shot size?

[fly-in]

What size shot are you guys using for ducks and geese? I have never hunted for either. My father inlaw said he had better luck shooting geese with smaller shot (up to #6). I bought a box of #3, but I could buy some  more boxs of different shot too.

[Fish-Trap]

 It depends on what you are taking your shots at. Decoying birds or pass shooting? For geese, I never use the smaller loads. I shoot 3.5 BB or BBB or T shot. In a pinch I'll shot 3.5 #2's. As for ducks, I've only hunted them this past season and I used #4's for decoying birds. (25-30 yard range)with alright results. I plan to chase the ducks harder this yr. I hope this might help

[TJ Bauer]

I use a small shot on early season ducks just because they will come closer and have less fat on them otherwise for geese and late season ducks i will normally shot #2 shot or if the geese will not come in go with a T shot

[Bobman]

I usually use #4 for early season ducks over decoys.  Most of the ducks around at that time are teal or woodies which are small so #4 is fine.  Later in the season I'll switch to #2 for the bigger mallards and pintails.  I've never specifically targeted geese, only taken a few incidentally while duck hunting, but I usually have a few BB in my pocket in case the geese start out numbering the ducks.  I always hunt over decoys and only shoot 2 3/4".

[Pikeguy]

#3's are a decent load for mallards and some woodies, but they can really screw up the teal. I used #3's all last year and don't recall any cripples on ethical shots. Depending on your skills as a shooter, #4's are usually a pretty good bet for decoying birds. Something else to consider is the velocity, but it's really hard to recommend anything without knowing what type of shooting you'll have.

[fly-in]

I don't have any decoys and neither does my father inlaw, I think he just hunts fields where they are feeding in the early morning and waits for them to fly in, so it would be pass shooting. I have a 3" pump shotgun with removeable choke tubes. I think the idea on the smaller shot size was that the pellets will penatrate the bird in the head.

[Pikeguy]

When shooting a medium to high velocity shell in mid-range situations alot of times you will get very good penetration with a smaller shot size. It doesn't need to hit the duck in the head neccessarily, solid wing shots and anything that penetrates into the vital organs will bring a bird down fairly quick.

[DeerHunterTommer]

I use 2's for ducks and bb's or bigger for geese

[pintowagon]

I use 3 or 4 for duck, and BB for geese when hunting them..Or if geese fly over the duck decoys. I use what  ever is in the gun..

[TroutKing]

I usually use #3 Federal High Velocity (1550 fps) magnums for ducks, when I'm using steel. I use #4 HEVI shot also, but it is so expensive. I am thinking of trying the Kent Tungsten-Matrix next fall.

TK

[Pikeguy]

I use kent Fasteel in # 3 and 4 for ducks and 3 1/2" BB for Geese out west. Fasteel is about the highest velocity out there. I shot some HeviShot last year for geese. It was great but at about $2 a shot it's just not worth it for me. I get plenty of power out of the steel and usually out shoot the 3 guys with 10 gauges with my 12ga.