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A few more trips

1K views 12 replies 3 participants last post by  The Waterfowler 
#1 ·
Had a few more trips out , not been a bad start to the season for me with good numbers of ducks about, still waiting for the geese to turn up in good numbers though.
















 
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#3 ·
Thanks , I mainly shoot on our coastline , the shooting is controlled by various clubs in each area , you pay to join a club I guess it costs me around $175 for each club I join which includes insurance our season runs from 1st September - 20th February

Load wise I use a 1.1/4 oz load of steel 3s for duck and a 1 1/2 oz load of either BB or BBB for the geese , I carry a few HW13 2s for days when the geese are at ranges that are too far for steel .
 
#4 ·
So , I assume you shoot a 12 bore gun ? Wow , 1 1/2 oz load must be in a 3 1/2'' hull ?
Thank's interesting as most fellas ( I Know ) in your parts shoot 10 ga's......? I enjoy seeing pic's of the Coastal Marshes
and flocks of Pink Feet Geese , in waves , passing overhead , just in range of a well equipped Hunter.....Success !
Total pass shooting at it best ?
 
#5 ·
Yes 1 1/2 oz is in a 3.5" case I use those on geese with larger shot and occasionally on high duck in a 3 shot.
To be honest there are now far more guys using 3.5" 12 gauges than there are 10 gauge , there is little if no factory cartridges available now over here for the 10 , so those that do not want to reload are going for the 3.5" 12 .

The pinks are an incredible sight and sound , I have yet to shoot one this season but they are only just starting to arrive , I am lucky I live no more than a mile away from one of their biggest roosts ( the wash ) and often have them feeding on fields out side of my back door .
 
#6 ·
I can understand shooting (the long 12 ga) factory ammo but reloading for a better shell / patterns , might be something
to think about ? Where you're located , I'm sure you get plenty of opportunities to take shots with-in range and really don't
need high performance ammo , with reloading ? From the pic's , I don't see any decoys ? Do you just pass-shoot your birds ?
 
#7 ·
I do home load all my cartridges , I was just pointing out that people who do not want to are ditching the 10 due to a lack of factory ammo.
99% of the shooting is what you call pass shooting ( we call it flighting ) the tides are very strong for using decoys not to mention that most of the shooting is a long walk of 2 miles or more round trip in most cases so carrying loads of decoys is not an option .

Unless there is a good wind the ducks are usually flying high so I prefer heavier loads.
 
#8 ·
So with your Home Loads (payloads) , what distances are you most comfortable with ?
3's being a size steel shot I use a lot in a 2 3/4 '' hull ( 1 oz at 1500 fps ) I find it very capable out to 45 yds
on Mallard size birds.....if, there's not much wind , but , if it's blowing I go up to 1's in a hurry .
I enjoyed shooting the 10 ga with steel shot , make no mistake about it , it's a Flighting ( pass-shooting ) tool !
I like big payloads of BBB's for Geese so , with less recoil with the 10 ga.....it's my favorite !
I've been loading Airgun BB's in the short hulls....these knock the crap out of Snows and Speck size birds !
Which kinda makes me think , they would work for you too ?
 
#9 ·
I am happy to shoot that load of 3s out to 50 yards on duck If I expect them to be any further than that I use 1s .
For geese I will also use steel up to 50 yards BB or BBB .
Not tried airgun BBs but have heard good things about them .
The areas I shoot you are doing ok if you get a shot or two , so I prefer plenty of shot in the pattern.
I am sure the 10 will perhaps pattern steel better but I am more than happy with the 12 at the moment
 
#10 ·
Tell me , what constrictions do you stay with in your 12 ga , changing from 3's to BB's / BBB's ?

It's one of the reasons I like Airgun BB's......No need to change as the density of my patterns (seem) to be just a little
tighter ! I'm not saying Airgun BB's are better than regular BB's for long-range shooting , but there's more of them and
at the outside distances I shoot my birds , they do the trick !

It sure is nice seeing and reading your adventures of Waterfowling.....Thanks !
It's just a different twist to what we do here.....as long as , you know how to shoot . :yes:
 
#12 ·
So do I Pink , here in Dairy Country of the U.S. , I hunt and shoot a fair number of Pigeons yearly ( 3500 to 4000 ).
I do take my pigeon hunting seriously ( as I do Waterfowl ) with a lot of decoying stuff.....for the hunts . My dog likes
both equally well too . I know you probably sell your birds but here , they are a pest as most of them go in a hole to
be covered-up .

With a PM , we can exchange trade secrets as........I don't need competition from on-lookers ! :no:
 
#13 ·
Pinkfoot, you should be getting a push of birds from Iceland if you haven't already. Was there last week and the freeze was starting and the birds were moving down on the south coast getting ready to jump the Pond!
 
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