Waterfowl hunting with 3 inch shell

the spank said:
I grew up shooting bluebills, cans, redheads, scoters, goldeneye, old squaws etc on Lake Ontario so I have lots of experience shooting fat laden birds flying at darned near water level. I shot nothing but 2 3/4" in lead and in steel when it came out. Shooting big shot at extreme ranges is not hunting, it's pass shooting. I have never been nor ever will be a pass shooter. I prefer using a combination of hunting skill & shooting skill to bag birds. I have zero interest in pounding 50+ yard shots and sending a handful of birds with a pellet in them off to die a lingering death. If I can't pull them inside of 40 yards MAX then I pass. I like them hanging over the decoys!
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When all you have to hunt is a sand bar between the ocean and a bay in the good places. You get familiar with pass shooting or you don't hunt many ducks or geese here
Been like that since I started at age 14 and far from water level or decoys . 50 yards is a good shot
Apples and oranges and is much harder than any other examples I have heard so far
Hunting Skills really has nothing to do with it other being being capable of making long shot with a properly patterned gun and the correct ammo for the job and keep your head down until they pass over
Nothing like a ball of a few hundred blue bills going over. Just try to pick a bird .NOT but love it
Different areas of the country different experiences and different tools to do the job plane and simple
Not one pill for all in this case and believe it or not 2 3/4 would be just about useless even in the old lead where we hunt
Cheers
 
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the spank said:
If you guys would learn to stop taking shots at extreme ranges, aka ranges that for all intents and purpose are truly out of range hoping for a golden bb in the beanie to drop a bird you wouldn't educate the birds to fly higher or further out but they learn through repetitiveness...unlike many hunters who seem to have not figured out that doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result just doesn't work!
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It has been the same since I started duck and goose hunting in the 60's lead, steel , 2 3/4 or 3 1/2 will never change sky busters then and still now
By the way I am not one of those guys and shoot at what I can hit and kill cleanly and it is beyond 40 yards and not flukes
Cheers
 
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3macs1 said:
I could never understand the need to kill so many birds in one outing
Just glad no 3 1/2 were used or it would have been much worse

nwfpUyE.gif
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Feed the poor,Although I did take home a fair amount..:)
 
3macs1 said:
That is a good thing. Must be a ton of poor people out your way :) They must have all been hiding the last time I visited
I know this poor guy could not afford to live in BC
Cheers
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Truer words have never been spoken,things keep going like the way they have a hut in the trees will be 2+ mil
 
Hmm old thread bump. I only shoot 3" now. Not only is it cheaper, I found I got way better patterns at all distances out of the 3's over 3.5's.

At the end of this season I bought a couple cases of the new kent fasteel+ stacked loads. I'm especially excited to try out the 3" 1.25oz 4x6 shot. Should be a killer load for teal and woodies. Will be patterning this spring.
 
the spank said:
Check out some of the pics and vids I posted in the waterfowl thread in the hunting forum. All those ducks and geese are shot running a 20ga with either 3/4oz #4 steel shot(ducks) or 7/8oz of #2 steel shot(geese)....to answer your question NO you do not need 3.5" shells or heavy payloads to kill waterfowl. What most hunters would be best served doing is joining a club that has a skeet range and practicing. Centering a bird in the pattern is the key to consistently killing waterfowl.
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This.
 
Not sure if I posted this pic before, I was using 3" Kent Fasteel in my 20 gauge to pass shoot these snows
I just laid down on my back in a pasture and got them on the way back to the resevoir.
Cat
LCI5Akf.jpg
 
iron cat said:
Not sure if I posted this pic before, I was using 3" Kent Fasteel in my 20 gauge to pass shoot these snows
I just laid down on my back in a pasture and got them on the way back to the resevoir.
Cat
LCI5Akf.jpg
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I just recently learned that "pass shooting" is not hunting (ahem:rolleyes:)... so congratulations on your "target practice!"
 
A #2 pellet fired at 1550 FPS has the same killing power if it comes out of a 20ga, 12ga or 10ga and it will kill geese and ducks just as far out for any of those, the only difference is that you have 7/8oz. 1 1/16oz, 1 1/8 oz or 1 1/2 oz they have the same kinetic energy and will penetrate equally well, for all intensive purposes the more payload you have the denser your pattern and the more pellets you have to pick out of the bird. I have 2 guns that will handle 3 1/2" shells but I have never fired one nor will I ever, I shoot 2 3/4" 1/16 oz #2, #3 or #4 @ 1550 or 3" 1 1/8 oz @ 1550 and they kill birds dead, if I miss it really doesn't matter how much shot you threw out there, you missed. I have never felt the need for more but hey to each his own, the manufacturers hype up 3 1/2" shells with 1 1/2oz payloads and after market magic chokes and people suck it up like free drinks at the bar, but again to each his own if you want to pay $50 for a box of ammo that kicks the crap out of you and screw in a $100 magic choke tube because you think it gives you an advantage fill your boots, just less guy buying up the 2 3/4" and 3" and that's fine with me.
 
waldo54 said:
a #2 pellet fired at 1550 fps has the same killing power if it comes out of a 20ga, 12ga or 10ga and it will kill geese and ducks just as far out for any of those, the only difference is that you have 7/8oz. 1 1/16oz, 1 1/8 oz or 1 1/2 oz they have the same kinetic energy and will penetrate equally well, for all intensive purposes the more payload you have the denser your pattern and the more pellets you have to pick out of the bird. I have 2 guns that will handle 3 1/2" shells but i have never fired one nor will i ever, i shoot 2 3/4" 1/16 oz #2, #3 or #4 @ 1550 or 3" 1 1/8 oz @ 1550 and they kill birds dead, if i miss it really doesn't matter how much shot you threw out there, you missed. I have never felt the need for more but hey to each his own, the manufacturers hype up 3 1/2" shells with 1 1/2oz payloads and after market magic chokes and people suck it up like free drinks at the bar, but again to each his own if you want to pay $50 for a box of ammo that kicks the crap out of you and screw in a $100 magic choke tube because you think it gives you an advantage fill your boots, just less guy buying up the 2 3/4" and 3" and that's fine with me.
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Amen!! How we managed to kill birds together this fall with 2 3/4" & 3" loads of steel 2's, 3's and 4's, factory flush mount choke tubes and without a single full body decoy is beyond me? ;) And my wife shooting a 20ga no less with 7/8oz of 2's. :ninja:
 

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Great pictures as usual spank.
I bought a Beretta with 3 1/2 capability two years ago but have never used a 3 1/2 in it.
I kind of wish I had just got the 3 inch model. It would be a little shorter.
 
Location location location. When you are where the birds want to be, even after getting shot at, birds will circle around and attempt another landing.
 
bluegrizz77 said:
I have taken 1000’s of duck and geese with 2 3/4 also with 3”. If you have the cash and shoulder to take 3 1/2 go ahead and support the economy.
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Just be sure to pattern first. I found 3.5" blew out patterns in most of my testing. I found only 1 pattern better with the 3.5" and aftermarket choke, and it was only 5 or so more pellets in the pettern. Not worth it. In the end I settled on 3" with factory modified as it threw the best overall patterns.

Pattern your guns. After all, that's how some unfortunate souls find their new $3k waterfowl guns shooting high left.
 
Thats funny ,did that back in the 70's with 2.75 and 3" only guy that had a 3" gun and told the other guys that they would "blow" their guns up so wouldn't give them any .But in the end they figured it out that they could single shot them in their pump guns :)
 
In the 70s my 2.3/4" Wingmaster dropped fat mallards all day long....mod choke as well.....i knew my patterns, range and set decoys accordingly...3" was a needless luxury....learned how to pattern after watching my father win many a turkey shoot.....for those of you who recall those fun days.....!
 
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