Ammo Recommendations For Duck And Geese

Black Cloud, 3" yellow or red boxes depending on your choke :)

The federal premium ammo selector is quite good for recommendations:

https://www.federalpremium.com/ammo-recommendation

Go for "large ducks"... geese just get in the way!

I get either 3 or 4 shot depending on if one's on sale or not. I use the red boxes with my Kicks High flyer choke on my A400.

These might get expensive if you're a sky buster though ;)
 
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Try some different ammo and see how it patterns with your gun/choke.

I use the regular blue box Federal as I cannot see any difference on the pattern board between Black Cloud and the less expensive blue box out of several different guns.
 
This may be a boring response but I favor 2 3/4" Kent Fasteel #1's, this seems to be a fairly decent multipurpose load. If a person absolutely needs/wants to shoot larger that 2 3/4" I've had good success with 3" Winchester Xpert BB's also. I really don't feel the need for 3 1/2" but do have some carefully horded Wingmaster HD loads.
 
I like steel shot shells that have a muzzle velocity of 1500 fps. Or more. Unlike lead shot that deforms at high velocity/pressure and blows patterns, steel kills better with more speed and still patterns OK. I don't bother with 3" shells any more, I shoot only when birds are in range and have used 12 ga. 2-3/4" for all my waterfowl hunts for years now. Kent fast steel 1-1/16" 1550 FPS have been particularly reliable performers. 3's for ducks, 2's for mixed bag, 1's for geese only. Modified choke for most situations. I took 243 geese ( mostly snows) in my best season with that combination.
I'm not sure why 3-1/2" shells exist other than marketing to people who think they need them "just in case"
You can also save yourself money by avoiding gimmicky non-round shot. Just use a more open choke for those situations when you want a more open pattern.
 
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riversrest said:
Try some different ammo and see how it patterns with your gun/choke.

I use the regular blue box Federal as I cannot see any difference on the pattern board between Black Cloud and the less expensive blue box out of several different guns.
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Yes, forgot to mention that the most expensive shot in the world wont to squat if it doesnt pattern like you want and expect!
 
I shoot a lot of 2 3/4" from my 12 gauge and 2's will work on both ducks and geese over the decoys. I prefer 3's for just ducks and 1's or BB's for geese if they pattern.

Patterns matter more than some folks believe and putting them into the front end of birds is what will make you successful.
 
MY local Canadian tire caries Federal shotgun shells. The problem is they put them in the locked cabinet with the logo facing out. You cannot see the gauge or shot size or length info (which is on the end of the box).

The first time I encountered this, I asked the young lady with the key if she could turn a specific box so I could see the info. I went back a hour later and asked to see the info on another box. I repeated this for three days until they re-arraigned the boxes so the info was always facing out.

I use 2 for geese and 4 for duck with my gun. Federal 3 inch.
 
Don't forget convergence. That's a huge issue. Probably the biggest. If your duck/goose and shot column don't converge, shot size, velocity and load weight don't matter.

Seriously, though, thanks for info, gents and ladies. I'm also planning on getting into goose hunting this fall. Just picked up a goose gun, started getting decoys, but I have to get that damned convergence issue resolved.
 
3" #3's for most duck hunting, 3" #1's or BB's for geese... Winchester Xpert, Federal, Kent... take your pick of what is readily available... pattern your load/choke combo, look for an even pattern, 25 yards, 35 yards, 45 yards... that should show you your effective range... stay within it.

The only time I use 3.5" shells is for turkeys.
 
When I did the duck and goose hunting I used Federal 3" T shot for geese and 3" #1 shot for ducks. They both worked very well. I would buy some cheap stuff to finish birds off that were wounded. Sitting over 120 magnum goose decoys in a pea field was the best day ever. Made my own ground blind from electrical conduit and fabric from Fanny's fabrics. Cleaning geese for 3 hours was the result.
 
Actually the Bald headed eagle is doing very well this year on the lake. 1 large goose, 3 goslings and 2 mallard hens.
Yesterday it took the Sandhill crane chick to its nest to feed its young.
The golden eagle will sometimes take out the bald eagle chick so it comes back around.
 
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That's pretty much it though I've mostly used a lot of 2 3/4 # 3 on ducks.

I like Canadian-made Score ammo when I can find it.

hoytcanon said:
3" #3's for most duck hunting, 3" #1's or BB's for geese... Winchester Xpert, Federal, Kent... take your pick of what is readily available... pattern your load/choke combo, look for an even pattern, 25 yards, 35 yards, 45 yards... that should show you your effective range... stay within it.

The only time I use 3.5" shells is for turkeys.
Click to expand...
 
stubblejumper said:
Our group uses 3" loads of #2 for all waterfowl, one load, no changing loads between flocks.
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Same, it took awhile to get to that point but I always ran 3” or 3.5” BB for geese and 3” 3s for ducks. And always switched multiple times a hunt as we normally have opportunities for both every hunt.

Wasn’t until years later we hunted a couple times in Arkansas with good buddies down there we realized shooting a quality 3” #2 1 1/4oz load was that ticket for a 1 shell ammunition.

I will say though as much as I don’t like Roman candle 3.5” in BB and a good choke it would straight drop geese out a good distance compared to guys beside shooting 3”. But that’s pretty subjective and I know the guys can shoot so it wasn’t user error. I moved onto a nice 3” modern SxS so I’m pleased with the one ammo we run now
 
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