Firearm and archery deer seasons have started in various parts of North America. Some areas still require shotguns rather than rifles because a missed slug is viewed as less likely to travel far and strike someone distant, though certain places now allow rifles in straight-wall cartridges such as 360 Buckhammer instead of bottleneck designs like .308.

Rifled slug barrels handle 100-yard shots easily and 200-yard shots with sabot loads once sights and ammunition are set, while bead-sighted smoothbores place Foster slugs well inside 50 yards. Buckshot works at bow ranges under 30 yards and on moving deer in drives, and pumps, autoloaders or doubles give faster follow-up shots than bolt rifles. Hunters limited to shotguns have long taken deer and even bears with these loads.