flippermaj Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 As some of you may know I have been using the AYA Yeoman 2.75 inch chamber for the last month or so for all of my foreshore wildfowling. The goose cartridge has been a very very expensive No 3 36 gm bismuth at £57 per box. I can't go on with that next season and I would like to keep going with the AYA rather than go back to the pump. My findings with the bismuth are that most of the geese have needed a knock on the head and were not dead in the air as I would have expected using the pump and No1 steel. Now this may not be the cartridges fault but could be my accuracy with the SxS so the jury is out at the moment So if I keep going with the AYA for next season I need to use a more affordable cartridge so I may need to home load. I can get 32grm No 3 steel eley carts at the local gun shop but I am thinking these may be a little light in shot size for fore shore geese so I may have to homeload? Having said that I pick up enough 3 inch No 3 steel empty carts from the foreshore and I know they have been used on geese! What would anyone recommend in homeland or factory cartridges to keep the AYA going without costing an arm and a leg? Cheers Flipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buze Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 Have you considered RC3? I've been shooting these in my 2.75" gun and they definitely work, they do 34g #1s and #3s that will drop ducks an geese. They ARE a bit punchy, but well, they ARE 34g's! Also, last slab I bought wasn't *too* expensive all things considered, at £86 a slab from justcartridges. Cheaper than £57 per box :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 hello, i would not consider that sort of load in an AYA yeoman, is this a standard model ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 If you want to use a side by side for geese, perhaps consider buying one with 3" chamber and steel proof? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainhastings Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 Would game bore super steel no4 do the trick ? Whack them in noggin https://gamebore.com/uk/cartridge/game/12g-super-steel-game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave at kelton Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 I have bismuth but have to say I am not overly impressed with it at longer wildfowling ranges even in heavier loads. I only use 42gm steel loads in my 12 and 10 bores and tungsten in my 8 bore. My gut feel is you are going to struggle without going up to 3” or 3.5” steel proofed. I guess you need to balance the cost of a different gun against the number of cartridges you use at that price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6.5x55SE Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 1 hour ago, flippermaj said: As some of you may know I have been using the AYA Yeoman 2.75 inch chamber for the last month or so for all of my foreshore wildfowling. The goose cartridge has been a very very expensive No 3 36 gm bismuth at £57 per box. I can't go on with that next season and I would like to keep going with the AYA rather than go back to the pump. My findings with the bismuth are that most of the geese have needed a knock on the head and were not dead in the air as I would have expected using the pump and No1 steel. Now this may not be the cartridges fault but could be my accuracy with the SxS so the jury is out at the moment So if I keep going with the AYA for next season I need to use a more affordable cartridge so I may need to home load. I can get 32grm No 3 steel eley carts at the local gun shop but I am thinking these may be a little light in shot size for fore shore geese so I may have to homeload? Having said that I pick up enough 3 inch No 3 steel empty carts from the foreshore and I know they have been used on geese! What would anyone recommend in homeland or factory cartridges to keep the AYA going without costing an arm and a leg? Cheers Flipper Evening Mark. With the utmost respect please don't fill your head with " i need Big Loads Big Shot " to consistently cleanly kill foreshore Geese trust me mate you don't. As already mentioned RC atomic are good cartridges but personally I'd use Gamebore Super Steel 3's or if you homeload 32grm Steel 2's and 3' s. 99.9% of my many Geese again this season have been shot with 32 grm Gamebore or Homeloads. Not that you need this advice due to your experience but just concentrate on killing your chosen target and not the Gauge load and shot size you are using. I've personally installed this in Conor ( grandson ) who no longer spends more time changing cartridges than shooting when Geese approach now he just concentrates on shooting. If you wanted you could load a Box of HW13 etc for the extra special shot if needed. Hope my waffling helps in some way best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 3 hours ago, 6.5x55SE said: Evening Mark. With the utmost respect please don't fill your head with " i need Big Loads Big Shot " to consistently cleanly kill foreshore Geese trust me mate you don't. As already mentioned RC atomic are good cartridges but personally I'd use Gamebore Super Steel 3's or if you homeload 32grm Steel 2's and 3' s. 99.9% of my many Geese again this season have been shot with 32 grm Gamebore or Homeloads. Not that you need this advice due to your experience but just concentrate on killing your chosen target and not the Gauge load and shot size you are using. I've personally installed this in Conor ( grandson ) who no longer spends more time changing cartridges than shooting when Geese approach now he just concentrates on shooting. If you wanted you could load a Box of HW13 etc for the extra special shot if needed. Hope my waffling helps in some way best of luck I tend to agree. If you buy some hw13 4s, you can load up a nice 37gm load (I made some this season) and these will do a good job at range. These will be somewhere near the cost of your bismuth, but much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 8 hours ago, motty said: I tend to agree. If you buy some hw13 4s, you can load up a nice 37gm load (I made some this season) and these will do a good job at range. These will be somewhere near the cost of your bismuth, but much better. No enough 'much's' Motty. I still remember that pink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joejoe Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 Fiocchi 35g are 70mm I have used the no2 quite a bit. they are supposed to be used in a steel proof gun, but that is your choice. I used them in a 3” chambered basque sxs and a 2 3/4” Winchester auto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flippermaj Posted February 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 Hi Boyd, Sound advice I think and thanks for that. I was out this morning and only having one expensive Bismuth cartridge left I decided to try a flight with the Eley eco wad 32 grm No 3 steel. I thought the morning was going to be a waste of time as most of the geese were on the other side of the firth in flooded fields and lifted really early and went off upstream rather than crossing over to my side. Anyway I stuck it out and was rewarded with a few skeins heading my way. They were a good height and I dropped the first one dead in the air (much to my surprise and delight!) I let a few marginal ones pass over and had another chance at a good high one just in range, this one planned on a a little before coming down to be retrieved by the dog and knocked on the head. I have yet to process the geese so can't say where I hit either but I suspect with the second bird I was slightly off line as it was sliding side ways a bit in the wind. There was another guy out who is a very good shot (won our club clay comp two years on the trot) and he always shoots 42 grm No 3 steel through his auto, now that's a lot of pellets! and he downs plenty of geese and high geese over the season. So it appears that No 3 does seem to do the job so I may carry on with these. I had seen the RC 34grm No1s and may yet try them but the delivery charge to the Highlands is extortionate! Thanks for all the input every one. Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muncher Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 I've been using a 39 gram HW 13 4s in a 67 mm case all season and to be honest I've took some very nice pinks and greys with them. This load could easily be changed to 36 gram and would work out about £2 a pop but any goose up to 60 yards is very much in trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6.5x55SE Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 1 hour ago, muncher said: I've been using a 39 gram HW 13 4s in a 67 mm case all season and to be honest I've took some very nice pinks and greys with them. This load could easily be changed to 36 gram and would work out about £2 a pop but any goose up to 60 yards is very much in trouble. Pattern and Penartration then J proven successful combination. Genuine question if i may J how did you settle on 39 gram . Fit to case ??? 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muncher Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 31 minutes ago, 6.5x55SE said: Pattern and Penartration then J proven successful combination. Genuine question if i may J how did you settle on 39 gram . Fit to case 👍 I used a LBC 24 wad as I intend to make a 36 gram load, but being I like simplistic type loads I omitted a felt out and the wad filled holds 39 grams. I struggled with it to start with, but cottoned on I was not given enough lead, I ended the season with a triple on Monday morning in 40mph winds all stone dead. This goose was up there , it patterns well👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6.5x55SE Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 1 hour ago, muncher said: I used a LBC 24 wad as I intend to make a 36 gram load, but being I like simplistic type loads I omitted a felt out and the wad filled holds 39 grams. I struggled with it to start with, but cottoned on I was not given enough lead, I ended the season with a triple on Monday morning in 40mph winds all stone dead. This goose was up there , it patterns well👍 Thanks J. And we'll done on your last flight fantastic way to end with a Triple . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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