thank you...for 30 years the county I hunted in was shotgun/pistol/muzzleloader only. it has recently become a rifle county and I now use my Marlin 336 .35 Remington... or a 7mm Mauser sporter.
those deer, I took with a shotgun were mostly with foster slugs, a few with sabots all in all around 22 deer. this is brush country and I have never seen a shot over 100yds.
when hit in the chest, shoulder or even hind quarters with a 12 gauge slug, the deer go DOWN...mostly right away....the foster slug although slow makes a nice 70+ caliber hole in a deer. there is less hydrostatic damage to the meat than lets say a 30-06 so there is less waste.
you are not hunting undergunned with a 12 gauge shotgun with slugs, just keep it under 100 yds with foster slugs and under 200yds with sabots. I would not think twice about shooting a black bear a moose or an elk with one at 75 yds or less....and it is known that fishing/hunting guides in Alaska carry short barreled pump shotguns with sabot slugs as backup in brown/grizzly country as at close range this thing is a sledgehammer...
thank you...