Last weekend of Waterfowling

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WMAn

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Poser said:
On a side note, the geese were a lot more difficult to hunt and knock out of the sky then I would have thought.
Click to expand...

How high were they? What size shot were you using?

My experience has been that geese are the easiest of all flying birds to knock out of the sky. Just aim for the bill, then you've got almost an arm length of neck to catch some fatal shot.
 
How did those number 4s do on the ducks? Standard steel shot?

When I duck hunted, I used 2s for ducks and BBs for geese, when shooting steel.
 
Unless the ducks are decoying really close, #4 steel should only be used during early wood duck season as far as I am concerned.
 
Shooting steel at ducks is a lot different than lead at doves. Apparently, a duck can hover in midair while getting pelted with steel shot, then fly off.

I had a blast and really appreciate the invite.
 
It is a shame we can't use lead anymore. I'd bet the same number of ducks are being killed, only not recovered.

I hunted ducks during the transition from lead to steel and the frustration of having ducks fly off after solid hits is one of the reasons we quit.
 
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Poser said:
WMAn said:
Poser said:
On a side note, the geese were a lot more difficult to hunt and knock out of the sky then I would have thought.
Click to expand...

How high were they? What size shot were you using?

My experience has been that geese are the easiest of all flying birds to knock out of the sky. Just aim for the bill, then you've got almost an arm length of neck to catch some fatal shot.
Click to expand...

They weren't too high. The largest shot I had with me were 3 inch #2s. I have a box of BBs, but I left them at home. I also had an issue of having to change loads when geese came in because I was using 2&3/4th #4 for ducks. I know I hit a couple pretty good as they were staggering, but didn't come down.
Click to expand...

learn the "head" shot, a large percentage of my feathered kills are head shot
 
Shoot them in the lips!

Steel shot and high winds make it hard to figure out how to lead a duck.


Head shot makes it nice for the retriever in the group. Dog or person. :cool:
 
Poser said:
General problem we had in the cattails was that we couldn't often see the ducks until they were on top of us, so it ended up being more intuitive shooting. Not to say an experienced shotgunner could not still make the head shot, just out of my skill level. The geese, we could usually see or hear coming in.
Click to expand...

Explain this a little more. Were the ducks coming in low instead of circling overhead?

The toughest duck hunts I have had in terms of shooting have been in heavy fog. I could hear wings whistling, knew I had ducks in range, but I couldn't see to shoot until they were 10-20 yards away.

In situations where visibility is an issue, a good dog sitting next to you is worth his weight in gold. He'll hear ducks before you can and perk up enough to let you know they're coming.

If you are at least an average wingshot, I'm starting to wonder if a hunter isn't better off spending extra on HTL loads. With steel, I have let ducks land on the water, shot, watched the pattern center the sitting duck, and then watched the duck fly away.
 
man that sounds like a fun time! I am about the world's worst duck hunter. it takes a lot of practice to get good at reading patterns and leading shots. I like the idea of eating, drinking and smoking; that part of the hunt I am VERY good at. nice work fellas!
 
A duck that has buzzed you and is flying away is a really hard shot to make even though it looks really easy. You have to aim above the head as they are rising and you have to realize that by the time the pellets get to the bird, the bird will be even further away. A bird coming straight at you is one of the easiest even though it looks hard. Simply pull straight up and pull the trigger when you get to the head and keep pulling the gun after the shot is fired. They fly right into a wall of steel and drop dead at your feet.
 
You also have to watch muzzle blast when all the hunters in your group are standing in a straight line and the duck decides to fly low and fast along that same straight line.
 

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