# Duck Shot???



## MAINAH

Any suggestions on what shot is best for duck and goose. I have a good ole REMINGTON 870, 2 3/4 chamber improved cylinder (no choke tubes). Barrel is 26" long. My wonderful wife says NO MORE GUNS!!!! So this is all I can use. It shoots squirrel good, trying duck for the first time. Thought I'd ask for oppinions. thanks.


----------



## M.Magis

I'm not real experienced, but enough so that I think you need to define what type of hunting you'll be doing. Wood ducks in timber require something a little different than mallards over decoys in the open. For geese, I'd step up a little more in shot size.


----------



## Huntinbull

With that chamber/choke combo I would hunt max loads of no.4 or 5 shot in the Hevi-shot from remington. Good patterns from normal shotgun chokes. Keep the shots within about 30 yards (pattern your shotgun by shooting it at a 30 inch circle of paper. Look for duck sized holes in the pattern. You should be okay out to 30 yards maybe farther.). Hevi shot is a non toxic shot that hits the most like lead in my observations. Usually get good pattern density and good energy downrange. Give it a "shot". Thats my best guess scenario there.
..
Huntinbull


----------



## bubbahunter

Huntinbull hit it on the nose with the hevi shot.

if you dont want to spend the money on hevi shot and are forced to use steel, i would go with #2 across the board during the first part of the season and go with BB or even BBB for geese in the later part of the season.i rarely ever go bigger on ducks.one thing to try is let the birds work the decoys. don`t over call and don`t take any shots that are outside 30 yrds. Here on grand lake we see alot of sky busters and guys that won`t let the birds work and will shoot at anything that flies within 100 yrds.

we have a pretty good blind on grand lake this year if anyone wants to try waterfowling around here this is a open invite to everyone.

good luck this year,

Bub


----------



## Abu65

If its an old remington just guessing being that you said 2 3/4 only it may not be recommended for steel or hevi-shot you may have to use Bismuth or Tungsten -Matrix both are pretty good. You just need to check. But I agree hevi shot is awesome. Has anybody heard much about the new hevi-steel Im thinking of ordering some before my trip to North Dakota in October.


----------



## Tritonman

I agree with using tungsten, bismuth, or matrix for waterfowl, especially with in 2 3/4. These are alot more dense than steele, which gives it more energy down range. More expensive but worth it. I shoot a Browning 3 1/2"semi and all I normally use is steele. But if you get out in pot hole country with it's heavy wind then I will go with hevi shot. Good stuff. While cleaning some mallards after using hevi shot we noticed that some of the shot were going right through the bird.


----------



## Hetfieldinn

I use #2 shot for Geese, and #4 shot for ducks. Works like a charm.


----------



## beatsworkin

Like huntinbull and bubbahunter said, Hevishot is the way to go, then to any of the bismuth/tungsten type loads. Keep in mind these loads do not make you a better shot or a better hunter, they only extend the effective range of the shot due to more retained energy per pellet compared to steel. It is far more important that hunters do some practice on some type of clay bird range. If you cannot kill birds at 30 yards cleanly with steel, you won't kill them at 50 with the tungsten. Be willing to learn when and how to call, let the birds do their thing, if they are staying just out of range but will not commit, change your decoys spread until they do, don't just open up and hope for the best (at best, you just educated a few birds). Learn what your effective range is and stick to it.

Bottom line is plenty of people kill a bunch of birds with steel, they are good, effective hunters who understand their shooting ability and when to squeeze the trigger. Based on the cost of the Hevi-shot and the other tungstens, I would not recomend them to a novice. The only argument I can see is that you are able to drop down a couple of shot sizes and thus can have a few more pellets in the pattern. Still a moot point if you don't follow through.

I use steel BB,1's,2's,3's and 4's in the early part of the season.
I use #4 Hevi for geese and 6's for ducks
for jumpshooting small creeks I use #7 steel in a very fast load (20 yard shots) backed up with a 3 or 4 shot size for the 3rd round.

Late season geese I use BBB or sometimes T's and 2 shot on the ducks (steel) I bring down the shot size when I use the high end stuff.

I shoot a Browning Gold 3.5, I use 3.5" shells with steel whenever possible and 3" on the good stuff.


----------

