Is a 20ga a viable option these days given lead is banned? Is steel shot ammo reasonable available?
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Is a 20ga a viable option these days given lead is banned? Is steel shot ammo reasonable available?
yeah mate young fella uses 20g hes shot parrys and ducks u just have to call im in to get in range
Absolutely. Known a few that switched to 20g. Specifically the Benelli M2 semi. Shoot it all day.
yes
GSPFused 20g P/Aa for most of the 15yrs ive known him and he consistently dropped everything from quail to canadas. only recently switched to 12g due to scarcity of 20g steel loads altho lately he has considered switching back when we spoke.
had no problems getting steel shot theres good supply at all retailers
Thanks for the replies team. Sounds like a 20ga could definitely be a goer.
What are people finding to be a good 3' 20ga steel ammo?
stuff that you use in .12ga
seriously,if you going to poke magnum loads through the .20ga you are better off to use the .12ga .
why beat yourself up more than needed???? if poking out 1 1/4oz loads youve also missed the point of .20ga ,smaller lighter and easier to carry/swing,get in bit closer and kill with lighter payload....if we can kill ducks with oz in .12ga you can do it in .20ga
3" 20ga steel is only 1oz
Besides, I don't have a 12ga anyway.
Walk up pheasants with it all day then sit on a pond for an evening shoot to try pick up a few ducks
well good to read that. if you havent had much to do with steel before it will be lots louder and harder kicking due to higher speed needed.
in senario you give,just be aware unless you heading home to switch out loads,you wont be able to use lead for the pheasants etc... or still have it with you when switch to ducks.
I plan on getting some Bismuth shot and trying that in the 20g this year.
Used 3" Mary Arms in steel, worked ok but haven't tried anything else to compare.
Shot steel the last couple of seasons, was running Rio blue steel. It seemed to go ok but I'm keen to try other ammo if there is something decent out there. Wasn't too keen on the eley from the season before.
All of the lead gets put back in the trucks that are well.away from the pond so no issues there
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
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.
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.
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.
f&g cant run membership drives and tout for new blood then on the other hand kill the only entry level option available to younger gunners.
not unless the woke lunies are absolutly running the ship
the ship they rent out as privateers to wealthy sportsmen or they guide them to the dock /ducks deer tahr what ever
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
Quote:
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!
What makes me laugh is you can't use lead to shot ducks but it doesn't matter how many lead sinkers you loose
id almost bet you i could name the biggest nay sayer in that room.
the laugh is you can shoot lead over land for ducks geese and shelducks where presumembly the lead sits till it sinks or is stepped into the ground
but in our mostly soft bottomed wetlands you cant and what measurements were undertaken to prove the contamination of lead
that wasnt from paint or paint deterioation or runoff or.......
yes i get the ducks and grit argutment but how much lead is shot over grit spots i bet no f...ker in nz or the world knows that ??????
No the ludercrous bit is you can hunt upland game in riverbeds with lead but woe betide a duck flies over.............you better hold your fire.
Non toxic may be the way forward and there should be no exemptions or only for muzzle loaders perhaps.
Here if you look like you are waterfowl hunting you better have no lead on you at all, not even in the car!!
However I can report 20ga steel works fine on ducks and puks. Its just different.
I believe they used data from the states. Shallow waterways, gravel bottom with a lot of shooters..
Not relevant to a lot of NZ. There would be bugger all of that shot on the West Coast back home.
Lots of rain and run off to wash or bury lead or just deeper and not a not of shooters.
Last few years have done parried shoots for opening on the coast. All paddock shooting. Other than one year we had a creek directly behind us, everything was out in front of us.
We even double checked on go's and nope, still to close to the creek so had to use steel
Load of wank
In the days of Helen Clarke and her nemesis,one Jim Anderton(mods this is historical reference)Labour had Andertons new labour in its ranks and as a favour new labours Sandra Lee as crown minister. got the conservation portfolio.It was her mission to rid the country of lead so dubious USAresearch as detailed abovewas the basis for this decision.
if you follow letter of law ANY body of water over 3mtrs INCLUDING a puddle in a gateway...means 200 mtrs away or need to use steel....
Yup MD. We did use steel. Just very annoying for out situation