20 g steel loads

Yes, I have used Remingtons, but the birds had better be close - 25 yards or less. They just don't hold enough shot to be very effective at normal ranges.
 
I have a bunch in 2 3/4" and 3", it works great but as stated before, at closer range - partly because they don't make the shells with heavier shots than #2. If you can find any, Bismuth is also great.
 
Patterns from a 20 ga. 2-3/4" are so bad with #2, I shudder to think how much worse they'd be with BB's or bigger. You just can't get enough pellet numbers for a consistent killing pattern with such a small bore and big shot. Patterns are further disrupted by the long narrow shot column. If you accept the premise that, for a clean kill, a bird needs to be hit by a minimum of three pellets in the main body area, even #2's are too big for the 20 ga. after 25 yards or so. #4's give much better pattern density, 6's even better, but individual pellet energy is not enough with the 6's except for small ducks like teal. So 4's seem like the best of poor choices. There is no way to make the 20 ga. 2-3/4" steel shot load into a regular 40 yd waterfowl killer. The various tungsten loads are a different matter. Hevi shot or Tungsten matrix in 6's or 4's work quite well. Bismuth 5's are also quite serviceable in my experience.
 
catnthehatt said:
Federal Premium in 2 3/4 " is what I have used, and place my marker decoy at 25 yards, but have killed geese and ducks at 30 and a bit better with these shells loaded with #4 steel.
Cat
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It works well for me too but I cant find it anywhere. Anyone know stores that stock Federal Premium in 2 3/4 "?
 
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