Thread: has 10 years steel use been benificial for waterfowl numbers

I haven't seen any reports stating that banning lead shot was done so to increase the duck population. Not that I've been looking though. I think you have to seriously look elsewhere to reasons of population decline if it is happening at all. All the areas I shoot offer as healthy a population of ducks as ever before. Of the two opening ponds I have been involved with in the last ten years (built, established, fed, pest control, shot yearly, etc), duck numbers have grown and bag limits are shot according to the weather more than anything.

Shooting with steel vs. lead is not something we've (my duck hunting mates) really worried about. Sure for a start it was a challenge, but we didn't shoot more ducks using lead than we do now. Pattern your gun, choose appropriate loads and go hunting. Getting birds closer sure helps with clean kills, i.e. within 30m, and now we are getting mostly one shot dead duck kills now that we have our guns and loads sorted AND we do our thing properly at the business end of the shotgun. A few long shots 50m plus with single shot kills were pulled off on opening. Steels here to stay so I don't think whinging about it is going to help anything, just enjoy the fact you can still go out and hunt!