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In the UK we have a limited choice of non toxic waterfowl loads in comparison to the USA and the steel shot options we have are considered by many to perform poorly and have limited effective ranges.

The majority of UK cartridge/shell muzzle speeds are restricted to approx 1400 to 1450 fps.

For larger ducks (Mallards) and Geese what American loads and makes would be recommended for use in a Beretta Xtrema 2 which possibly have far greater muzzle speeds ?

for ducks 2 shot should work, and for geese bb or bbb ... Whats your guys season over there, never talked to someone across the pond about duck hunting....

What do you have for sea ducks

Our season starts 1st September and runs through to the end of January of if on the coast out on the marsh/mud flats mid February. There are 9 duck species we can hunt in England and 4 geese species - there are no bag limits.

Do you know whether there are any high velocity loads available in the USA that are good for ducks and geese ?

What do you consider high velocity 1500, 1600..You can get 3 1/2 inch two shot and velocity is around 1600..I use winchester supremes 3 inch 2 shot for duck and velocity is around 1500 plenty good for me...

some shotgun shell companies..Federal,Winchester, kent, Hevi shot..
Hope this helps..

Do you use a hunting club over there or hunt on your own??
No bag limit, whats a typical take home for you guys????

Kent Fasteel 3.5" 1625 fps.......too many others to name in the 1500 fps class.

I'm still not even sure what you're asking. Do you want fast....or heavier-than-lead loads?

Super fast steel loads are easy to find.....TMK you're not going to find super fast heavier-than-lead loads(and by that I mean >1500fps).

Hi There,

I was looking for the high velocity steel loads as an alternative to the expensive Bismuth which in the UK is about �27.00 - about $40.00 for a box of 25 2-3/4 shells.

It looks like the 3 inch Remington Hypersonic shell might be the answer. Whilst expensive it is cheaper than the Bismuth I guess the question is whether it significantly outperfoms the steel loads at 1450 to 1600 fps ?

Is the Federal Black Cloud considered good ?

In the UK we do have hunting clubs - mostly Wildfowling Clubs that offer duck and goose shooting both inland but also on the coast in the marshes etc where the ducks are shot at sea on the tides.

Noduck - On your question with regards typical take home...... alot depends on the weather etc and whether you are shooting inland or on the coast. Most guys however would reckon 12 ducks and/or half a dozen geese as being pretty good. That said one can shoot more albeit you would get quite a lot of criticism if you regularly shot more than say 10 geese and over 12 wild ducks on a regular basis.

That said last winter when we had severe cold spells in the UK a lot of people shot a lot of ducks and geese. I know of three guys who over a large and well fed pond killed just over 100 wild ducks in one evening. As they left loads of Teal and Mallard were still coming in.

What they did is not illegal but would be frowned upon - that said the temptation to do it once in ones lifetime would probably tempt most of us !!

Maunder, federal black clouds are good i like them. I think most depends on how far your trying to shoot.. Anything works good at 50 yards...

Do you belong to hunting club or hunt on your own??

You guys have to fight the crowds get to the blinds or not to bad....

Oh, really? I'll wait to see what others think about this statement before I chime in.

Duxhateme, so what shells wont work at 50 yrds... I guess to clarify i should of said.. When field hunting ducks coming in to decoys 0 to 50 yards.. I have used remmington,winchester,federals and cold rolled plenty of greenies... Now pass shooting way differ i could see where one shell would be better then other....

$40 for 25 2 3/4" bismuth. That would be an exceptional deal here. They are running about $3.50 per shell.

Hi Maunder,

Federal Black Cloud does a fine job on them. We've experienced less cripples and fewer follow up shots since we started using it. The banded pellets make a good wound channel and you see more blood on the ducks like lead shot would produce.

JM

Hi Maunder,

I would not advocate going down the hyper velocity load path with steel or any other product. At 1,400-1,450 fps muzzle velocity or approximately 1,250 - 1,300 fps instrumental (measured at 3'), you have enough speed and down range energy for steel when the appropriate load has been matched to the species and typical shooting distance. This has been proven repeatedly in the US, and you should be able to get this information from BASC's John Harradine.

For large duck stick with US #2 (UK #1)
For medium sized ducks stick with US #3 (UK #2)
and for small duck stick with US #4 (UK #3)

Generally speaking, a 1-1/8oz (32g) load in these shot sizes will be adequate out to about 45 yards (41m). Beyond this distance you really want to use a 1-1/4oz (36g) load weight. Similarly, in all these shot sizes, a modified (0.020" constriction) choke will be limited to less than 45 yards. Beyond this distsnce you really need to look at Improved Modified (0.025" constriction) or Light Full (0.030" constriction) to get the pattern density you need. For British hunters this is a major mind set as there has been a great deal of misinformation printed in your local shooting mags. If you are in a position to invest in some decent chokes, I would highly recommend either the Carlson, Briley or Trulock range - they really are world leaders in the area of aftermarket replacement chokes. More importantly they are often rated for steel right up to the tightest constrictions i.e. Extra Full (0.040" cosntriction) choke. Remember, you will run out of pattern density well before you run out of pellet energy.

For hunting over decoys, a 1-1/8oz (32g) load of UK #4 or #5 will flatten any duck provided shots are kept under 30 yards (27.5m). For decoying ranges under 30 yards, and Improved Cylinder, Light Modified or Modified choke will be adequate.

For geese, a 1-1/4oz load of US BB's will handle any goose out to 60-65 yards.

If you can get your hands on the RIO 'Royal Steel' (1-1/4oz) range, I would highly recommend them.

As far as high-velocity loads for ducks and geese I shoot a Remington 887, 12 ga. pump. For both birds I use Remington's new Hyper-Sonic 3", 1 1/8 oz., #2 shot loads. They are 1700 fps. They kick a little more but it's very manageable. If you can get them definitely give them a try.

One thing to avoid is shooting shells with different velocities every other day......buy a case of Kent Fasteel #2 1650fps and you'll get used to the speed. Even though I use different shot for puddlers over decoys versus divers/sea ducks, you'd be all set if you opted for #2 and stuck with it for everything.

Just one guy's opinion.......

I tried Kents Fasteel #2 shot in a 2 3/4 inch shell on geese for the first time last night.

It seemed to work as well as any of the other steel shot. Not every shot dropped a bird, but if a bird went down it stayed down. No second shots needed for clean up as I have had to do with Black Cloud and Remington's loads.

JM,

What choke are you using with the Black Cloud loads?

+ 1 .....

I have been thinking about dropping back to 2 3/4mag for geese myself... But I wimp out at the gun shop and always get 3" ....

I gotta start looking and see if I can get a skeet load to go that fast... it hurts to shoot skeet at 1200 and ducks at 1600.... makes it hard to figure it all out...

I've shot a lot of steel including quite a bit of Black Cloud. My favorite two loads still continue to be Kent Fast Steel 3" 1&1/8 ounce of #1 at 1560 fps and Kent Fast Steel 3.5" 1&3/8 #1 at 1550 fps. I have had really good luck with both those loads on both ducks and geese. The 3" one works great and is less money but I sometimes still shoot the 3.5" ones too.

We often set up for both ducks and geese at the same time so I just shoot #1's for everything so I don't have to dink around change shells.

I did make some pretty long shots last year with black clouds including dropping some big canadians at 60 yards with 3.5" BBB but I don't know if it's really much better than the fast steel. Although I did notice an obvious difference in wound channel where the black cloud pellets went verses the normal round ones. The black cloud pellets do cause noticably more trama.

Bb