Cartridge suitable for geese...

[kiddy1]

Ok, might have an opportunity to shoot some nuisance Geese on some permission that me and my brother have. Neither of us have any experience of shooting Geese but are quite excited about the idea. So all advice is more than welcome! :blink:

 

Obviously i don't want to just injure the bird so what cartridges would you lot reccomend? I have a 12g Silver Pigeon if thats of any help!

 

Cheers!

[dodeer]

Depending on budget :-

Hevishot 34g 3's.

Steel 36g 1's.

Bismuth 46g 1's.

Tungsten 36g 3's.

[MC]

Assuming your gun is 2 3/4" chambered then forget steel completely, you will only injure the birds. You need to be looking at something along the lines of Alphamax bismuth in a large shot size (bb's,1's or 2's)

 

I don't know if Eley still do the Magnum 70 but if they do then that would be a good choice.

 

I have used Hevi shot to great effect but only in a 3" case.

 

I have never used Impact Tungsten Matrix but I would say that it is as good as Alphamax. Whatever you choose to use keep the shot size large and shoot the pilot not the passengers. (Head not body)

[mudpatten]

If your Silver Pigeon is of fairly recent manufacture it will have 3 inch chambers, in which case 3 inch steel cartridges in a large shot size through no more than half choke and at sensible range will work well enough. They will also be considerably cheaper than some of the exotic non toxic alternatives.

[anser2]

As you say they are "nuisance " geese , I would guess they are going to be canadas or possibly greylag. These are big birds and need big pellets ( 3s and above ) to kill cleanly every time. If you use steel I would not use anything under BBs and only take close shots . Heavi shot is brilliant and you will not need such large pellets and the pellet is of much higher density. 3s will do the job out to 50 yards. Tungstun is good and though I use 3s for pink feet which are about half the size of a canada I would go up to 1s. Bismuth though I find it a good cartridge for duck in smaller shot sizes , the bigger pellets often break up on hitting bone in the bird instead of breaking the goose bones , thus wound the bird. I have shot a few geese with bismuth , but I would not recomend them.

 

if you go down the steel road , make sure you buy fast shells such as Remmington and many of the slower English shells such as Express are very slow and their pellets have a very restricted range.

Edited August 30, 2009 by anser2

[ShropshireJohn]

Just picked up two Boxes of Impact Tungsten Matrix 36 Gram No3 shot,70mm cases.

 

Will these be ok for geese?

 

I wasn't aware of how dear they were until I checked the bill at home £21.34 FOR THE TWO BOXES, ex VAT!!!

[Guest topshot_2k]

they will knock down geese with ease dont miss at that price though :blink:

[ShropshireJohn]

Thanks for your response Topshot

 

My dad paid for them, he took the invoice at the till. It was only when we got home that I dug it out and my jaw dropped...

 

I think I'll take them back and buy some No1 steelshot from elsewhere!!

[anser2]

Stick with the Tungstun , they are a much better killing shell than steel with more range and knock down power. The only factory loaded goose steel shells worth a light are the big 3.5 inch in BBs or larger and even these only have a realiable range of 40 yards and at around £24.00 a box of 25 for remmies are not a lot cheaper than the tungstun. Another point to consider is how many goose shells are you going to fire in a season. For most fowlers its likely to be less than 40. That puts the price in perspective.

 

I sometimes use the Winchester 3.5 inch 1 9\8s oz steel load if I am expecting the geese to be close , but otherwise its Kent Inpact or Hevi shot .

Edited September 10, 2009 by anser2

[Toombsy]

I had this discussion with Derek Lee the other day as I wanted a box. Ended up with one box of Remmington 1.25oz 3inch No2 Nitro Steel Magnums.

 

Fired off my first shell this morning at a greylag (missed) and was suprised at the volume of the things, but equally surprised at the lack of kick.

 

They were £21.00 for 25 ( that hurt! ) but I've heard good comments about these shells.

 

If I do manage to get on okay with them, and hit anything, I'll let you know

[Guest topshot_2k]

Remington 3" steel is very good but getting expensive.

[Guest topshot_2k]

Thanks for your response Topshot

 

My dad paid for them, he took the invoice at the till. It was only when we got home that I dug it out and my jaw dropped...

 

I think I'll take them back and buy some No1 steelshot from elsewhere!!

 

where are you going to be shooting the geese? inland? if so 3" steel 36g or 38g in #1 will do fine