silver pigeon 3 Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 Just thinking about cartridge choice for out on the marsh next year, hopefully by then i will have a 3.5 inch chambered gun. What would be your cartridge choice for ducks and geese if cost wasn't an issue, and also what is your cartridge that you use most of taking into account performance v cost? Also what is everybody's prefered choke with there cartridge of choice? Last season i mainly used Gamebore Mammoth 36g 3's on the ducks, apart from late in the season over the splashes where the shooting was much closer when i used Gamebore TMX in 32g 5's to try to get more pellets in the pattern for those super quick Teal!! Choke was normally 1/4 for both. Geese were lacking last year but my cartridge choice was ITM 36g 3's, but range was kept sensible. Normally 1/2 choke for these as they seemed to pattern better at 35 yards. Next season i am probably going to use Gamebore Mammoth in both 36g 4's and 42g 3's on the duck, and again later in the year back to TMX over the splashes. Geese i am going to try the 42g Mammoth's in either 1 or bb, and also keep a few ITM 3's in stock. I think if cost was not an issue i would use ITM for everything, but until my numbers come up it wont be happening Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 (edited) Geese shells Within sensible range 3 inch Kent Tungsten Matrix in no 1 or 3 will do a good job on geese. However at over £2.00 a shot are not really practical for the majority of my goose shooting. This load does not like full choke. 1\2 is plenty and 1\4 better. I reserve this load for use in my AYA No 3 s\s when flighting in the sand dunes. Sand and semi autos do not mix. I used to love Hevi-shot before they reduced the loads and produced perfect round pellets. The old 36 gr of no 4 was a great goose load. But I cant get on with the new loads. True I sometimes pull off a great shot , but too often I no longer seem to get a clean kills I used to get with the old style of pellets. 90% of my geese are shot with steel BB or BBB 3.5 inch loads by Winchester or Remington. Combined with a very full turkey choke they will cleanly kill any goose up to 50 yards. Its important to match the type of choke to the size of pellets you expect to use. Mine is an undertaker choke , for use with steel pellets only in sizes BB and BBB only and has a constriction of .700. Thats about full choke in old lead money! I would be very wary of using steel at geese beyond 40 yards in a normal choked gun. Duck shells Always a 3 inch load in steel. Usually gamebore no 3 36 gr load , but sometimes Remington Sportsman. I find this a very good load for teal wigeon size duck and close mallard. For tall mallard a 3.5 inch Remington Sportsman no 2 takes some beating. There are times when I need a fast handling game gun when shooting inland along the river at duck nipping between trees. Then I use a Kestrel 2 3\4 inch gun with Bismuth in no 5s , but they are a bit too expensive. In reality steel will do all you need for duck or geese provided you use a large enough pellet\load and forget about 60 yard shots. 95% of my duck are shot with steel. To put this in context I usually shoot about 500-600 shells at wildfowl a season , mainly on the foreshore , but with some inland shooting. Steel at geese usually give me a return of 2 geese for every 3 shells , but more like one duck for every 3 shells Geese shells Within sensible range 3 inch Kent Tungsten Matrix in no 1 or 3 will do a good job on geese. However at over £2.00 a shot are not really practical for the majority of my goose shooting. This load does not like full choke. 1\2 is plenty and 1\4 better. I reserve this load for use in my AYA No 3 s\s when flighting in the sand dunes. Sand and semi autos do not mix. I used to love Hevi-shot before they reduced the loads and produced perfect round pellets. The old 36 gr of no 4 was a great goose load. But I cant get on with the new loads. True I sometimes pull off a great shot , but too often I no longer seem to get a clean kills I used to get with the old style of pellets. 90% of my geese are shot with steel BB or BBB 3.5 inch loads by Winchester or Remington. Combined with a very full turkey choke they will cleanly kill any goose up to 50 yards. Duck shells Always a 3 inch load in steel. Usually gamebore no 3 36 gr load , but sometimes Remington Sportsman. I find this a very good load for teal wigeon size duck and close mallard. For tall mallard a 3.5 inch Remington Sportsman no 2 takes some beating. There are times when I need a fast handling game gun when shooting inland along the river at duck nipping between trees. Then I use a Kestrel 2 3\4 inch gun with Bismuth in no 5s , but they are a bit too expensive. In reality steel will do all you need for duck or geese provided you use a large enough pellet\load and forget about 60 yard shots. 95% of my duck are shot with steel. To put this in context I usually shoot about 500-600 shells at wildfowl a season , mainly on the foreshore , but with some inland shooting. Steel at geese usually give me a return of 2 geese for every 3 shells , but more like one duck for every 3 shells , but I never have been a very good shot at duck in poor light. Edited May 14, 2012 by anser2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrispti Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 In short, I patterned a load of different non-toxic loads. Gamebore steel 3'' and 3.5'' #4 and BB, respectively, held good tight patterns right out to 55 yds compared to the others, which started to open up considerably, after 40 yds. That was through my Xtrema2 using 1/2 choke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 gamebore no3 3" steel for duck remmington BBB 3 1/2" for geese both through 1/2 choke. have had a few ejection issues with the 3 1/2" remmington during last season it might have been a slightly large batch but every now and again one would wedge itself on the ejection port so i will be using a few more mamouths this comming season in 3 1/2" and see if it still occurs 9these have also worked well for me) More expensive non toxic are a non starter for me in the 12 but i do plan at trying the dear stuff in my 10 bore which still carries tight chokes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildfowler12 Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 (edited) My fowling loads last year consisted of; Ducks- Gamebore Super steel, Gamebore Mammoth steel (3'), Hull steel game extra and Laylvale max game steel (3') all in either shot size no.3 or no.4. Geese- Gamebore Mammoth Steel (3.5') BB's and Laylvale max game steel (3') no.1. All through 1/4 choke in the Supernova. I was very impressed with all of these cartridges, particularly as most of my shooting was on the foreshore. Oh, I also used some 3' Bismuth Alphamax on the geese in my old Lincoln. These worked well too, but where about £20 for a box of 10. Edited May 14, 2012 by Wildfowler12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver pigeon 3 Posted May 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 Good informative answers gents. Seems that the Gamebore steels are a popular choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildfowler12 Posted May 15, 2012 Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 (edited) Good informative answers gents. Seems that the Gamebore steels are a popular choice. My mate fired a 2 3/4' 32gram Gamebore Supersteel no.3 at a late season mallard that must have been nearly 60yards up. I called him a f-ing idiot when he raised the barrels and to my suprise it folded up like it had been hit with a lead BB. I, and a few of my friends, rate the gamebore steel very highly (although I wouldnt reccomend doing the above). I've even converted to their 24gram steel for my clay shooting. Edited May 15, 2012 by Wildfowler12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beretta28g Posted May 15, 2012 Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 IMHO Gamebore Steel is the best. I Use 3'' 1's for duck and goose last year. I hope to handload some of the Clay and Game heavy stuff ror the duck and geese this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurona12 Posted May 15, 2012 Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 (edited) I use Remington Sportsman Steel 3.5" 1 3/8 Oz No.2 shot for Geese - £18.46 for 25 from Forseys. I have used Bornaghi steel in the past on Ducks - a good cartridge IMO if you can get hold of them. 70mm, 36g. No.4 for £9.75 for 25 at Justcartridges at the moment. I got a box thrown in when I got my SX3 - the dealer was using them on Pheasants :unsure: Edited May 15, 2012 by laurona12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ91 Posted May 16, 2012 Report Share Posted May 16, 2012 (edited) Previous 2 seasons I used eley alphamax 46g BB bismuth for geese and eley VIP 32g 5s bismuth for ducks. All through quarter choke (remington 11-87 and hatsan escort) Had plenty of good kills. Next season I will be using remington sportsman and/or nitro through 10bore. Edited May 16, 2012 by TJ91 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scolopax Posted May 17, 2012 Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 Money no object ? 36 gram #5 ITM for ducks 40 gram #1 Hevi for geese What I actually use 36 gram #3 Steel (Gamebore) for ducks 32 gram #4 Steel for ducks 36 gram #3 Hevi for Geese I also have some 32 gram #5 Hevi which I keep for 'best' generally tall flighting mallard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeh Posted May 20, 2012 Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 if cost wasn't an issue, Uranium no.4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted May 20, 2012 Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 I'm going to be using either a Remi 1100 or an AYA no3 mag next season. The Remi is OK with steel (not hp) up to 36gm. Opinions welcome from people using either of these guns please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ayano3 Posted May 20, 2012 Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 (edited) Last season I used Remington Sportsman Steel 1 3/8oz 1's or 3" Sportsman BBB for Geese and Gamebore steel 5's for Duck. This was through my Winchester SX2 3 1/2" Super Magnum with 1/4 choke. If I had a choice, I would still use Eley Alphamax 1 1/4 4's for duck and Eley 3" magnum BB's for Geese, or my homeloaded 1 5/16 5's but thanks to the government I cant have my shot of choice any more. Edited May 20, 2012 by ayano3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted May 20, 2012 Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 Last season I used Remington Sportsman Steel 1 3/8oz 1's or 3" Sportsman BBB for Geese and Gamebore steel 5's for Duck. If I had a choice I would still use Eley Alphamax 1 1/4 4's for duck and Eley 3" magnum BB's for Geese, or my homeloaded 1 5/16 5's but thanks to the government I cant have my shot of choice any more. Is that all in the no.3? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted May 20, 2012 Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 Thunderbird you cant use Express, remmington or gamebore 36 gr loads in the AYA no 3 with the possible exception of the Borngie. I have a 3 inch AYA no 3 and in steel the only safe loads are 32 gr or lighter. If you want to use 3 inch loads you need a 3 inch steel proof gun. Cant comment on the Remi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ayano3 Posted May 20, 2012 Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 Is that all in the no.3? Last season I used Remington Sportsman Steel 1 3/8oz 1's or 3" Sportsman BBB for Geese and Gamebore steel 5's for Duck. This was through my Winchester SX2 3 1/2" Super Magnum with 1/4 choke. The reason I purchased the SX2 was because I felt all I could use safely was 34g 4's or 5's in the AYA No3. It was bored out to slightly less than 1/2 choke, but for foreshore shooting this would not have been an adequate load for Geese. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoggy Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 Last season I used Remington Sportsman Steel 1 3/8oz 1's or 3" Sportsman BBB for Geese and Gamebore steel 5's for Duck. This was through my Winchester SX2 3 1/2" Super Magnum with 1/4 choke. The reason I purchased the SX2 was because I felt all I could use safely was 34g 4's or 5's in the AYA No3. It was bored out to slightly less than 1/2 choke, but for foreshore shooting this would not have been an adequate load for Geese. You have PM mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ayano3 Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 You have PM mate. Got it Yoggy, hope you got mine back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redditch Posted June 21, 2012 Report Share Posted June 21, 2012 36 gr of no4 steel for duck, and if geese present themselves bb or no.1 in steel 50 gr loads, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joknob Posted June 22, 2012 Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 50 gr steel !!! what out of ? a cannon? craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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