Thread: 20 GA for ducks

So if you have quite a few slabs of 20g lead you say nothing. LOL.

the problem with the 20 gauge is you get suckered by how well the 2 3/4 inch lead loads kill everything.
then you run around trying unsuccessfuly mostly trying to emulate it with the choice of steel trap loads or high speed loads that dont have enough steel in them
ie one ounce of steel two,s kills geese but kills them cleaner if theyre much closer than i used to kill them with 2 3/4 inch 32 grams of fiocchi lead 2,s

Didn't see it mentioned but just in case anyone doesn't know. You must shoot steel now over water in 20ga. Same as 12ga. So you might as well just use a 12ga if you have the option.

All gauges except 410 are to be non toxic shot over water. 12g has more options available so apart from weight you are no better off. As said why run a max load through a 20g when you can run a light load through a 12g. Just my thoughts

Originally Posted by country cuts

All gauges except 410 are to be non toxic shot over water. 12g has more options available so apart from weight you are no better off. As said why run a max load through a 20g when you can run a light load through a 12g. Just my thoughts

Also note that 410ga is only for junior shooters.

Originally Posted by Coop

Also note that 410ga is only for junior shooters.

says who????

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

says who????

Was gonna say "Fish and Game?" But turns out I'm wrong. I'm sure I read it early on in the piece when the 20ga rules changed over but either I'm mistaken or it was an early draft we saw.

https://fishandgame.org.nz/game-bird...t-regulations/

Disregard my earlier comment haha.

Originally Posted by Coop

Also note that 410ga is only for junior shooters.

Need to be a better shot with a 410 than the other gauges in my opinion,good for the juniors to shoot woundies though but birds on the fly are a whole different story,better with a gas operated semi auto shooting light loads.

Originally Posted by The bomb

Need to be a better shot with a 410 than the other gauges in my opinion,good for the juniors to shoot woundies though but birds on the fly are a whole different story,better with a gas operated semi auto shooting light loads.

Nah for some reason I had it in my head that lead is fine for 410 but only junior shooters are meant to be using them as per Fish and Game. I was wrong though. But yea, I wouldn't be out there using 410 myself on ducks.

All gauges are appropriate for waterfowl over land and water.

You just need to match your choke and chosen load / factory ammunition to the distance you shoot.

The principal does not change - pattern the shotgun at the distances you plan to shoot and then place out range markers / stakes / decoys with a band etc at YOUR max effective range.

It matters not if you are shooting rabbits with a 17hmr, Reds with your 270 (god's calibre) or pigeons with target loads. Practice with the equipment, the ammunition, at the range you intend to shoot at to ensure you are ethical / effective.

shot my first duck...female parrie with the mighty .410 all of 40 years ago and have managed to kill birds with one nearly every season since.....its all about getting into range,I recall shooting my first hare,and paced it out as was such a LOOONG shot for me,30 young fellas steps. would have been using winchester 3" #4 as that was my usual load used..stock agent sold Mum some 2 1/2" #5s for me to use and I was rightly pissed off as the ywere nowhere near as good...my first introduction to just how different two loads could be.

They all shoot the same pellets at roughly the same velocity....there are jus less pellets in the smaller guages. Would i shoot passing geese with one, not if i coukd help it but jump shooting smelly ducks on ponds and creeks no worries. Now if you imported som tss 9 shot then the game has really changed.
Plenty of pellets then

if you shoot a lot of geese with a sub gauge then steel doesnt factor so much
cos your best huntng is where they feed usually on paddocks some distance from water
Thats why the 20 suited me for so long because for every steel load i fired at the lake id fire 3 more at geese or parries on paddocks.
yes life was much simpler when subgauges were exempt.
some blame tom lanauzes articles on the 20 for the change i dont
but i do some semantic petty arseholes in the f&g councills couldnt bare there bieng a out or a difference they couldnt control.

the answer is there..right in front of noses,but currently too expensive to do...import heavy shot..the TSS#9 referred t oabove sort of thing..this is heavier than lead so pellet count is actually LESS for given charge n shot size..but its soo much heavier yo ucan drop shot size and still improve terminal penertration or so the imformation/accounts I ve read say...... so if fish n game and/or Government was really serious about getting all lead away from water (verdict is still out if this was even a needed thing) if they imported a couple of tons of the super duper small shot and got rid of ALL the red tape n taxes from ALL the processes..then the likes of target products COULD produce great efficent effective ammunition at reasonable price.... heck if it was $2 per shot but would cleanly kill birds it would be great stuff and worth buying..Mum wouldnt baulk at price as could point out its on par with Dads black cloud etc..... Dad would have to get gorse out of pockets then or sleep on couch.

I am toying with the idea of importing 5lbs TSS 18gm in size 9 to try. Will also need to buy suitable wads at the same time.
The fly in the ointment is the cost, will work out about $100 per lb for shot landed if I am real lucky.
19gm loads in a .410 would give approx 245 pellets. A better would include some larger steel shot to "loosen up" the pattern as from what I have read TSS patterns very tightly.
You sure aint going to use such a costly non tox load for duck bashing although they have been hunting geese to 70-80 yards with .410 and size 9 TSS with some success
For reference TSS 9's are similar ballistically to 4's lead apparently
Prairiewind Decoys TSS Infomation
From their site

18 gram/cubic centimeter heavy weight Tungsten Super Shot (TSS) shot turns your sub guage gun into an extremely lethal weapon. It is perfect for the 410 Bore, 28ga, and 20 guage. You won't believe the ballistics. For example, a 3/8oz load of #9's in a 410 2 1/2" shell gives you 135 pellets.(That is more pellets than many 12ga loads) These pellets carry more energy than Lead #4's at 1510 FPS with 23 grains of powder. This loads yeilds 1.25" of penetration into Ballistic gel at 88 yards!