What kind of shot string do you want in your duck load?

[HeadedWest]

Lol…

 

[KYBOY]

How many of yall got to kill ducks with lead? I was lucky enough to kill my first ones with lead back in the mid-late 80's when I was a kid.. Jump shooting big creeks

 

[B.M. Barrelcooker]

Do you mean “got to hunt ducks legally”with lead ?

I first started duck hunting with my dad in 77-78 with a single shot .410 and #6 lead in the woods.
A few years later we were shooting baby magnum 2-3/4” 4’s or 6’s in 20 and 12.

Then steel was mandated and we tried everything from 3” T’s to 3” 4’s and they all sucked eggs.

The industry decided more shot was the answer for steel and the 3.5” guns came out.
Then it became all about speed

And finally density and down range energy became all the rage.

Each shift also brought a shift in pricing.

I wonder what’s next ?

 

[Bee]

FWIW I shot my first ducks in 1959. Obviously with lead. In some form of 2 3/4 in 16 gauge shell . My late brother who hunted ducks and started me out, let me join him and his friends locally and on some traveling hunts. I had killed a good number of species and been several places to hunt by the time I finished college. Some of that traveling had me in Ballard Co in the backwaters with Hubert and Little Joe if there is anybody on here who is old enough to know the history around those two river men/guides. Some epic goose hunts there before Ky put in the four shooter/man limit on goose blinds.

I then got pretty serious about guns and shells and shot a 870 Wingmaster 3 in gun exclusively with Winchester XX lead fours for ducks and BBs for geese....until steel shot was mandated .That load would stone a bird at substantial distances.

.Travelled for several decades and hunted a lot of states from Maryland /Virginia to Idaho, Mt, and Oregon and from the Gulf to darned near James Bay in Canada , and counting on fingers s I think it was 21 states and two provinces .

Since steel was mandated in US Ive never killed ducks as dead and as cleanly with steel of any kind, as we did with lead. Just my experience.

I now shoot the Federal Black Cloud in 3 in same old 870. That was after going through all kinds of steel loads for some years without feeling like any of those steel loads had near the first impact lethality as the old lead did. Good dogs kept the crippled birds from escaping but very few seemed to be DOA if they were at any distance.

I can hit the birds pretty well even today but killing them clean like the lead did , well, its become less frequent. At any range. Im not gonna pay the Money to try TSS or mystery loads so I will likely finish my waterfowl career with what I have on hand. Ample I think .

 

[KYBOY]

when did lead become illegal? around 90'?

 

[DH13]

How many of yall got to kill ducks with lead? I was lucky enough to kill my first ones with lead back in the mid-late 80's when I was a kid.. Jump shooting big creeks

I started 1974. 20 gauge Mossburg pump. We hunted a few ponds and creeks. 2 3/4 6s for Ducks 2 3/4 4s for Geese.

 

[aceoky]

when did lead become illegal? around 90'?

Outdoor Notes : Lead Shot Outlawed in Waterfowl Hunting Areas, Starting in 1991

The U.S.

www.latimes.com

 

[DH13]

Outdoor Notes : Lead Shot Outlawed in Waterfowl Hunting Areas, Starting in 1991

The U.S.

www.latimes.com

Glad to see ya back ACE.

 

[hunt-4-life21]

Do you mean “got to hunt ducks legally”with lead ?

I first started duck hunting with my dad in 77-78 with a single shot .410 and #6 lead in the woods.
A few years later we were shooting baby magnum 2-3/4” 4’s or 6’s in 20 and 12.

Then steel was mandated and we tried everything from 3” T’s to 3” 4’s and they all sucked eggs.

The industry decided more shot was the answer for steel and the 3.5” guns came out.
Then it became all about speed

And finally density and down range energy became all the rage.

Each shift also brought a shift in pricing.

I wonder what’s next ?

You're seeing a big shift towards smaller gauge guns with better shells, too.

 

[HeadedWest]

You're seeing a big shift towards smaller gauge guns with better shells, too.

Hipsters gonna hipster.

 

[aceoky]

Glad to see ya back ACE.

Thank you!