Shot shells for Geese
- Thread starter CZguy
- Start date
- Status
sm
member
Might want to get input from others...
I would recommend Bismuth, as it - to me - replicates (similar) lead shot in patterning.
The 870 will handle this fine, it will just depend on your type of hunting, distances and patterning your gun to fit your needs.
Steve
Who last felled a honker with NEF Youth 20 ga with fixed modified choke bbl using 2 3/4" shell reloaded with #5 Bismuth.
Hey, I have done the pit blind, laying on back freezing my skinny rear off, field blind bit...and who knows what else for ducks, geese, critters in general.
Big wide ditch. I gots me a chair, already scouted how these honkers worked a field and with a wool army blanket I was sitting on, and around shoulders...
Hey if a dumb hunker is going to come up MY ditch, I can wait until ~ 20 yard until I see the honker's eyes go
and smoothly, but quickly mount my Youth 20 bore to face and slap trigger - still seated I might add.
*shrug* I sorta like this work smarter not harder stuff personally.
I mean y'all can get all muddy , freeze rear ends off and all if you want. I get landowner to drop me off at the ditch riding shotgun on a tractor.
Then again I too did the other stuff when younger...
I understand being older now why my Mentors & Elders did the stuff they did they way did it.
They sure shook head and grinned a lot too.
Got my honker, listened to the others making racket, landowner come back and I rode shotgun on the tractor with my honker hanging off the doo-hickey on the tractor.
Worked for me...
I would recommend Bismuth, as it - to me - replicates (similar) lead shot in patterning.
The 870 will handle this fine, it will just depend on your type of hunting, distances and patterning your gun to fit your needs.
Steve
Who last felled a honker with NEF Youth 20 ga with fixed modified choke bbl using 2 3/4" shell reloaded with #5 Bismuth.
Hey, I have done the pit blind, laying on back freezing my skinny rear off, field blind bit...and who knows what else for ducks, geese, critters in general.
Big wide ditch. I gots me a chair, already scouted how these honkers worked a field and with a wool army blanket I was sitting on, and around shoulders...
Hey if a dumb hunker is going to come up MY ditch, I can wait until ~ 20 yard until I see the honker's eyes go
and smoothly, but quickly mount my Youth 20 bore to face and slap trigger - still seated I might add.*shrug* I sorta like this work smarter not harder stuff personally.
I mean y'all can get all muddy , freeze rear ends off and all if you want. I get landowner to drop me off at the ditch riding shotgun on a tractor.
Then again I too did the other stuff when younger...
I understand being older now why my Mentors & Elders did the stuff they did they way did it.
They sure shook head and grinned a lot too.
Got my honker, listened to the others making racket, landowner come back and I rode shotgun on the tractor with my honker hanging off the doo-hickey on the tractor.
Worked for me...
Slimpickins
Member
I do a bit of goose hunting and I use the Remington Heavy shot in a 3 1/2" nothing smaller then #2 shot. But I am usually shooting @ 35 yards or better. That heavy shot really knocks them big honkers out of the air....I hope this helps.
If the barrel is over 20 years old and has a full choke, maybe even a mod choke, I would not put steel shot or tungstein shot through the barrel. Bismuth is about the only other choice, #2's would be the smallest size of shot I would go. Other sizes would be BB's, T's and F's.
NailGun
Member
Bismuth!
It is soft and performs similar to lead. It won't hurt old shotgun barrels. It patterns really nice with a modified choke too. (at least in my guns.)
I dropped 8 geese last year using #2, 3" mags.
For old guns, Bismuth IS the stuff!
...just in my um...humble..opinion....
NailGun
It is soft and performs similar to lead. It won't hurt old shotgun barrels. It patterns really nice with a modified choke too. (at least in my guns.)
I dropped 8 geese last year using #2, 3" mags.
For old guns, Bismuth IS the stuff!
...just in my um...humble..opinion....
NailGun
MCgunner
Member
I do a lot of waterfowl down here on the golden gulf coast where the prairies lay white with snow geese. Steel sux, sux, sux, trust me. Beyond 35 yards, steel BBs are worthless. Never tried Ts, 3" is all I hunt with. But, Federal Tungsten/Iron kills so well at long ranges on heavy birds, I no longer have a desire for a 3 1/2" gun. A 3" 12 is PLENTY of gun with these loads. At 50 yards, they fold out of the sky as if hit by a triple A. It's amazing, better than lead.
Pricing lately, I think Tungsten must have gone up because the ammo I bought at 13 dollars a box of ten is way over 20 bucks now!
Remington heavy shot seems about the same, Bismuth has actually come down some in price. But, Remington has developed "heavy steel" which is denser than steel, about like the Tungsten/Iron Federal stuff I had been shooting from what I read, and it's quite affordable! Future goose hunts are going to be done with 3" BB heavy steel from now until something better, cheaper comes along. You get a 25 round box of this stuff for about $20, not TEN round box like the others. Heck, for years I paid $13 a box for worthless steel shot. This stuff is supposed to be very effective like the Tungsten/Iron, so I'm going to check it out. I just wish I could find it in 2 3/4" so I could use it on late season ducks in my Winchester (2 3/4" chamber) autoloader, but to date I think they only offer it in 3 and 3.5" versions. I'll be shooting it in my Mossberg on geese next season, though I have about five boxes of Federal Tungsten/Iron left over to shoot up.
It's a little confusing, but go to the Remington site and read up on Heavy Shot and Heavy Steel and see for yourself. I can tell you the Heavy Shot and the Tungsten/Iron Federal stuff live up to the hype without doubt. I am very impressed with this stuff, FAR, FAR better than steel shot. I've never fired Bismuth, but one advantage it has is that it can be fired out of normally choked guns and older guns that aren't steel shot compatible. I may try some just to be able to get my old double barrel out once in a while, probably just on ducks. Heavy Steel, Heavy Shot, and Tungsten/Iron are like Steel in hardness and must be choked less and should not be fired in older guns (especially old doubles) that are not steel shot compatible. Steel shot laws is the primary reason I retired that old double 12, but it also kicks like hell, so I guess I'm better off with heavier 12 gauges. But, the Bismuth gives me a chance to take it out and use it on waterfowl once in a while and the price of Bismuth has dropped which is a good thing.
Steel sux, sux, sux, trust me. Beyond 35 yards, steel BBs are worthless. Never tried Ts, 3" is all I hunt with. But, Federal Tungsten/Iron kills so well at long ranges on heavy birds, I no longer have a desire for a 3 1/2" gun. A 3" 12 is PLENTY of gun with these loads. At 50 yards, they fold out of the sky as if hit by a triple A. It's amazing, better than lead. Pricing lately, I think Tungsten must have gone up because the ammo I bought at 13 dollars a box of ten is way over 20 bucks now!
Remington heavy shot seems about the same, Bismuth has actually come down some in price. But, Remington has developed "heavy steel" which is denser than steel, about like the Tungsten/Iron Federal stuff I had been shooting from what I read, and it's quite affordable! Future goose hunts are going to be done with 3" BB heavy steel from now until something better, cheaper comes along. You get a 25 round box of this stuff for about $20, not TEN round box like the others. Heck, for years I paid $13 a box for worthless steel shot. This stuff is supposed to be very effective like the Tungsten/Iron, so I'm going to check it out. I just wish I could find it in 2 3/4" so I could use it on late season ducks in my Winchester (2 3/4" chamber) autoloader, but to date I think they only offer it in 3 and 3.5" versions. I'll be shooting it in my Mossberg on geese next season, though I have about five boxes of Federal Tungsten/Iron left over to shoot up.It's a little confusing, but go to the Remington site and read up on Heavy Shot and Heavy Steel and see for yourself. I can tell you the Heavy Shot and the Tungsten/Iron Federal stuff live up to the hype without doubt. I am very impressed with this stuff, FAR, FAR better than steel shot. I've never fired Bismuth, but one advantage it has is that it can be fired out of normally choked guns and older guns that aren't steel shot compatible. I may try some just to be able to get my old double barrel out once in a while, probably just on ducks. Heavy Steel, Heavy Shot, and Tungsten/Iron are like Steel in hardness and must be choked less and should not be fired in older guns (especially old doubles) that are not steel shot compatible. Steel shot laws is the primary reason I retired that old double 12, but it also kicks like hell, so I guess I'm better off with heavier 12 gauges.
But, the Bismuth gives me a chance to take it out and use it on waterfowl once in a while and the price of Bismuth has dropped which is a good thing.- Status