP and 43.6 lbs of Black powder or 35lbs of smokless to kill a cottontail at ten paces .A 22-250 will do the job at 200 day in day out I can't imagine that a.690-.75 semi conical at 15-1700 wouldn't kill the hell outta whitetails to 200 .

vabyrd

I'll give you one worse than that. There are some places in Virginia that are not only shotgun, but buck shot only!!! Sucks because of the damn dog runners. Furthest thing from actual hunting I've ever seen.

wyotimberghost

If I lived somewhere where I was forced to hunt with a shotgun for big game I'd either hunt strictly archery or move to a better state.

game4lunch

As I recall, the main reason for shotgun hunting is because of the dense population. If you miss with a 12 ga slug, how far will it go and with what ft lbs?
But a rifle round will go several miles. It's simply a safety issue.
The new technology today with the rifled slugs, scopes, sabots, etc. . . . I'm not sure you can call them shotguns anymore.
Hunting is hunting anywhere you go. You just have to adapt to the regs. I'd still hunt if all I could use was a stick and a spoon.
IMO, hunting with any weapon is still a well recieved challenge. You are constantly reminded that you are in THEIR realm, and we are just visiting. I'm just thankfull they don't shoot back!

salukipv1

some have speculated that one reason IL has monster deer, is that slugs, which we've always used to hunt deer, limit our ranges, therefore bucks grew older than would have been taken years earlier with a rifle, it wasn't long ago that 50-100yds was a long shot for a slug, and still feel 100yds with a slut is semi long, they say they'll do 200yds, i'm sure they'll do 150, but 200 is a stretch in my mind, less youre dialed in at 150 dead on etc.....and drop one in at 200, plus I don't think we need to worry about 200yd shots so much, though certainly a rifle would take younger deer that with a slug would have gotten away.

AmateurHunter44857

The SST only drops 6.7 inches at 200 yards. It is zeroed in at 150. They guarantee it. It really irritates me how ignorant some are on modern shotgun slugs and rifled barrels.