Side by side shotgun for deer?

[beaconrocker]

Interested in possibly purchasing a side by side for deer hunting and maybe some turkeys. Looking at models with swappable chokes and just wanted to know if it's at all viable for taking deer. I know it's not ideal but the challenge is part of what I'm looking for and side by sides just have that awesome look to them!

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[Andy54Hawken]

Shotguns work fine for deer ...out to 100 yards or so.
Some states or areas in parts of some states , only allow shotguns .
( First deer I ever got , many moons ago was in Ohio with my 20 gauge 870 and slugs )

Just like with a rifle...find a load that works for you and how you shoot...then lots of practice.
Andy

 

[41mag]

There's different laws & regs from state to state. Decades ago I was informed some places actually expect deer hunters to climb trees!

 

[Howard1955]

Definitely a bad idea to give a deer a double-barreled shotgun. They're dangerous enough with a single shot.

But seriously - yes, a shotgun is a fine tool for killing deer. I have a very old single-shot 12 gauge that was my wife's grandfather's gun, and I used it to kill a deer. Buckshot will work, but I prefer using a slug.

A shotgun is a great tool, since you can hunt all sorts of game with it, just by using a different kind of shell.

 

[beaconrocker]

Thanks for the replies, I've been looking around at different forums for deer hunting and nobody mentioned using side by sides so I wanted to see what some of you who have more experience hunting thought of it

 

[Member 79223]

It seems like SXS have been declining in popularity all around, so not surprising that you haven't heard them mentioned much. They seem to be more popular as an upland gun.

 

[Will_White]

Be sure to practice at various ranges so you know the hold over for each barrel, side by sides are setup to converge at a distance so for longer shots you will need to compensate for that.

 

[DeanMk]

Thanks for the replies, I've been looking around at different forums for deer hunting and nobody mentioned using side by sides so I wanted to see what some of you who have more experience hunting thought of it

Along the lines of what Wil wrote, which barrel you gonna sight down?
Anytime you shoot SxS, the assumption is that the spread of the shot will make up for the fact that you're not sighting straight down the middle of the barrel.
If you wanna use a shotgun, that's fine, but any other type would be better for slug hunting.
JMHO, YMMV.

 

[JohnnyMac]

Or.......?

 

[Stomper]

It seems like SXS have been declining in popularity all around, so not surprising that you haven't heard them mentioned much. They seem to be more popular as an upland gun.

I'd be more inclined to go with an over/under setup rather than a SxS….

 

[ilikegunspdx]

You can also get a SxS double rifle for deer. Or a SxS shotgun + rifle. The best of all worlds is a drilling. They usually have two shotgun barrels on top and a rifle barrel on bottom. The German ones are well made and much lighter then you would think they would be. Many of them have easily removable scopes. This triple barrel drilling from Sauer weighs about 7.25 lbs which is about the same as a single barrel mossberg 500.


Short video on the box lock (most common type) drilling:

 

[DirectDrive]

I was raised in a "shotgun state"
(shotgun only for deer).
Ithaca Model 37 Deerslayer was my favorite.
No serious deer hunters were using SxS guns.
You might see an old timer with one every now and then.

 

[solv3nt]

Definitely a bad idea to give a deer a double-barreled shotgun. They're dangerous enough with a single shot.

Why were the founders so interested in arming bears?

 

[GrayGoose]

If you shoot your over/under gangsta-style, does that make it a side-by-side?

 

[NeoBlackdog]

Excuse me while I jump up on my soapbox for a minute...

When you go hunting, you are there to harvest a game animal. That means that you are going to kill that game animal. It is my firmly held belief that you owe it to your quarry to do so in as quick and pain free manner as is possible. Will a SXS do that? Sure, if you have it dialed in and can make proper shots on target. That means lots and lots of practice.
If you are going to use a shotgun, you would be far better off using a version with a single barrel and good sights. If you don't then you risk a crippled animal that may or may not expire quickly from it's wounds.

 

[bcp]

Never aim and shoot at a deer. Aim and shoot at a specific spot on the deer.

Consider mounting real sights on the gun, maybe using epoxy.

Shoot a group with the right barrel. Shot a group with the left barrel. If one barrel groups much better than the other, use that barrel as a single shot.

Shoot a group using both barrels. Compare that to the single barrel groups to see if you can hunt with both barrels.

After deciding if you use one barrel or two, shoot at different ranges to determine the maximum distance you can make a 6 inch group, from different positions, not benchrest. Then don't shoot at a deer farther away than that.

Bruce

 

[JRuby]

I have killed more than a half dozen white tail deer with shotguns. Not a lot compared to some. I grew up back in Michigan. The first couple were killed with a break action single shot 20 using remington slugs. I then proceeded to shoot a couple with a remington 870 wingmaster that had a slug barrel again using remington slugs. I finally one year sold a 4h steer and bought a 12 guage 1100 remington with a full chose and slug barrel. i still have this shotgun. My dad felt that slugs provided a quicker cleaner kill than buck shot hence I never used buck shot on deer. I left for the service over 40 some years ago and have not hunted deer with a shotgun since. We used to practice on one gallon plastic milk jugs and could reliably place rounds into a jug at over 115 yards. I question if I could do that with a double shooting slugs. I personally think a single barreled shotgun in this case is superior to a SxS shotgun. Shooting pheasants, quail and grouse I would most happily use a double SXS.

 

[DeanMk]

Consider mounting real sights on the gun, maybe using epoxy.

Bruce

I remember, starting in the 70's, Red Dot sights were real popular with slug hunters.
They still make them (although in a different form these days), with mounting gear for certain models, like the 870.
Not sure if I've ever seen any on a break action gun, but I bet if you looked hard enough you'd probably find one.

 

[DirectDrive]

I remember, starting in the 70's, Red Dot sights were real popular with slug hunters.
They still make them (although in a different form these days), with mounting gear for certain models, like the 870.
Not sure if I've ever seen any on a break action gun, but I bet if you looked hard enough you'd probably find one.

I had a Weaver Quik Point on a Model 37
VERY effective.

 

[DirectDrive]

I have killed more than a half dozen white tail deer with shotguns. Not a lot compared to some. I grew up back in Michigan. The first couple were killed with a break action single shot 20 using remington slugs. I then proceeded to shoot a couple with a remington 870 wingmaster that had a slug barrel again using remington slugs. I finally one year sold a 4h steer and bought a 12 guage 1100 remington with a full chose and slug barrel. i still have this shotgun. My dad felt that slugs provided a quicker cleaner kill than buck shot hence I never used buck shot on deer. I left for the service over 40 some years ago and have not hunted deer with a shotgun since. We used to practice on one gallon plastic milk jugs and could reliably place rounds into a jug at over 115 yards. I question if I could do that with a double shooting slugs. I personally think a single barreled shotgun in this case is superior to a SxS shotgun. Shooting pheasants, quail and grouse I would most happily use a double SXS.

I'm in that camp as well.
I am not a fan of buckshot for deer hunting.
In addition to being not that effective for quick, humane kills, it's dangerous with all those pellets flying around.