Hi guys, since were all talking smack while waiting for the second weekend to kick off, what sort of duck loads do you guys use. Lead is priceless and personally I don't think you can look past it, but it cannot be used (although I know a few cheeky buggers that do!). I am interesting in what sort of load, brand, shot size and shell size you guys use and how you find that kill rate and $$$ wise.
Since steel shot became a must I have been using federal speed shock (i think, the blue box?) shot size 2, 1 1/8 load, 3 inch shell. For about $220-$240 a slab it was OK, but found it to have a high wound vs. kill rate. Alot of birds took 2 shots to come down, and even then still kicking!
This year I forked out and brought some expensive loads. I took into consideration that if a bird was ganna take 2 shots to kill with speed shock, then why not make it 1 shot with some good stuff???
i purchased 6 boxes of number 2 shot, 1 1/4oz load 3 inch shell federal black cloud. Sportsways had a good deal selling a slab for $392.50. This equates to about $39 per box. Opening morning came time to test the stuff and wow was I impressed. The birds were getting hit hard and going down dead as door nobs. I would (almost!) put it on par with lead and am very pleased with it, despite my bank having a heart attack. On average this stuff goes for about $50 a box in other shops. At $2 a round, you make sure you pull that trigger only when you need to and only when you know you can bring a duck down. Not bad without a dog.
This is also good because only about 3 wounded ones got away over the two days. For the record I will be buying this stuff next year.
Interested in your thoughts, cheers.