islandgun Posted March 11, 2018 Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 Does anyone have a steel waterfowl shot size they use for all quarry..? Im thinking Greylag to Teal through 1/2 choke in a S/A at between 25-35 mts, reload or factory Does such a thing exist..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konnie Posted March 11, 2018 Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 Dead is dead I use 3.5" mammoth 3# I don't care for fiddling about on the foreshore in the mud changing shells, and have shot and killed a full range of quarry with this shell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted March 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 Thanks Konnie, I was thinking 3's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kraai Posted March 11, 2018 Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 With any 32 or 34 gr nr 3 or 4 at that distance...there are plenty of dutch movies on youtube where the shoot geese with nr 4 up to 40 meter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6.5x55SE Posted March 11, 2018 Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 4 hours ago, islandgun said: Does anyone have a steel waterfowl shot size they use for all quarry..? Im thinking Greylag to Teal through 1/2 choke in a S/A at between 25-35 mts, reload or factory Does such a thing exist..? RC Atomic 32 or 34 gram Steel 3's or 4's no need for Heavy hard on the Shoulder loads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted March 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 12 minutes ago, 6.5x55SE said: RC Atomic 32 or 34 gram Steel 3's or 4's no need for Heavy hard on the Shoulder loads. I was thinking about you and your exploits with a 410, I guess smaller shot equates to a better pattern but well placed is the order of the day, my concern would be placement and would 4s be a wounding size on a greylag if im behind the head area, perhaps it would be better to explain where im coming from, I only shoot a few geese a year and less ducks, last season i wounded every bird i shot, with each needing to be dispatched by hand, I used a fixed choke O/U at imp cyl -1/4 , shot sizes 3's to 5's {best results 5's,] shot was ITX. Patterning i found the larger shot to have larger gaps, which explained [perhaps] misses with the ducks and wounded geese. My wife finally persuaded me to buy a S/A with multi chokes.. The intention is to use tighter chokes and steel, improve my aim, and clean kill as many birds as possible, with clean kills paramount . 4 hours ago, Kraai said: With any 32 or 34 gr nr 3 or 4 at that distance...there are plenty of dutch movies on youtube where the shoot geese with nr 4 up to 40 meter cheers Kraai will check the vids out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6.5x55SE Posted March 11, 2018 Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 1 hour ago, islandgun said: I was thinking about you and your exploits with a 410, I guess smaller shot equates to a better pattern but well placed is the order of the day, my concern would be placement and would 4s be a wounding size on a greylag if im behind the head area, perhaps it would be better to explain where im coming from, I only shoot a few geese a year and less ducks, last season i wounded every bird i shot, with each needing to be dispatched by hand, I used a fixed choke O/U at imp cyl -1/4 , shot sizes 3's to 5's {best results 5's,] shot was ITX. Patterning i found the larger shot to have larger gaps, which explained [perhaps] misses with the ducks and wounded geese. My wife finally persuaded me to buy a S/A with multi chokes.. The intention is to use tighter chokes and steel, improve my aim, and clean kill as many birds as possible, with clean kills paramount . cheers Kraai will check the vids out When the non toxic first came in i used Express 36grm 1's and 3's as i never reloaded. Reason being I'm a great believer in Pattern AND Penertration is the best combination. I've been very very lucky in have access to good Coastal Wildfowling and outstanding Inland shooting for Ducks and Geese most of my Inland shooting is done with a 20ga and Steel shot not because I'm a George Digweed shot or to be clever. Reason being I'm 100% confident in my Gun Cartridges along with my own shooting ability. Over the years I've taken many for their First goose advice I've given use a gun you shoot with best a cartridge you have faith in and in 2-3 or 4 shot Geese are not a Mithical Bird they die/can be killed just as easily as a Pigeon so why do people struggle TWO reasons Shooting at them out of range and hitting them up the Rear end Simple as that get up front shoot in range and they will readily fold Dead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted March 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 13 minutes ago, 6.5x55SE said: When the non toxic first came in i used Express 36grm 1's and 3's as i never reloaded. Reason being I'm a great believer in Pattern AND Penertration is the best combination. I've been very very lucky in have access to good Coastal Wildfowling and outstanding Inland shooting for Ducks and Geese most of my Inland shooting is done with a 20ga and Steel shot not because I'm a George Digweed shot or to be clever. Reason being I'm 100% confident in my Gun Cartridges along with my own shooting ability. Over the years I've taken many for their First goose advice I've given use a gun you shoot with best a cartridge you have faith in and in 2-3 or 4 shot Geese are not a Mithical Bird they die/can be killed just as easily as a Pigeon so why do people struggle TWO reasons Shooting at them out of range and hitting them up the Rear end Simple as that get up front shoot in range and they will readily fold Dead Thanks for the great advice, will be patterning 3' and 4's over the next few months and getting my lad to fire off a lot of clays.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6.5x55SE Posted March 11, 2018 Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 26 minutes ago, islandgun said: Thanks for the great advice, will be patterning 3' and 4's over the next few months and getting my lad to fire off a lot of clays.. Good Man i wish you all the best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muncher Posted March 11, 2018 Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 For me I would op for 2s they pattern well and give you the best of both I have shot teal to pinks with 2s on the same flight many times, for.me 4s are a bit light but that' me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Mat Posted March 11, 2018 Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 Same as muncher for me, 2s. I bought a whole load of 2s and haven't used anything else for duck in quite a while, as well as shooting some geese with them this season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Continental Shooter Posted March 12, 2018 Report Share Posted March 12, 2018 Doesn't ITX comes in 00s, 2s, 4s and 6s? I reload my shells and this was my first attempt at non toxic but I found issues with smaller 4s and end un shooting 2s with mixed results (most down to my poor choice of barrel/choke combination and poor shooting. Tried heavy (3"- 30g) to standard loads 2" 3/4- 27g) on my 20 bore and proof testing was ok, but found they patterned better when I dropped the payloads and increased speed... I guess is back to the drawing boards till next season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted March 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2018 (edited) 10 hours ago, Continental Shooter said: Doesn't ITX comes in 00s, 2s, 4s and 6s? I reload my shells and this was my first attempt at non toxic but I found issues with smaller 4s and end un shooting 2s with mixed results (most down to my poor choice of barrel/choke combination and poor shooting. Tried heavy (3"- 30g) to standard loads 2" 3/4- 27g) on my 20 bore and proof testing was ok, but found they patterned better when I dropped the payloads and increased speed... I guess is back to the drawing boards till next season Cheers, just checked and yes your right, they must be 4's, there certainly bigger than 6's anyway. This shot size + choke+ load weight + range and speed makes the whole thing very interesting, this is why im experimenting with steel, as banging away at a board with ITX or Bismuth gets very expensive Edited March 13, 2018 by islandgun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted March 13, 2018 Report Share Posted March 13, 2018 island gun, did you see that unusual data set i made ages ago? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted March 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2018 1 hour ago, cookoff013 said: island gun, did you see that unusual data set i made ages ago? Hi Cookie Ive loaded and used your subsonic 12g lead loads but dont think ive seen any steel loads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Continental Shooter Posted March 13, 2018 Report Share Posted March 13, 2018 2 hours ago, islandgun said: Cheers, just checked and yes your right, they must be 4's, there certainly bigger than 6's anyway. This shot size + choke+ load weight + range and speed makes the whole thing very interesting, this is why im experimenting with steel, as banging away at a board with ITX or Bismuth gets very expensive I know.... it's a pain; especially if you want to get it proof tested... I have a decent starting point for 20 bore (based on Cook's test data) although it seems that ITX, especially using non toxic wad (gualandi SG or BP Z2M) performs better at higher speed. Mine roam around the 1350 fps which, according to the manufacturer is the minimum lethal speed for waterfowl outside 30 yds. They suggestes that anything up to 1450 should be ideal I was going to move on to steel for ducks and keep ITX for geese as it is indeed a very costly exercise to fire ITX at a board to see how they pattern.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted March 13, 2018 Report Share Posted March 13, 2018 it certainly is ! itx on boards ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted March 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2018 19 minutes ago, Continental Shooter said: I know.... it's a pain; especially if you want to get it proof tested... I have a decent starting point for 20 bore (based on Cook's test data) although it seems that ITX, especially using non toxic wad (gualandi SG or BP Z2M) performs better at higher speed. Mine roam around the 1350 fps which, according to the manufacturer is the minimum lethal speed for waterfowl outside 30 yds. They suggestes that anything up to 1450 should be ideal I was going to move on to steel for ducks and keep ITX for geese as it is indeed a very costly exercise to fire ITX at a board to see how they pattern.... Im intending to use steel for both ducks and geese [considering the success of others on here] which is why im trying to find a load suitable for both, also i now have a S/A which doesnt give me a second barrel option, regarding choke or shot type/size All good fun ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted March 13, 2018 Report Share Posted March 13, 2018 44 minutes ago, Continental Shooter said: I know.... it's a pain; especially if you want to get it proof tested... I have a decent starting point for 20 bore (based on Cook's test data) although it seems that ITX, especially using non toxic wad (gualandi SG or BP Z2M) performs better at higher speed. Mine roam around the 1350 fps which, according to the manufacturer is the minimum lethal speed for waterfowl outside 30 yds. They suggestes that anything up to 1450 should be ideal I was going to move on to steel for ducks and keep ITX for geese as it is indeed a very costly exercise to fire ITX at a board to see how they pattern.... i`d be more inclined to go with steel for cheapness, then itx as a next step. bismuth would be next then maybe niceshot, then after that powershot. thats cost savings. after that i`d then just go load up powershot, 36g loads and would probably do nearly everything you could reasonably ask for. i could even knock it down a shotsize, to improve the pellet count. but it wont be cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatsanmad Posted March 13, 2018 Report Share Posted March 13, 2018 Me personally I opt for 2s if I know there's a chance of duck and geese. But also 3s are another option. But 2s for me I feel have a bit of hitting power behind them and pattern really well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokersmith Posted March 13, 2018 Report Share Posted March 13, 2018 2 minutes ago, hatsanmad said: Me personally I opt for 2s if I know there's a chance of duck and geese. But also 3s are another option. But 2s for me I feel have a bit of hitting power behind them and pattern really well +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted March 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2018 5 hours ago, hatsanmad said: Me personally I opt for 2s if I know there's a chance of duck and geese. But also 3s are another option. But 2s for me I feel have a bit of hitting power behind them and pattern really well 5 hours ago, Smokersmith said: +1 Thanks for the advice, the few that i have patterned did seem to be more even than the smaller shot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Continental Shooter Posted March 15, 2018 Report Share Posted March 15, 2018 On 13/03/2018 at 12:38, cookoff013 said: i`d be more inclined to go with steel for cheapness, then itx as a next step. bismuth would be next then maybe niceshot, then after that powershot. thats cost savings. after that i`d then just go load up powershot, 36g loads and would probably do nearly everything you could reasonably ask for. i could even knock it down a shotsize, to improve the pellet count. but it wont be cheap. Yeah, steel will be but I got such good results with ITX (and good few shots) that I will use it for geese, #2 is what I'll go for. I'll be trying steel #3-2 as a duck shell. I managed to acquire some A Steel, and want to try some 2 3/4, 7/8 oz shells and see how it goes as this is uncharted territory for me. Is steel #2 not a tad too big for ducks? Would #3 not be a good compromise(I personally dont shoot past 35-40 yds)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted March 15, 2018 Report Share Posted March 15, 2018 Alliance steel and 7/8oz ? Are you talking 20gauge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted March 15, 2018 Report Share Posted March 15, 2018 I will be loading my own goose carts this year but may just buy Gamebore 32g 4 for ducks as they are a good cart. I will still try loading some just to compare. If i was going to use just one cartridge it would be a 3" one shot as i have used in the past when not sure what will flight in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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