Dropping ducks dead whilst pass shooting them and then getting them retrieved and back "in hand"- are two entirely different concepts- 80 yards- pace that off on a 100 yard football field with hash marks- plant stake markers and put a live mallard "guinea pig" tethered at 80 honest yards and use any shotgun and load you want- from a 10 gauge to a 20- One shot only. Boom- maybe a few feathers and a big load of duck poop- NO dead bird- then add: cross wings, elevation, swing and forward allowance on a real flighted late season "red-legged mallard" and see how many you kill at a honest 80. Old timer I learned from was a market hunter when it was legal- he'd let the first group land in his dekes, and when the following groups dropped it- cut loose with his 12 gauge M97 Winchester- aka- "The Old Corn-Shucker"-taught me one mallard dead and retrieved for every 2.5 shells fired (including finishing cripples) is first-class shooting, day in, day out. Also taught me when field hunting with dekes to let the first group pass or land without firing a shot, the following birds will loose their inate caution and drop in like bees to honey!! RWTF
Last edited by Run With The Fox; 05/02/09 05:54 PM.
