Ohio shotguns for deer, ducks and gobblers

For most of the last century the shotgun was the only deer gun Ohio allowed, and a slug gun still fills plenty of tags every December. A rifled barrel with sabot slugs reaches about 150 yards; a smoothbore with rifled slugs is a 75-yard tool. Buckshot is not legal for deer. North of Route 2, the marshes around Sandusky Bay and the western basin of Lake Erie are the state's duck and goose country, which means non-toxic shot and a three-shell limit. Spring turkey season runs from late April into May and rewards a tight-choked 12 or 20 gauge. One pump with two barrels covers all of it, and Mossberg and Remington both build that kind of combination. Shotgun buyers must be 18; we ship to your Ohio FFL. See Ohio deer rifles & slug guns.