Author Topic: what do you think is the best type of shot ? (Read 3815 times)

gooser · « **on:** November 04, 2007, 01:20:09 PM »

For most practical purposes, I think that steel shot is as good as any within its range. Hevi shot,platinum and bismuth all have there advantage and disadvantages.
What type of shot do you prefer for water fowling? $:-\$

Specklebelly · « **Reply #1 on:** November 04, 2007, 03:31:10 PM »

Steel if fine for duck hunting. It always amazes me to see people using the high $$$ stuff for these type of fowl. They key is just get them close.

Now for geese it is a whole different story. Steel still works and I use it often, however with the longer shots and bigger birds I love to use Hevi Shot. Especially for the wary birds that won't decoy.

Doc T · « **Reply #2 on:** November 05, 2007, 04:40:24 AM »

I prefer Hevi-Shot, but I am shooting a 20ga. It is a great equalizer. In a blind with 3.5" 12ga steel shooters, I don't feel handicapped at all with Hevi-Shot and my trim 20 gauges.

Doc T

dukkillr · « **Reply #3 on:** November 05, 2007, 06:19:19 AM »

I shoot steel. I simply can't stomach the cost of the others. I can afford it, I just refuse to pay it.

1 1/4 oz 3" 12ga Steel 3s is what I consider the "best" if you don't anticipate geese and you intend to kill mostly big ducks.

If you don't care about the rules, 2 3/4" lead 4s would still be the most lethal load I've ever regularly used.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #4 on:** November 05, 2007, 06:47:41 AM »

HEAVYSHOT ! nothing else comes close ! and yes i have tried most of the others . even the junk they sell in Canada .
when you figure the cost of every thing else the cost of shells is a fraction and the result of using junk is a spoiled season or hunt !

RaySendero · « **Reply #5 on:** November 05, 2007, 07:02:24 AM »

3" 1&1/4oz Steel #2s for Ducks

lewdogg21 · « **Reply #6 on:** November 08, 2007, 05:26:03 AM »

Whatever load is in my gun. If I hit them in the body and they fly off thats on me. Sometimes I want to blame the load but if I'm not breaking wings or head shooting and they get away well I blew it.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #7 on:** November 08, 2007, 08:35:37 AM »

SO why use a load that is limited to distance by half of other shot types ?

gooser · « **Reply #8 on:** November 10, 2007, 03:04:52 PM »

quite simply, because you can get them within the effective range of the gun/ammo that you are using.
and thereby costing you less to take your your game, as compared to higher priced ammo. Now I agree that you can't always get them where you want them, so that's where selective shooting comes in.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #9 on:** November 12, 2007, 02:45:04 AM »

I'll stick with heavishot !

mcwoodduck · « **Reply #10 on:** December 04, 2007, 06:47:41 PM »

I agree with Shootall and Heavy shot has it hands down. I actually think it ends up being cheaper in the long run. Two years ago I turned my father from the steel to Heavi shot. He moaned and groaned about the price so I bought him his first box. The day before we were Woodduck hunting in the swamp on the farm and dad was hitting the birds with the first shot but had to shoot at least once more to kill the bird with his 12 ga and he was using 2's. I bought him a box of 2 3/4 #6 heavi shot in 20ga. The next morning a bird flew over me and headed to dad. He shot once. I asked if he missed. His return was "this stuff is great. like god hit it with lightning". So if you take a box of steel and start adding up ducks per shell the Heavy shot is not that expensive.
Last April I anchored a turkey with the heavi shot 3" #4's at 80 paces. I would like to see steel do that. I use these for long range duck hunting now. The larger pellet count does wonders.

mcwoodduck · « **Reply #11 on:** December 04, 2007, 06:51:26 PM »

Oh yea I just got back from Bass Pro last week with 4 boxes of #4 3" mag 12ga and a box of #2 3.5" mag and 2 boxes of 3" #4 20 ga. For my duck and goose hunting needs this year.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #12 on:** December 05, 2007, 02:02:19 AM »

hevi-shot is the new standard that all others are compared to ' a fact of hunting now !
so why handicap yourself by using less ?

lewdogg21 · « **Reply #13 on:** December 06, 2007, 06:03:18 AM »

Quote from: mcwoodduck on December 04, 2007, 06:51:26 PM

Oh yea I just got back from Bass Pro last week with 4 boxes of #4 3" mag 12ga and a box of #2 3.5" mag and 2 boxes of 3" #4 20 ga. For my duck and goose hunting needs this year.

I think the heavi shot argument is not just steel vs. heavy but how much a guy shoots. A good year for me means I'll shoot over a case of steel. Plus I get good deals on bulk orders from Estate with some of my dad's friends.

If it was the same price I'd shoot the more dense stuff but of course I grew up shooting steel and don't know the heydays of lead.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #14 on:** December 06, 2007, 06:22:54 AM »

i grew up shooting lead , was forced to shoot steel , then other stuff the hevi-shot came out , then steel got improved !
over the last 6 years i have shot over 4 cases of hevi-shot , 3 steel and 2-3 mixed other stuff .
i honestly believe i could take someone who never shot geese before and let them try all the different shot and they would walk away knowing hevi-shot is best !
I will not be buying steel unless hevi-shot becomes unavailable and then i would use tungsten matrix first if i could get it !
for a fact i can't remember not having to shoot most large ducks and geese twice with steel at short range where with hevi-shot can't remember needing a follow up shot . its just that simple !
so for anyone wanting advice here goes - if you like to kill ducks use hevi-shot !
but if you like to shoot alot and hear the gun go off by all means get steel !

mcwoodduck · « **Reply #15 on:** December 06, 2007, 07:26:08 AM »

I too started hunting in the lead area. There was steel that we had before it was mandatory but you needed to up size the shot by 3 or 4 shot sizes. This is the era when T and F shots came out. Lead was good. Heavi shot is better than lead. You can down size by one shot size than what you used in lead with the same or more killing power. When you down size you increase pellet count and have denser patterns. Dense patterns result in less wounded birds and more recovered. The birds also fold up on the first shot and more shells are not needed.
Lewddogg,
I understand that you may shoot a lot more then I do and I'm jealous. I wish I could get out more and hunt more than southern California occasionally and NC for a week. I also wonder if a single shot with heavi shot accounts for me only needing a little over 100 rounds for the year while you need 2.5 times what I do.
Try a box. You may change your mind.

Specklebelly · « **Reply #16 on:** December 07, 2007, 03:13:41 PM »

Quote from: mcwoodduck on December 06, 2007, 07:26:08 AM

This is the era when T and F shots came out.

I remember those days. Everyone thought T and F were the way to go. I don't even know if F is still available. Anyone still use them? What do you get something like 40 pellets? I will use T if desperate but usually stay will BBB to 1 when using steel for honkers.

mcwoodduck · « **Reply #17 on:** December 07, 2007, 06:26:05 PM »

According to my Federal Shot size ruler. They offered:
BB .18
BBB .19
T .20
TT .21
F .22
FF .23
I do not know what they still offer as I have stopped looking at steel.
I did see a Box of BBB in steel for the 10ga but the price per box of 10 ga it's the same as Heavi Shot or Bismuth.
To have the same killing power and a whole lot more shot you could use 4's .13 or 2's .15 in heavi shot and get real dense patterns.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #18 on:** December 10, 2007, 02:04:28 AM »

lets face it , the shot has to be larger , still has less range , a 10 ga. or 12 ga. in 3-1/2 mag. is needed to have same pellet count with larger size shot . now if you need so many band-aids what have ya got ?
steel shot was a poor answer to a ? problem

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #19 on:** December 10, 2007, 02:11:31 AM »

and for the record , shot a deer with F 's once ! at point blank it worked ok !
Before everyone goes off , a friend and i were in a field blind in some short pines . We had the geese pegged and were in their flight path ! we were also in a 6 pointers flight path ! he knocked my friend into me and all three of us ended up on the ground , since the deer seemed like he didn't know what to do and wasn't leaving , and deer season was in you might say we had a turf and feather dinner later !

Tunaman · « **Reply #20 on:** December 13, 2007, 10:33:39 AM »

I have a pretty firm rule for this. If I am hunting in my "back yard", within 100 miles of the house or so, I shoot the cheap stuff. That usually means shooting #4 3" Kent Faststeel. Now if I am traveling, that is a different story, I buy the expensive stuff. That usually means bismuth. I am fortunate enough to live at the mouth of the Mississippi river and often hunt 40 or more days during a Duck season so shells can become a serious expense. On the other hand, If I travel to hunt, which I usually so two or three times a year, what is another 20 dollars to insure success. I started doing this after a hunt in South Arkansas a few years ago when the birds wouldn't come within 50 yards. If we wanted to kill, we had to take some long shots. When traveling, I actually carry both types and if the birds work well, I use the standard stuff and keep the premium stuff for the next hunt.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #21 on:** December 14, 2007, 02:01:13 AM »

if i invest my time , i want the best !
the limits in the USA don't allow volume bags so if i can shoot once and get a duck its more cost effective than shooting multiple times with less expensive shells getting some and wounding some .
if i want to shoot alot then i go to the skeet range !

alsatian · « **Reply #22 on:** December 31, 2007, 10:08:29 AM »

The question was "what is the best shot" not what is the cheapest shot or what shot will work when the birds are coming in close.

My view is that Hevishot is the best, or some similar high density non-toxic metal. As far as I know, Hevishot is actually denser than lead, so an improvement over shooting lead of equal shot size. The other non-toxic metals may be denser than Hevishot and hence perform better, but not significantly and for much, much more money. I think some of the soft dense material may have a virtue if you want to hunt with an older shotgun with a barrel that is unable to shoot the harder modern shot materials, including both steel and Hevishot. I shoot hevishot 2 3/4" shells using #6 shot with an improved cylinder choke over decoys in a slough. I like it. Everyone is entitled to spend their money as they see fit, however. I just think that the denser shot gives me an advantage I wouldn't otherwise have. I still miss some birds and some birds still get away from me. I suspect, based on the physics, that if I used steel I would find more birds "missed" and more birds getting away.

student1946 · « **Reply #23 on:** March 14, 2008, 04:19:32 PM »

I just discovered a website called www.tungstensupershot.com Has anyone had the opportunity to hunt with this product?It sounds like it gives improved patterns longer range killing power.and lower recoil.Not cheap, but neither are the other heavy shot loads.1oz goose loads anyone?

gary bartlow · « **Reply #24 on:** June 18, 2008, 01:34:13 PM »

I for one don't believe it takes shells that cost $2-$3 a shot to kill ducks. Hevishot is great and you can kill them way out there, Wingmaster HD's are great too,and list all the high dollar shot shells on the market today they work,but so does steel if you know how to hunt/shoot. I shoot Drylok 3" #3's 1 3/8 oz loads and kill ducks right beside guys using 3 1/2" ( place name of expensive shells here).

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #25 on:** June 19, 2008, 07:25:19 AM »

right !