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Don't get upset remember this is just light load internet shooting....

Maybe for you. What you call reasonably loaded may not be what others do.

SRH

Stan & JOe:
God bless you both. Tenderize those shoulders. Believe in cosmic physics. And enjoy those buffered artillery rounds of hardened shot. The crippled American wildfowl will thank you for it. Not.

Except JOe has a sense of humour for it all. Good for him.

The vast majority of crippling is not due the available long range performance of a big bore loaded with quality non-toxic shot. The crippling is the result of sub standard gunners, folks that don't bother shooting clays the rest of the year and honing their skills. This is exasterbated by the ballistically inferior steel shot that was foisted on fowlers in the states roughly 20 years ago.

A good shot and big gun can work very well at 50 yards.

Lead shot, in the hands of a poor shooter cripples at 50 yards more times than not, steel does it at 40 and worse at 50 yards in the same hands. Now if you want to shoot three buck shells at shots at 50 yards all I can say is more power to you. I grew up with lead and miss it more than I should. In fact if they offered a special permit to shoot lead and charged a flat fee of a grand a year I would gladly pay it. I refuse to shoot steel in a decent gun and find the other non toxic loads all have major trade offs.

Just like rifle shooters flocking to the latest magnum bullets in hopes of certain kills due to superior ballistics shot gunners should not think that a 3 1/2" shell will correct poor shooting. It all comes down to shot placement and does the shot hitting the target have enough energy to kill the game. All the rest is hype and crap.

Kensal,

Would you consider sharing what 12ga load you would use on ducks. What would your longest shot be and how would you determine the distance.

What percentage of game down is your absolute minimum per shot, and do you pack up and leave if you're having an off day. It's a little interesting to me, but no big deal.

Just being out there is the important part for me. I'll jump on the hype wagon and figure that I can't see myself shooting at scaup with a steel target equivalent load. I've never fired a 3 1/2" shell at game, but it'd be a tough sell to say no more 3" shells for goose. Does one size fit all.

I am not a skyblaster, by any stretch of the imagination. I'd much rather have the ducks "up close and personal", setting down in the dekes where where I can see their eyeballs. That said, KR, I tire of hearing people, who have never taken the time or put forth the effort to learn to do something out of the ordinary, condemning others who HAVE. Sixty and seventy yards kills are not unreasonable. They are not even a stretch for a man who has taken the time and put forth the effort to learn how.

I have shot competitive clays for many years, and competed in many tournaments that had a long bird game on the side. I would rather shoot that than the course. Great fun, but more importantly, it teaches. If I can kill a clay at 80 yards 7 out of 10 tries, with a 3 - 1 1/8 - 7 1/2 load, I can kill a duck at 60-70 yds. reliably, under the right conditions, with the right load. BTW, I don't own a 3 1/2" twelve, never will. If I can't kill it with a 3" load, it can fly on without being shot at.

See, when people make blanket statements , stating absolutes, they are being set up for a fall. The world of shotgunning encompasses so much more than one man's little sphere of it. Just because you don't believe there are gunners that can handle a 3" magnum duck load, and use it to it's fullest capability, doesn't mean they don't exist.

Tenderize my shoulder? Maybe you should check into why a magnum load out of a well fitted and properly mounted gun hurts you so bad. I am not a proponent of heavy loads for everything. I probably shoot more 7/8 oz. loads than anything else, at game. But heavy loads have their place, and long range shooting does, too.

All my best, KR.

Agreed Stan, nhcrowshooter and the other 95%........

Why is it on these threads we always get these motor mouth writer types with apparantly no practical experience in the field, preaching complete erroneous b.s. while patting themselves on the back.......?.........They brag on their own merits afoot and with the gun while attempting to tell us, one and all, how it's really done.....I think they must believe their own drivel.....?........Anybody with any shotgun REAL WORLD field experience knows it's mostly embellished b.s...............

Ever notice, they always quote some written study, paper or test where they were not present.........usually written by ANOTHER sports writer a long, long time ago...........

Best,

A lot of this is a case of attempting to substitute equipment for competence.It doesnt work.

Chopper..I just finished loading a handfull of 1oz #3 bismuth loads for my 10ga Smith....card and felt on top of a 3 1/2dram dipper of Trail Boss, roll crimped.

I tear more stuff up lately than I miss...not such a good shot, just have very close birds!

Most people would be shocked if they patterned the guns they shoot at the ACTUAL ranges they shoot, for better and worse:)

Magnuminimus,
Mark