What loads do you use for ducks and geese?

[GeneRector]

  Howdy! I have a Mossberg 835 12 gauge 3.5 inch chamber. What load would you use for ducks? Geese? I see that you can get special chokes as well. Do you use a different choke with your shotgun?  Also, I have heard that Hevi-shot is good. However, do you need a special choke for this? Your views appreciated. I don't have much experience with duck and goose hunting, but would like to pursue it when time permits. Thanks!

[Sx2]

Ducks; 2 3/4" or 3" 4's to BB's depending on size of duck and distance, pass shooting ot decoying.

Geese; 2 3/4" to 3.5"  2's to T 

Steel ends to pattern tighter. Pattern the gun with different chokes to get predictable results

Hevi Shot is good, hevi shot is expensive. A choke that is good for steel is good for hevi shot

[dukkillr]

Your time is far better spent learning to work ducks/geese and practicing your calling.  Put a modified choke in, buy a case of winchester steel Dry-Loc 3" 3s and don't think about your gun until you've used up that case.

In the mean time, find someone who can teach you to call.  The difference between some schmuck sky-busting pass shooter and a duck hunter is the ability to: 1) call ducks and 2) work ducks.  You can't learn to work ducks without actually doing it.  Learn to read them and develop an idea for what they're looking for and how they'll react.  Of course you need to be calling to impact that.

Buy a single reed duck call.  I've recommend the Rich-n-Tones before for cheapies.  If you're looking for a good call you'll need to visit somewhere that has them.  I blow a custom STM and I could put you in touch with their maker.  I've also blown custom echos, rich-n-tones, and others.  I'm not sure how to check those guy's calls unless you go to Stuttgart.  Good custom calls are 75-150$ so you may not be ready for that step.  If you are and you don't know where to go, PM me.

Once you've got a call, buy a tape or CD.  Play it and practice in your car.  It will take a lot of practice but eventually it'll become second nature.  When you're able to hear the right cadence and tone you're there.

[Sx2]

Mr Dukkiller,
your right as usual. I answered the guys question as briefly & to his point as possible. For all I know he may be going with a good guide and just need to know what BB's to sling at the birds.

'course, Iv'e never shot a danged duck in my 40 years of living, so there is allways the chance I'm admittedly wrong.

[dukkillr]

Not trying to offend just trying to make the point that worrying about guns/chokes/shells will help less that worrying about calling/working/scouting.  Far too much money and time is wasted on chokes and patterning talk with hunters who have no idea how to get the ducks close enough to worry about the choke. 

[swampthing]

I've used that exact gun for quite a bit, although no 2 are the same I hope this can aide you.
  3" #4-BBB's @1450fps or less, depending on what is flying. With a good dense pattern you won't need hevi-shot.
 The 835 has basically a 10 gauge muzzle dia. So if you choke it modified it will throw a modified pattern when using steel.
I would recommend the mossberg, improved cylinder, or, the modified, ulti-mag choke, and if you got a couple extra bucks laying around Patternmaster "over decoy" choke tube from www.patternmaster.com, they make a great choke. Unless all your shots are 40+ yds, the more open choke will take away a lot of frustration.
 A good rule of thumb: The faster the load, the heavier the shot weight, the less dense the pattern. The larger the shot, the tighter the pattern.
 I would not bother with the 3.5"s, or any load with more than 1-1/4oz of shot{ just because there are more pellets in the shell doesn't mean there will be more at the target}. I would stick with 1-1/8oz - 1-1/4oz 3" shells at 1450fps or less. Geese will fall from BB's & BBB's, mallards will fall to 3's - 2's.
 I like Remington and Federal Loads, the pellets are actually round, compared to winchester which are not.
If you get serious enough compare some 3.5" shells to some equal velocity 3" shells on paper and youl'll see what I mean.
   I've never tried but have heard from a lot of people that Kent Fast Steel products are great. Cabellas caries them.
Have a good one.

[Rogue Ram]

I agree completely with the above. I will say I cannot put too much emphasis on getting a good CD to listen to!!!  Like Mr. dukkillr said, get a decent simple call and practice with it.  If you can't blow a call or are a train wreck (this would be me prior to getting a CD and a good call), you are better off not calling at all if ducks are around. If you can have some motion, great, we use jolly lines with great success.

For ducks (even coming in to decoys) I still go with a quality 3" mag shell, usually Remington or Federal (I prefer Remington, they stay drier) in #2. Right now Rem should have a nice rebate, and shortly I'll get into the local sporting goods store "employees Christmas sale" and get another 25% off.......so the cost of 3" is somewhat offset for me.

RR

[lewdogg21]

Estate - Inexpensive, work good, no fuss. 

[Sx2]

Ya know, the guiy asked a specific question. I tried to give a specific answer based on  my opinion in a nut shell.

Agreed, learn how to HUNT ducks.

An anology:  If you never had a woman before, yeah, your far better off hanging out in a bar or church take your pick. But if a guy asked what kind of flowers the wimmins generally like, mabe try to answer the question and move on.

Let me tell you something about calling. In some cases it's OVER USED. Most people who think they are great callers are hunting ground with food and the ducks are going to come anyway. On the public ground I hunt mostly, were better off shutting up and pulling on the jerk cord a little bit.

Ducks aren't stupid, but alot of hunters seem to be.

[osceola]

Give a hunter a call and he'll blow-it.

[ken2222]

I just dropped by to support Kent Fast Steel....I kill all my waterfowl with 2s ....ducks and Canadian Geese....most over decoys and I use a 26" Full choke 12 ga 870....Kents are good medicine!
and reasonable!
Ken

[J. Plate]

Kent Fasteel  3" 1 1/4 oz of #2's @ 1425 fps.    For everything from early teal and woodies to mallards to decoying geese. 

Late season geese I switch up to the 3" 1 1/8 oz of BB's, but still Kent Fasteel.  Nothing on the market will match it at it's price. 

When you learn to hunt waterfowl....even calling takes a back seat to just plain being where the birds want to be.   There are days that I like to sit back on the public swamps with a drake whistle.....the easiest call of them all.   All the while, all the 'professional' callers are flaring birds with their highballs and fancy comebacks.   A $130 acrylic call in the hands of a beginner is no better than the $10 poly from Wal-Mart.

[H666]

The most common load on geese in Iceland is 2 3/4 inch, 2 to 4.  Hunters seldom hunt with 3 inch except in order to get those high-fliers.  There are some 10Ga and 12Ga 3 1/2 inch out there, but few. 

[dukkillr]

Is that lead?  And are they snow goose sized (5 lbs) or canada sized (8-12 lbs)?

[gooser]

I used a mossberg 835 for several years for ducks and geese. I always used a modified choke for geese,whether feild  or pass shooting. I use 3 1/2  2-bbb's . generally used 2's for decoy hunts whether in the feild or water, and then up to bbb for pass shooting.
 for ducks i like 3" 3 shot. sometimes using 2 shot and for teal, as small as 6 shot. again using a modified choke.

[H666]

Mostly lead. 

[lewdogg21]

For those early season days when they really come to die in the slot I carry a bag of steel 6's in my ruffsack.  Now these are all shots at under 20 yards but oh man its fun.

I don't recommend that however.  Just use 2's and your golden.