# goose/duck gun??



## wave warrior (Oct 2, 2005)

wanting to get a new gun for next season...currently using charles daly suppirior 12ga. 3" dry lock bb w/im cyl. choke...seems hard to bring the big birds down...thinking 10ga. 3 1/2" but not sure??? [email protected]


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## freyedknot (Apr 10, 2004)

you don't really need a 10. get a 12ga. 3 1/2 in. pattern you gun w/ different loads and chokes. even right now your present gun may not actually be shooting where you are aiming!!! move up to a faster load and preferably to heavi-shot.


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## DarbyMan (Dec 11, 2005)

Get an 870. Affordable, durable, reliable. Best all around shotgun ever. You won't be dissappointed.


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## WalleyeGuy (Apr 9, 2004)

Yep,
Pattern it out with different shot sizes.
I had one of them Charles Dalys and had no trouble with bring down Geese using BB-T size shot.
I also have a Gold 10 Gauge.
It is heavy man. but nice.


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## wave warrior (Oct 2, 2005)

OK!! so what is most effective way to pattern a gun??? sorry but i am a rookie at waterfoul and trying to find out all i can before next season!!! THANKS GUYS!!


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## freyedknot (Apr 10, 2004)

put a spot in the middle of a 30 x 30 inch target and shoot at the spot in the middle. then count your shots in the 30 inch circle.then change rounds,loads and brand of shotshell. then find what works best in your gun and what tube to shoot. i ,yself will never go back to shooting steel at big geese , especially late season geese w/ a thick layer of fat on the chest. fasteel will work ,but i prefer heavi-shot or bismuth. you will kill a lot more DEAD and prolly have to shoot less shells anyway.


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## freyedknot (Apr 10, 2004)

there are a few good waterfowl sites here in ohio .come on over and enjoy............www.ohiowaterfowler.com. .... www.greatlakeswaterfowler.com....and the duckhuntersrefuge.com .has an ohio forum too. the fuge is huge.pleny of info theredo some searches for patterning at these sites for more info than i like to type.


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## wave warrior (Oct 2, 2005)

thanks guys!!! I LOVE THIS SITE!!! O.G.F.!!!!!!!!!!!


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## crankus_maximus (Apr 14, 2004)

Buy a Benelli Nova. Best gun for 299 you can find anywhere on the market. And, it comes in 3.5". It also comes with 3 chokes, a magazine cutoff, and only 7 moving parts to clean. Requires no tools to breakdown and clean if needed. One of the smoothest - no-nonsense pump guns you will EVER lay your hands on. Check them out and do your homework. If you don't at least look at the gun before you buy an 870 - you may regret it.


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## WalleyeGuy (Apr 9, 2004)

Yep,
Collect a bunch of old cardboard boxes to shoot at.
mark the target with load size , Choke type,and brand then pop a shot at it.
Put up new board, mark it with diferent size and load and pop a shot off at it.
Shoot from 30 Yards out.


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## crankus_maximus (Apr 14, 2004)

I got a cheap sheet of plywood and a roll of brown paper from the paint department. I cut the paper into pieces big enough for the circles. I drew the circles with a sharpie tied to a 15" string and put a red dot in the middle. I used a staple gun to attach them to the plywood. I layed out all of the shot ammo I had and one round for each choke I wanted to use. I would take a shot, remove the paper, mark the paper with the load and choke and repeat the process until all combinations were done. Then, I went inside during a NASCAR race and counted the holes in each one and marked them as they were counted. I counted the number in the dot and the number within the circle. I then entered the data into a spreadsheet and rolled up the papers so I now know which loads and which chokes to use. I have visual proof and numerical data to back-up my choice.

It took a whole day to pattern about 10 different loads with 3 different chokes using the process above.

I learned ALOT!


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## littleking (Jun 25, 2005)

baikal mp-153 is best vaule out for waterfowl... proven reliable. as for patterning all of the above methods work


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## BigChessie (Mar 12, 2005)

If you can afford it...........Get the 10 gauge in a semi,the heavier the gun the better. Sp-10 has been talked about well. Anyone that says a 12 gauge 3.5" is as good as a 10 gauge 3.5", is in the same boat as me. Can't afford one and is willing to settle for the 12 Gauge. There is not a duck and goose hunting weapon out there that will do better than a 10 gauge.


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## wave warrior (Oct 2, 2005)

crankus_maximus said:


> Buy a Benelli Nova. Best gun for 299 you can find anywhere on the market. And, it comes in 3.5". It also comes with 3 chokes, a magazine cutoff, and only 7 moving parts to clean. Requires no tools to breakdown and clean if needed. One of the smoothest - no-nonsense pump guns you will EVER lay your hands on. Check them out and do your homework. If you don't at least look at the gun before you buy an 870 - you may regret it.


NO 870 FOR ME!!! I know ther are great guns...i've owned them!!also only gun i ever sold!!!


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## wave warrior (Oct 2, 2005)

thanks to all!!! i'll be killing more birds for sure!!! [email protected]


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## Hetfieldinn (May 17, 2004)

BigChessie said:


> If you can afford it...........Get the 10 gauge in a semi,the heavier the gun the better. Sp-10 has been talked about well. Anyone that says a 12 gauge 3.5" is as good as a 10 gauge 3.5", is in the same boat as me. Can't afford one and is willing to settle for the 12 Gauge. There is not a duck and goose hunting weapon out there that will do better than a 10 gauge.




I went through the belief that bigger is better when it comes to waterfowl guns. It ain't.

The 10 guages are heavy. Very heavy. By the time I carried it to the field blind, I was whooped for the day. Swinging the gun at birds was a chore, itself. My knockdown percentage actually went down, probably from the fatigue I suffered from the weight of the gun. A seasons worth of 10 guage steel shotshells will have most people panhandling for change after a day in the blind. I got rid of both my 10s after one season. I'm sure they have their place somewhere, but in my hunting conditions, the 10 guage is pure overkill.

I'm currently shooting a semi auto 12 guage chambered for 3 1/2" shells, but I haven't put a 3 1/2" through it yet. 3"ers are more than enough where I hunt. I even shoot 2 3/4" shells early in the season, when the birds come right in.


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## BigChessie (Mar 12, 2005)

I think it is like most things that involve hunting. Everything has a time and place for what guys use and prefer. My son at age 10 (he is 13 now) shot limits of birds with a 20 gauge. I have shot a limit while using 2 3/4 and 3" rounds. But I also have had times when the late season birds are not as easy to decoy, those are the days my 3 1/2's are needed. I used handloaded 2 3/4 hevi shot 6's this year and thought they were better rounds than factory 3.5"s. I'm sure for every guy out that preaches about the 10 gauge, there are as many that do fine with 12 gauge 2.75's. If I could handle the recoil I would be using a 10 everytime out but to each his own. If your on the "x" and got birds in your face, doesn't matter what you use.


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## bubbahunter (Apr 6, 2004)

I have a Browning BPS in 10ga. Man i love that thing. if it wasn`t overkill i`d hunt doves with it.For me most of my water fowling gets done in the late season after most of the sky busters have givin up for the year, so the big 10ga works well for me.

Bub


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## mojo (Apr 12, 2004)

Just wondering if anyone has already done the homework for me. For all the Nova users out there, what's your load and tube? I do know it can even very from guns of the same branda and type, but it will give me a starting point.


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