Cartridges

[Beretta28g]

Hi I am invited to a duck flight, mallard.

 

max range is 30 yard, what is the most suitable non toxic load please, as i aint too well up on non lead loads.

 

 

 

Beretta

[dodeer]

RC Steel 32g 4's.

[wymberley]

Don't know much about steel either so hopefully someone will put you (us) straight. Am I not right in thinking that I heard 1/2 choke is a max for steel? Only posted because this sounds like an exception for you and just to be on the safe side.

Hope you have a good session!

Cheers

[lister1]

steel if your gun is steel proof or bismuth will be fine. if you go for bismuth ( bloody expensive mind ) go up a couple of sizes to what you would normally use ie if you normally shoot 6s i would go fo 4s.

there are other non toxic loads have a search on here you'll find loads on it.

[anser2]

You have a choice of

 

Bismuth

Treat as lead. 5s probably the best size for flighting mallard up to 45 yard. Very pricy

 

Hevi shot

Not more than 1\2 choke and probably too much for want you need as they are a long range shell and will kill duck well over 50 yards if you point the gun in the right place. No 6 or 5 are plenty big enough pellet size. Around £1.40 a shell.

 

Tungstun matrix

Very good shells , but use 1\2 choke or less and pellet size 6s. Expensive.

 

Steel.

Presuming you are using a 2 3\4 inch chamber gun do not exceed 32 gr loads or chokes tighter than 1\2. Restrict your range to less than 35m and use no 4 pellets. Any smaller pellets and you will wound more than you kill unless they are very close. The shells are cheap at around £5.00 for 25.

 

Tin

Forget them !!!!

[MC]

For flighting mallard on a pond I use 2 3/4" Express Supreme steel or Gamebore Super steel. They are both 32gr no.4 loads and both do the job adequately out to 30 35 yards.

 

All the exotics like hevi shot and Tungsten matrix are wasted on a pond situation.

[Beretta28g]

Thanks for all the replys. My gun is 3'' steel profed so ill try the steel loads recomended, this time tommorrow ill give you an update on how they worked.....

 

 

 

Beretta

[Beretta28g]

Well i went tonight. the flight started late as they were lifting sugarbeet which put the duck off coming in.

 

I got a brace of duck one being a mallard duck and one being a cross breed.

 

3 shots for 2 duck. absoulutly brilliant.

 

 

Loads: i bought some gamebore super steel in 30g 5 shot, and was given by the person i was flighting with some lyvale 24g 71/2 steel loads

 

Both killed tonight.

 

 

 

Beretta

[fortune82]

I wouldnt have thought 7.5 shot in steel would be up to the job.

[Beretta28g]

Now thats strange, the bird i shot with the big stuff has two pellets around his backside, one through a wing and one in the crop area, the bird i shot with the small stuff is squarly hit accross the breast, and it caught 35 pellets in the normal plucking area.

 

I ve no idea why, though i reckon it was more humane than the big stuff certainly at the ranges i was shooting.

 

 

 

 

Beretta

[MC]

I am not going to start again but that is disgraceful, using clay loads on ducks now.

 

35 pellets in the breasts I assume you mean, must be almost uneatable.

[Beretta28g]

i mean 35 pellets in the neck wings legs breast parsons nose backside, anywhere you normally pluck.

 

I take it it not good to use clay loads on duck, as a reletilily inexperienced duck shot may i ask why? I have heard that people use clay cartridges when pigeon decoying, so whats the difference?

 

The bird is not un eatable, and is going to be in a roast tommorrow.

 

 

Beretta

[lister1]

i'll sit back and watch this one unfold.......

 

ducks are a tuff bird. must have been in close range to use 7.5 shot but hey dead is dead right?

[MC]

There is a very good reason why wildfowling cartridges are usually heavy loads of large shot and that is because the birds are tough. I personally would never fire a 7 1/2 at anything with a heartbeat and especially one that has very thick and dense feathers like an overwintered duck.

 

Steel is largely ineffective as a shotload due to its mass being a lot less than lead and therefore to ENSURE a clean kill and not just a lucky shot you need to go up a couple of sizes to maintain the striking energy.

 

Traditionally a 5 or 6 would have been used for ducks over flight ponds so ideally with steel you should be using 4's or 3's

 

Now I know several people will come on here and argue that you killed the duck so what is the issue? But what about the one you missed? Is that tucked up somewhere nursing an injury from using small ineffective shot?

[Beretta28g]

Thanks for the xplanation, id never thought of it like that. ill deinatly stick to igger shot next time.

 

 

 

 

Beretta

[fortune82]

I strongly disagreed with MC on 7.5 shot on pigeon but strongly agree with him on not using it on duck especially steel 7.5. 35 pellets in a duck will not make for good eating especially as they are steel! Hope you dont have any fillings!

 

I always use 32gram no.4 steel or 32 gram no.5 bismuth, both will easily kill Mallard at 30-35 yards with only a few pellets in the bird.