Shot for Duck Hunting

[Bob J]

Is Bismuth the best shot for duck hunting? :: I'm shooting a Pedersoli 10 ga. s x s. Do you have to use a shot cup? Is it harder to clean? My turkey load is 109 grains 2f, 1 1/2 oz. #5 chilled lead shot and Circle Fly wads. Should I try similiar load with Bismuth?

 

[pennsyltucky]

im gonna give hevi-shot #6 in my .62. but ill be cheating with a modified choke.... i wasnt gonna take betsy out because the .62 just isnt enuf for the fast far and swinging shots with steel, but im gonna foot the bill for the good stuff.

any suggestions on a good stout mallard load?
im going to start with 80g 3f, card, wonderwad, 20-30g of cream-of-wheat or oatmeal, shot cup, 1oz #6 hevi-shot, and a thin card on top...

ive never shot at ducks before, but i dont have any problem with clays and frisbees

 

[harrys]

I'd visit the bismuth web site to get load recommendations,I have a 12ga pedersoli which came with pedersoli's "lawyer load" recommendations. Although you cant go too far from what they recomend their guns are certainly capable or more than they state. Depending on what chokes are in your gun and what range your shooting,I'd rather juggle the powder and shot till I got what I want,than use a shot cup. 10-15 gr less powder than shot will tighten up a load(you still need enough powder to get the job done though)

 

[Rebel]

You might want to try 2f instead of 3f. I have found that 3f seems to blow my patterns with shot. Works well with rd balls though. 70-80gr of 2f an over powder wad 1 1/8-1 1/4 oz of shot and an over shot wad should do the trick.

 

[pennsyltucky]

1 1/8- 1 1/4 is ok in a 20ga? i will be cronographing these as i pattern so i will know how fast it shoots. i need to keep the speed up since i have a problem with long leads. i am hoping for 1200-1300fps with consistant pattern. i thought i was goin heavy with just 1 oz. i have never tried 2f before. but i may have to. i hear its a little dirtier (which doesnt matter cuz i swab after every shot anyhow) but it cuts down on the nasty recoil of the 3f???

BTW, what is the grain equivalent of 1 1/8 oz of hevishot? its not the same as lead and i dont have a table to go by.

 

[Rebel]

If you are going for higer velocity you may want to go to 1-1 1/8 oz of shot. I am not familiar with Heavy Shot, so i don't know how it compares to lead. I never could afford that stuff, so i always used steel shot in my Navy Arms double barrel .12 ga with the special heavy plastic steel shotcups. I know of guys that use up to 1 1/2 oz of lead for turkeys in there .20's. I know with lead a setting of 70 grs on your measurer will throw 1 0z, 80 grs will throw 1 1/8 oz, and 90 will throw 1 1/4 oz.

 

[ffffg]

i use about 16 percent more bismuth in volumn measure becouse bismth is lighter.. but weigh your lead load and then weigh that much in bismuth and put in your measure to see where it comes out, then pattern to see if its working. i used #4 for ducks and got lots of them with a pedersoli sxs and 2 geese.. i would use number bb for geese.... a 10 ga sxs will be expensive with bismuth if you get into a lot of ducks.. yes load just like you do your lead except more bismuth volumn, same weight... clean the bismuth out with kleenbore lead removal cloth at end of season... good luck dave.. ,,

 

[arcticap]

There is some limited but maybe useful 20 guage load information about waterfowl loads here:

http://www.hevishot.com/products_goose_20.html

The company phone number is listed at the bottom of the page for further information.

 

[pennsyltucky]

thanks. i guess i was bein conservative. my dad showed me some older 20ga shells in 3" than have 3 1/2 dram eq and 1 5/8oz #4's and #6's. he said they will break ur neck. thats why he still has em. just as an edit to my previous post, i found #5's so ill be using that instead. i really like #5's and i can also use em on geese, turkeys and whatever.

ive never tried bismuth, but when its only a couple bucks less than hevishot..... i doubt i ever will.