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what shot you gents use for waterfowl
- Thread starter wet
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vthunter52
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I shoot #2 steel out of my perc. 20ga. if I think I might encounter geese and ducks, #4 steel otherwise. Good luck, BP waterfowling is very addicting.
stinkyfeet
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From a modern scatter gun #2's when geese and ducks are in season or 4's for just ducks
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Sign me up for #4 ITX. My shotguns all pattern it really smoothly, and it flat whaps the snot out of waterfowl at usual muzzleloading velocities and ranges. I do about 99% of my duck shooting over decoys, and find that the open patterns of a ML make it easier than ever to connect.
Modern gun guys I hunt with kid me about my "slowloader" but cuss my quick bag limits along with the white smoke they have to shoot through. I'm pretty quick to mount and shoot, so my response is always "To bad you can't shoot fast with your fastloaders!"
Modern gun guys I hunt with kid me about my "slowloader" but cuss my quick bag limits along with the white smoke they have to shoot through. I'm pretty quick to mount and shoot, so my response is always "To bad you can't shoot fast with your fastloaders!"
To follow up on Wet's post, when using steel in your blackpowder shotguns, what is yor preferred shot size? In speaking with Orion, he indicates that #4 are good if you're only encountering ducks. How bout the rest of you? I'm heading back to the blind this next weekend with my Pedersoli in tow. I'm gonna order some steel shot tonight. I would love to have the ITX and other stuff but man, that stuff is like gold! I just can't afford it.
Jeff
Jeff
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I haven't been the least bit satisfied with steel in a ML. In modern guns the rule of thumb is supposedly to go up two shot sizes over what you do with lead. In my experience three sizes is more like it.
BUT! I say again, BUT!
You also have to get the velocity way up, on the order of 1500 fps to get anything like normal performance at normal waterfowl ranges.
Tried the three sizes larger in a ML, but was not getting very good penetration even at 25 yards. Killed a few, but crippled a few right along with it. In my experience there's just no way on earth to pump up the vels meaningfully with BP, at least while getting a pattern you can hit with.
The alternative varieties to steel may seem expensive, but look closer. Shot for shot, loads from a ML are bunches cheaper than loads for modern guns. And my busiest day ever in a duck blind was 13 shots. While with a modern gun I might take 2 or 3 shots per flight, with a ML SxS I take one and save one for cripples. And I seem to kill a lot more birds in spite of shooting about 1/3 as many times.
At the current $154 per 7 pound bag, that's right at 90 shots of 1 1/4 oz each, or right at $1.70 per shot. That's about half or less what premium 12 gauge shells are going for. A gunner has to be pretty busy AND a pretty poor shot to use up more than a bag a season. I know guys that can easily bust $100 a day with modern guns.
BUT! I say again, BUT!
You also have to get the velocity way up, on the order of 1500 fps to get anything like normal performance at normal waterfowl ranges.
Tried the three sizes larger in a ML, but was not getting very good penetration even at 25 yards. Killed a few, but crippled a few right along with it. In my experience there's just no way on earth to pump up the vels meaningfully with BP, at least while getting a pattern you can hit with.
The alternative varieties to steel may seem expensive, but look closer. Shot for shot, loads from a ML are bunches cheaper than loads for modern guns. And my busiest day ever in a duck blind was 13 shots. While with a modern gun I might take 2 or 3 shots per flight, with a ML SxS I take one and save one for cripples. And I seem to kill a lot more birds in spite of shooting about 1/3 as many times.
At the current $154 per 7 pound bag, that's right at 90 shots of 1 1/4 oz each, or right at $1.70 per shot. That's about half or less what premium 12 gauge shells are going for. A gunner has to be pretty busy AND a pretty poor shot to use up more than a bag a season. I know guys that can easily bust $100 a day with modern guns.
Flintfan69
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Bismuth
Richard J.
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Bismuth gets real hard to find. I have a pedersoli double with chrome lining. Where I live now you cant find it. I have to wait until I go back to Pa., or Va. to get it. Florida had wonderful weather but it is a real problem finding reloaing supplys of any quanity. Most places just sell regular shells. On the plus side of living here I can be fishing or hunting everyday. No hard ice down here and hogs are in season year round. Sure miss a privite range thou.
Joel/Calgary
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Precision Reloading currently lists both bismuth and NiceShot, as does Wil Bilozir up here (he's also the Canadian distributor for Ballistic Products). I'm still using the last of my stash of original bismuth #4s on ducks (when I can hit them), and a buddy has had good results using bismuth #4s on ducks and smaller geese (Snows & lesser Canadas). Another buddy went to Nice Shot before bismuth became available again, and has stayed with it to keep life simple.Richard J. said:
Regards,
Joel
Bought a bunch of #5 Bismuth several years ago and still have some left. It works good.
A couple of years ago Cabelas was closing out some Federal 3 1/2" 10ga #6 shot Tungston Matrix and I bought a boatload of boxes, 10 shells to a box for under $7.00 bucks a box. They were 1 3/4 loads and after taking apart the shells I got over a pound of shot for under $7.00 a pound, WAY less the retail for the shot. I sold the 10ga hulls for .25 each and recouped some of my outlay.
The number 6 Tungston knocks the heck out of the birds, a lot like lead used to and I'm happy.
A couple of years ago Cabelas was closing out some Federal 3 1/2" 10ga #6 shot Tungston Matrix and I bought a boatload of boxes, 10 shells to a box for under $7.00 bucks a box. They were 1 3/4 loads and after taking apart the shells I got over a pound of shot for under $7.00 a pound, WAY less the retail for the shot. I sold the 10ga hulls for .25 each and recouped some of my outlay.
The number 6 Tungston knocks the heck out of the birds, a lot like lead used to and I'm happy.
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