Hummm...Dated posting. Oh well.

Brilliantly put and well answered.

Joining us for good? Or just a short visit. Welcome to the campfire. Pull up a stump and join in. If not...Oh well.

Watching!

Guess not...Oh damn!

feed small farm pond for a month before opening this season.we managed a dozen mallards and single parrie duck for our effort over two days. happy campers all around. agai nwe introduced a new shooter to the sport and he managed a couple of fine fat mallards using my single bakail .12ga
Bro in law shot with me as usual ,but the only decoy that gained shot holes this season I cannot blame him for as know darn well it was me who fired offending round...had lightly wounded hen mallard heading for blackberry infested shoreline so I had to shoot her between two decoys and hope for the best.... the 5 pellet holes above waterline didnt sink decoy and a little careful use of soldering iron saw decoy healed up ready for another swim LOL.

Shooting same pond again this year. Been very few birds seen but my grain keeps getting eaten so unless there are some very fat sparrows around we should see at least some ducks. The farm has sold so future is in certain .I may keep access,time will tell.

Good luck mate…the ducks are out there. As for the change of ownership…a hand delivered bottle of a nice spirit, Scotch or similar, will go a long way to opening gates and maintaining access.

I go and fix the farms electric fences so hopefully that will keep me in loop

Well folks it was the slowest weekend yet.a week of heavy rain beforehand meant puddles everywhere do ducks n geese didn't need to visit ponds for a drink,just waddle across paddock from where they feeding on drowned worms or sunbathing. We had two pair come in.both drake's paid the price. Sunday we scooted up to lake we normally shoot. I gou a greylard that was unable to fly due to pellet in wing,while out hooning in boat,then another lightly wounded bird fly off like a Lancaster with one engine smoking and landed on island in long rank grass,I mentally marked spot some half a K away.parked boat and stalked up the 150 yards to where thought it went.Poppy put nose down,went all of ten feet then sort of locked up at something by her feet,around she went slowly but still focused intently so I walked over,reached down into grass and pulled out one very alive mallard drake. That was it. We did miss the five that came into decoys but heck we had fun.its not about the numbers(150 per duck) it's about getting out and enjoying life while we still can.

less than a week to wait now.... will be out on island on the big water again this season,really looking forward to our Daughter shooting with me this opening. fourty rounds of bismuth loaded up for the wee .410 all #5 shot as thats all I could get and at the $80 I paid for tiny amount it will just have to do.
good thing about bismuth is its pretty much a straight swap out for lead so all other components are the same.
bought single box of 12ga steel today $31.99 for 25 rounds,I dont go through that many thankfully..but this coming weekend I intend to give it a jolly good go more than I usually do as have a heap of larger shotsize loads that have been sitting gathering dust for far too long.

Great weekend was had although very few birds around. The #5 bismuth loads in .410 were disappointing to say the least. Under 15 yards they might kill cleanly but at 25 not so flash,stun bird yes,but kill it or immobilizer it no. We all managed to get a bird or two and Poppy worked great.

Well done to both you and SWMBO Jnr. That’s a good bag of ducks mate…you will have duck comin’ out ya ‘wazoo’ for some time with that lot.

I’d give the wee .410 a miss for duck hunting mate. It’s a great snake gun, and a close range bunny gun, but those feathers will quickly cushion and take the oomph outa the shotload. If recoil of the 12g is a problem for your daughter, have a look around for a 28g shottie.
More gentle on the shoulder than a 20g or 12g but still packs a wallop at the target. Only problem with the 28g is the cost and availability of ammo as it’s not a common calibre, so reloading is the way to go.

Elvis, my friend often hunts with a .410 and he can shoot ducks high in the air, but he mostly uses #4 lead shot or those factory Winchester 3" Xpert high velocity (1400 fps!) 3/8 oz. steel shot. Winchester recommends on the box #6 or 7 in a IC/Mod. choke for dove/quail from 15 to 35 yards. For rabbits, squirrel and pheasants they recommend #4 or 6 from 10 to 35 yards.

so maybe your loads where a little soft?

yes indeed matey,we have shot many critters with .410 using lead..but now...the powers that be...have in thier infinate wisdom...declared..thou shalt not use lead for waterfowling!!!!! so we can shoot rabbits possums etc in riverbed with lead..but not ducks..phesants and quail are a bit of a grey area..think you be ok unless also have a duck caller on you... we were using bismuth #5s and they simply didnt cut it.
3/8th of an oz of steel is a pitifully small payload and at $$$ plus per round over here..no thankyou.