goose loads

Hey I don't do a lot of shot gunning but have started goose shooting. We were using 40gm no2 lead but since we are shooting on doc land now no lead aloud. Have been using 32gms no3 3inch mag steel because that was all available at the time. Have had some good kills but more not so good ones and have even heard pellets hitting the birds and not dropping them. Bought a packet of 32gn bb's today and will find something to do a penetration test with them when I get a chance. Also did a quick pellet count and this is what I got [all steel];
2/34 35gm no2= 150 pellets
3inch 32gm no3=220 pellets
3inch 32gm bb's= 95 pellets

Roughly by going to 40gm of bb's I'd gain 30 pellets which isn't far behind the 2's. Trouble is finding such a load and then finding said load at a reasonable price. What do you guys use and recommend? My gun can go to 3.5 magnums but they are even harder to find than a load of heavier than 32gm in 3inch and I would guess be extremely expensive.

dont fark around...just go and buy steel #2s and go shoot some shit...... If I could only shoot one single load in the .12ga in lead it would be winchester superX#2s and in steel it would be winchester Xpert steel #2s have used kent and gamebore in same sizes with good results and would rank them in that order.
so 1 1/8th oz #2 at 1550fps or there abouts will kill every darn bird you after (Ive used them on mallards right up to black swan)
BBs are good but #2s have more pellets only slightly less potent. the 2 3/4" loads work just as good but the 3" are where its at for me. falcon also do great load with same specs.
best Ive managed (twice) is 5 geese from my 6 shots...done that with mallards too,talk about fast shucking of the rattlegun....man that feels good.

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

dont fark around...just go and buy steel #2s and go shoot some shit...... If I could only shoot one single load in the .12ga in lead it would be winchester superX#2s and in steel it would be winchester Xpert steel #2s have used kent and gamebore in same sizes with good results and would rank them in that order.
so 1 1/8th oz #2 at 1550fps or there abouts will kill every darn bird you after (Ive used them on mallards right up to black swan)
BBs are good but #2s have more pellets only slightly less potent. the 2 3/4" loads work just as good but the 3" are where its at for me. falcon also do great load with same specs.
best Ive managed (twice) is 5 geese from my 6 shots...done that with mallards too,talk about fast shucking of the rattlegun....man that feels good.

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ive done a 4 from 5 with my 16 gauge remy and 20 gauge.
but 3 from 5 was my best with the 12 cos theyre big awkward lumps of metal.:D.
i found not to hefty a load was ideal in getting off that many rounds accuratly.
also given some of the odd angles you sometimes have to shoot at and get them close as possible.
the 2nd shot will be closer than the first with geese and in the 20 i use gamebore 30 gram lead 3,s and fiocchi 32 gram lead 2,s .
when it comes to steel for geese ive got 3 inch blackcloud 20 bore 2,s
not ideal but i,l use it if its all i can get
the gamebore steel 2 3/4 inch loads are quick and good vaLUE plus extremely effective in 2,s for geese

Winchester Xpert :wtfsmilie: :sick: I hope these have improved since they first came out :fighting:

The 3.5 inch shells are brutal to shoot, even in an auto. I prefer a 3 inch shell.

Ive done some goose shooting (canada gooses) 42 g no 2 lead very effective. Tried a few 50g 3 inch as well but a bit brutal on the shoulder there are evidently 65 g as well in 3 1/2 inch shells which should be as much fun as a couple of rounds with Joseph Parker. Clever steel is good in the 35 g as no2.
However thinking outside the square and non pc for canadas, a decoy packed with tannerite and shot from a blind 200 m away should give good results.

I wouldn't go any bigger than no.2, you still want to have a bit of density in your pattern for consistent strikes. I'd be focusing on having a good dense pattern at your intended shooting range rather than, shot size.

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Originally Posted by FatLabrador

Winchester Xpert :wtfsmilie: :sick: I hope these have improved since they first came out :fighting:

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fat lab..... you know the really funny thing about steel Vs lead debate??????
guys right from the very begginning have moaned that steel patterns too tightly because there is no shot deformation to make shot spread.
Xpert shot looks like welding slag for a percentage of it,has majority just normal and some in oddball sizes so it DOES spread out and it is a darn sight better than the early stuff as LIKE ALL OTHER STEEL LOADS it is now going fast enough to work properly...the early 11-1200fps loads were shite...no arguments there pure shite...
go up to 1500fps and they work and work well.
the early falcon steel loads were similar velocity and all they were good for was chucking in lake to make ripples!!!!!! now they are a great load and all some fellas use.
another funny thing...... the high price black cloud type loads....you have cube steel to make pattern spread and shot with a magic ring formed around it like saturns rings to make it "cut better" on impact
now what was it again that was "wrong" with the pellets in that XPert shell you opened up??????
lmfao.

Cheers @Micky Duck haven't used win expert before just the article in NZ Hunter awhile ago. All I use now is 1 1/4 of 4s 3 inch falcon out of a cyclinder choke kills well don't shoot anything out side 35meters

tannerite? is that similar to anfo? sounding very interesting ... and fun! But by the replys I should stick to a fast load of 2's or 1's which I haven't en counted yet?

yip that'll be just the berrys..them gooseys wont know what hit em.

As a disciple and cobber of GSPfollower my preferred load is stell3" no3.however barry foster at fosters shtilshop on benheim rd CHCH sellls "hull"ammo and his 34gm no3 solway magnum load is bloody deadly on anything that runs into it.Ive regularly nailed ferals ,ducks ,canadas with it. not for use on rabbits though ,tends to skin gut and mince all in one action.
interesting re steel pellets -first bird i ever shot at ellesmere was a feal goose -big plump bugger centre one of three .floded him in midair -when it came to processing autposy revealed a single pellet had gone right through his heart which ruptured!Ive never seen it again.
bloody devestating loads though.

Marksmanship @kotuku, all those other pellets are obviously unnecessary all you need is one. Of course it needs to be the right one.

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Originally Posted by r87mm

tannerite? is that similar to anfo? sounding very interesting ... and fun! But by the replys I should stick to a fast load of 2's or 1's which I haven't en counted yet?

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dont worry about steel ones the payload is f all and your close birds will be ripped apart
you have to be a fn good shot and using them a lot to be consistent with the big shot and big loads.
mostly theyre unnecessary if your a hunter not a shooter.

hmm-now Imjust used to steel and my attitiude is :its the workman .,not the tools. if Im on song Im more than capable of even suprising myself . otherwise frankly i class myself as a plodder-middle of the bunch.i like the camaraderie ,the environment but also watching how birds go about their lives ineteractions ,their risk management etc .
i really think we can learn a lot,a lot more honestly than these malfeasent greenies who sell their POV by investing human values in the birds,hysteria being the cheif one.

gsp follower Im not sure where you coming from bud????? close birds where just as pulverized by lead...... I have snuck in on mob of geese on more than one occasion and opened up on them with good results....from memory I can only think of one bird that was pulped in last 8-9 seasons a mallard hen I hit at under 5 yards..the wad was inside that one but I still ate it...as for payload being small /f all ????? really got me puzzled there as an oz and 1/8th of steel has more pellets than same of lead...the weight od payload is the same....
Ive got used to using steel and now its just what we use......dont even bother with the "old lead days were better" thoughts myself as my hunting experience has grown in the transistion era so much so that we know what we do works...
two seasons ago on opening weekend I got the drop on big mob of honkers.....my mate was using my pump so I was carrying a under n over only had a few 2 3/4" #2s and #3s the rest of my loads were 4s (which Im not a huge fan of on the big water we shoot) long story short I snuck in to within 25 yards then managed to fire 5 shots to drop 7 of the big huas...my young dog didnt know which way to look let alone which one to pick up first....sorting that out with her being my prioraty that season so it was a big deal to retrieve them all. she helped find 2 in bullrushes that wouldve been lost otherwise....

back in days when we used lead I used winchester super x #2s so swapping to steel xpert wasnt a big deal.

I'm shooting as much as hunting. We are culling in the hope that we prevent the need for doc to use "other means" ie more nasty blanket poisoning! We decoy so some close shots but a lot of disturb birds after the first day ( we go for 3) means a lot of pass shooting in the 30-50yard range. They come to the caller the first night but are scary after that but we try and also stalk as best we can. 3's a good for incoming decoy but walk up hunting during the day are lacking range so was hoping for something a bit more versatile in a load. Maybe a bit much close but better further out as you can't have everything. Like wise still having as many pellets for as a pattern as possible with in the limits of shot size. From what I've read the biggest factor with steel is speed and now loads are 1500 fps and faster the difference has lessoned between lead and steel apparently

Never shoot geese here in NZ but I have shoot more than my share of them back in Scotland only Grey lag or Pinkfoot. only ever used 3inch BBs to great effect they will kill further out than No2s .a wounded goose is not easy to follow
On a different note, if you are freezing the meat if there is any steel shot left in the meat will it rust or not

Harryg...never seen any rust in meat yet....found pellets in plenty when eating them and even the odd one in salami!!!!
when breasting you get rid of most as with larger shot sizes you have bonus that MOST pass right through.

MD-Ive actually only ever had one complaint with goose breast shot with steel-and bugger me when handed the pellet it was one of those triangular ?remington" black cloud" shot types.ive never used the bloody things ,some somone must have shot it in one of our outings and i got the bird when we divvied up the days take
like you i thinks a lot sails right through until it loses all its oomph and like a spacecraft its splashdown! .
maybe 20yrs down the track the greenies will complain" all our waterways are rusting!!"
all our farts will be clouds of ginger dust!!
no more sunburn -itll be rust burn

In the US where steel has been used for over 30 years there are ponds that had been shot over for 200 years with lead that still had plentyfull fish , frogs etc. Now they are dying, as the steel shot rusts it takes oxygen out of the water and the sediment is going orange from rust inhibiting plant growth.
Still they arent being poisoned by lead so its all good.

The coatings that are put on some of the steel shot to stop it rusting in the cases is far worse than lead for toxicity . Have a hunt around the net and you'll be surprised what they use. Probably saving the environment a slow death from lead poisoning it's better to kill it quick with something really nasty. God bless their little cotton socks!

I'm shooting as much as hunting. We are culling in the hope that we prevent the need for doc to use "other means" ie more nasty blanket poisoning! We decoy so some close shots but a lot of disturb birds after the first day ( we go for 3) means a lot of pass shooting in the 30-50yard range.

1 still reckon you,d be better off with quality 3 inch steel 2,s then maybe some ones for the longer shots.
3 1/2 inch stuff only deadly in experienced hands its dare and boots like a hundred bastards.
there is as far as i know no poison approved for use against geese or other waterfowl.

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gsp follower Im not sure where you coming from bud????? close birds where just as pulverized by lead...... I have snuck in on mob of geese on more than one occasion and opened up on them with good results....from memory I can only think of one bird that was pulped in last 8-9 seasons a mallard hen I hit at under 5 yards..the wad was inside that one but I still ate it...as for payload being small /f all ????? really got me puzzled there as an oz and 1/8th of steel has more pellets than same of lead...the weight od payload is the same....

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not by me or most of the people i shot with micky.
hands up beside me who uses 1 1/8 ounce loads to shoot geese;)
im only trying to get cross micky that under decoy conditions heavy loads arent neccesary.
i use lead 30 gram 3,s or 4,s because we decoyed them as close as 15 feet but i also had fast 32 gram 2,s for when the range extended i dont think you need much imagination to work out what 3 inch bb,s or 1,s steel or otherwise would do at those ranges.

If doc wants it they will get it. As you know there is no removal of dead birds from doc land. Very hard to get convictions if you can't gather evidence. Just ask the police. They wanted 1080 etc and then had the law changed to make it almost impossible to hold them accountable. No reason people who try to take them to court fail. When you are making the rules it's very hard to lose. Better not to give them the excuse to remove hunters and take control of the geese or anything else as we won't be getting it back anytime soon or at all. Prevention is better than cure

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If doc wants it they will get it. As you know there is no removal of dead birds from doc land. Very hard to get convictions if you can't gather evidence. Just ask the police. They wanted 1080 etc and then had the law changed to make it almost impossible to hold them accountable. No reason people who try to take them to court fail. When you are making the rules it's very hard to lose.

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lake ellesmere is doc land
i have to update my poison knowledge our local rag says doc are poisoning black back gulls above the rakaia gorge.??
the 1080 company is a govt entity so ofcourse they made laws to protect thier investment.
mass media attention of by kill and over spill are the only things that will gain enough attention to stop the 1080 train.
i presume your on the molesworth or st james hunts
man i thought you were a youngfella but to be this cynnical of doc im wondering now.

gsp..... I have suggested OP uses 1 1/8th oz #2 so Im begiggered if I know where you got the idea I thought heavy loads were the go?????
for what its worth Ive used 7/8th oz and 1 oz loads in .12ga steel to good effect.....I dont even use the 1 1/4oz steel loads. superX lead were 1 1/4OZ the Xpert I like is 1 1/8th

No not that young. My partner does say I'm childish quite often and it's like having another child around the house most of the time. Being cynical of government and local government and all their departments is merely a hobby. Starting to think a good fast load of 11/8th ounce of 2's or maybe 1's will do the trick

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Originally Posted by r87mm

No not that young. My partner does say I'm childish quite often and it's like having another child around the house most of the time. Being cynical of government and local government and all their departments is merely a hobby. Starting to think a good fast load of 11/8th ounce of 2's or maybe 1's will do the trick

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;):D sounds good but the payload of ones at that wieght might mean that you need a tighter choke.
its all trial and error but wounding a goose without a dog is a bastard of a chasedown job.
wasnt replying to just you mickey most of the guys use at least 36 gram steel loads but bb.s and 1,s arent most first 2 or 3 shots choice.