12 gauge 2-3/4" for duck

Many thousands of ducks and geese have been shot with 2-3/4" shells with no issues. You need to match the shot size with the bird size, and there are lots of opinions about that when talking about non-lead shot (which I assume you will be required to use) but you can gather those opinions and make your choices. I just want to make it clear that there is no reason to doubt your shotguns can be used very effectively. Any single pellet from your 2-3/4 inch shells will have the same ability to kill a duck as any single pellet from a 3" chamber, there will just be fewer of them in your shorter shells. So I haven't answered your question exactly, because there are lots of loads that will do just fine. I would look for loads with #2 size shot for ducks, BB for geese.

I hunt ducks with a 20 ga. I use 3" #4 steel shot. The shell is probably equivalent to the payload in a 12 ga. 2 3/4" shell.

If you are shooting over decoys and only shooting at closer ducks, #4 steel would be ideal ... maybe even #6. For shots that are farther #2 or #3 steel should do the trick.

Back before lead was outlawed, I used #6 and 7 1/2 with great effect so giant pellets aren't necessarily the answer but a good pattern is.

Please don't turn into a group of rude, sky-busting goons that seem to be so common since Duck Dynasty started airing on TV.

I am a lover of small gauge shotguns.
I think the adoption of steel is what brought the 3" and 3.5" guns into existence.
When i shoot steel, i go up a size in shot....ie #6lead/#4steel.
I also tighten my choke by one. It seems that my theory is quite unpopular on THR, but it has been successful for me in the duck and goose blinds, and the dove fields. Thats how I do it.

Close birds #4
Decoy shy birds #2 or BB
But you really need to pattern your gun. Does your gun have screw-in chokes?

For a general load and especially to jump ducks I like #4, good power still but more pellets. I have also used #2 and #3 successfully.

For decoys and big ducks I'd use #2 but I know people who like to use BB. Those larger pellets are also nice if you get lucky and a goose flies close.

I personally found #6 steel too light, the pellets lost energy too quickly and the #4 loads never failed to have enough pellets to kill the smaller ducks.

I will also repeat the gentleman above, you want to shoot some paper plates at different distances to verify your load patterns evenly and know your pellet density at different ranges. Every shotgun is different. Hope you have fun!

Before steel shot 2 3/4" was fine. With steel you normally go up to a bigger pellet, which means fewer pellets in those shells. Moving up to a 3" shell get you roughly back to the same pellet count you'd have with 2 3/4" lead. Not saying you can't kill waterfowl with 2 3/4" shells, but you are working at a handicap.

If someone wants to shoot a lot it would be a good idea to move up to something that will take 3" shells. But if I were going to hunt with a 2 3/4" gun I'd seriously consider some of the non-steel options that are also non-toxic. There are several options and they actually work much better than steel. But they are expensive.

I have a 1930's vintage SXS that my dad mailed home from Germany in 1945 shortly after WW-2 ended. I like to take dads old gun out once or twice a year and invested in some bismuth shot for it. It isn't designed for any steel shot, even 2 3/4" shells.

For decoy ducks on a pond or marsh, 2 3/4” shells in #4 steel will be just fine. For sea ducks and, especially Eider, 3” # 2. They are tough barstewards.

As noted above, you need to pattern your gun. IC/LM is probably right for decoys but you want to pattern and have a Mod choke handy.

Pre non-toxic the standard load was 1 1/4 oz, #6s. I loaded 1 1/4 oz 5s and 4s later in the season.

Steel made the 3” necessary, or at least justified. Velocity is the only way to compensate for how ballistically inferior steel is versus lead. So look for high velocity (1500 fps) at the cost of payload.

Bismuth is an expensive alternative.

If you get hooked, you’ll be buying a 3” gun soon.

But if you let the ducks work, and they cooperate, shots at 30 yards are perfect for a 12 gauge 2 3/4” shell.

12 ga, 3", #3 steel shot, improved choke for ducks.
12 GA, 3", BBB steel shot, improved cylinder for geese.

If you can afford it, bismuth or tungsten shot for waterfowl.

In the old days 2 3/4", lead #5 shot, with a modified choke for ducks.

Get your friend to shoot bismuth. 2 2/3 inch is fine.

We used to jump shoot woodies off the ponds locally. I always used 2 3/4" 1 1/4 oz of #4 shot. Make sure your gun is rated for steel though. If its a newer Mossberg, Remington, etc with screw chokes you should be fine. But an old A5 or M12 Winchester wouldn't handle the steel shot well; for those old guns, use the bismuth.

Mac

Stan Rosen said:

I have never hunted duck, or any other water fowl. My friends and I are planning to start this fall in NY. We all own 2-3/4" chambered 12 gauge shotguns. Are there any loads you guys can recommend?

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Sure, #2 in steel.
Now in case you are wondering here is a box of Winchester 12 gauge 2¾" steel shells, with 1⅛ ounces of steel shot.




Here is a box of the same ammunition made for 3" chambers, and having 1¼ ounces of steel shot. NOTE the velocity is 1400 fps for both.



The difference is ⅛ ounce of steel shot, which is..., 16 pellets.

That's right, the first photo has shells with 140 pellets, and the second box has shells with 156 pellets.
I submit that those 16 less pellets in your shells will likely not be the determining factor in your hunt.

Enjoy, and good luck!

LD

my grandad killed ducks for over 45 years with a FC model 12 field 2-3/4" pump, that was before steel shot was needed. my cousin still has that shotgun, but due to the no lead law it only gets used on rabbits ect,s. i was never much of a duck hunter and the steel shot use law for ducks, killed it for me. i still remember the damp foggy mornings in the duck blind with my cousin and grandad waiting for the ducks and the smell of the old paper shells and the rattle of the cases bouncing on the floor of the blind. my grandads retriever was black lab who would shake when the firing started and was ready to jump into the water at my grandads command. i wish i could live those days over. pap passed in 1978. at 87. so go buy the steel shot shells and go hunting.

It's not the weight of shot that kills, which is the advantage of 3", but the velocity. Kent fasteel makes a 2 3/4" steel load that is cruising along in the 1500fps range. I believe Winchester also still makes one in their Xpert discount priced line. I cut one of those apart, and the pellets are godawful ugly...full of voids and flat spots...but they kill ducks very well regardless. The charge weight is 1 1/16oz, which in #2 still gives you a pellet count comparable to the venerable 1 1/2oz lead 4 that was the gold standard for heavy ducks for the better part of the 20th century. Avoid the heavier payload, lower velocity loadings. Anything under 1425fps will wound waterfowl.

My wife's gun is chambered 2 3/4" and I have used both of these loads to great effect when I steal her Ithaca for pothole hunting. I typically shoot 3" in my gun, only due to the fact that 3" loads are more available locally, but I still shoot the lighter charge-higher velocity loadings. I use #4 or 3 for smaller ducks such as woodies and teal, #2 later in the season when ranges are longer and birds larger. Haven't felt the need for non-steel options, and can't stomach the cost for the volume of waterfowl ammo I consume in a year, but all reports are that they perform relative to their price.

In the off season, shoot lots of skeet and sporting clays. Ducks are hard targets, and seem to defy the laws of physics at times. Both these clay games feature a lot of hard crossers and weird angles that will give you a leg up and ease the frustration on opening day.

This load or the Kent equivalent (I've used both) are what you want. I've killed buckets of ducks with this stuff after a local retailer closed it out for $70 per case some years ago. Shot it for about 8 years until I used up the last shell last season. https://winchester.com/Products/Ammunition/Shotshell/Super-X/WEX122

Most of my duck/goose hunting was with 2 3/4" lead. While steel will work fine, you may consider bismuth, tungsten, or tungsten/steel. All will extend your effective over steel. Be aware of $$.

tactikel said:

Most of my duck/goose hunting was with 2 3/4" lead. While steel will work fine, you may consider bismuth, tungsten, or tungsten/steel. All will extend your effective over steel. Be aware of $$.

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Especially with tungsten; some of those loads go for $9 /EACH

Armored farmer said:

I am a lover of small gauge shotguns.
I think the adoption of steel is what brought the 3" and 3.5" guns into existence.
When i shoot steel, i go up a size in shot....ie #6lead/#4steel.
I also tighten my choke by one. It seems that my theory is quite unpopular on THR, but it has been successful for me in the duck and goose blinds, and the dove fields. Thats how I do it.View attachment 980964

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Maybe show him the pic of your son's choke tube....

Seriously, If I were to get back into waterfowling, and only had a 2 3/4 gun available, I'd go with the Kent Tungsten Matrix shell, C122NT36-3 or -5.

https://kentcartridge.com/us/shotshell/tungsten-matrix

entropy said:

Maybe show him the pic of your son's choke tube....

Seriously, If I were to get back into waterfowling, and only had a 2 3/4 gun available, I'd go with the Kent Tungsten Matrix shell, C122NT36-3 or -5.

https://kentcartridge.com/us/shotshell/tungsten-matrix

Click to expand...

This is a pic of #1 sons waterfowl gun. He was lucky.
There is a limit of how much steel these ultra tight chokes will take before they.?....choke.
Son was shooting a factory load within the specs of the tube....it isnt an exact science. Steel is less forgiving than lead.

12 ga 2 3/4 inch steel shells will kill ducks. I use 1.25 oz #6 for teal, however larger ducks at more than 35 yards it is wise to go with 3,4 or 2 size steel shot. I have found that 2 3/4in 12ga shells are harder to find in most local ammo outlets. 3 inch steel shells evidently are more popular. i usually by my shells by the case from Rogers Sporting goods with free shipping.

Bull

I switched over to Heavy Shot a number of years ago for turkeys and geese. I really like the performance. Bought several boxes when it was still less than $3 a round. Both geese and turkeys are not numerous shot game animals (if you hit what you shoot at). The Heavy Shot dose hit harder than lead and is nontoxic. Not a duck hunter anymore, but if I did I would use 2 3/4" Heavy Shot #4s or Fast Steel #4s with a modified choke. I always liked to jump shoot ditches and creeks where shots were fairly close.

While people have 'sticker shock' at the price of bismith consider how many times you have to use two, three, or four shots on a wounded bird to finish it off using steel shot?

People tend to think there is a "magic" load for waterfowl. The magic is in how good a shot you are.

Lead is still legal for waterfowl shooting in Mexico. I was in a blind with a Mexican who used a 20 ga. with 71/2 shot, 1 oz. loads. He knocked them down with the best of them.