Vince..........Get a new set of teeth
We feed up with barley in shallows, not wheat, for ducks, also we use, what we call "pig potatoes", the really small ones, and potato peelings, no good to anyone. Let them rot for a while then put them in the shallows. Works here for Mallard and Teal, but always worth a try over there.
With grain, never put anymore in until the last lot has gone, daily check needed though.

Elvis wrote:

24hours and two minutes to go.....

OK, give us the news

8 more sleeps! my usual shooting buddy is sitting this season out but my 9year old son is coming out with his old man to scare a few ducks. we will go up and feed out some more grain this weekend catch a trout or 2. and wonder where all the water has gone ( the dam was down 12meters last week!) makes positioning of the maimai a challenge.

we kept 3 salmon and 1 trout. released 5 others. 34hrs to go now. will sort the gear tomorrow. set up and go fishing for the afternoon.might even ring the guys at work and rub it in a bit..

2 canadas and 13 ducks was our tally. My 9yr old son was shooting well with the .410 and got his first ducks. 2 of them were spooked and shot at same time with me. when I plucked them the #6 lead shot holes were proof he hit them as the #2 steel holes were very different.the others were wounded birds taken from the dingy after making sure they were not healthy ones having a rest we drove the boat in close and the ducks would dive or try to fly unsucessfully or he wasnt allowed to shoot as it is illegal to shoot birds bids not in flight unless you are finishing of wounded birds. I believe it is the best policy to stick to the rules and be seen to do it right. The .410 worked a treat for this job range of 25yards give or take.

Elvis, what was he using in his .410. I undertand #6 lead, but which make and cartridge length? Any idea about choke on the .410?
And you're using steel shot, is lead shot forbidden? But allowed for .410?

I know how difficult it is to kill a wounded duck on the watersurface, it's not even easy with a cal 12 (and even more dangereous when using steel shot), so I'm very interested. I'm still hoping that one day they give us the smaller calibers back for hunting (now limited from cal 12 till cal 24, yes, not even the 28!) and I have the feeling that a small caliber with lead shot has more effect than a cal 12 with steel shot.

wy111 wrote:

Vince..........Get a new set of teeth

Got 'em mate...thanks fer the reminder.

Cheers, Vince

3inch shells with 11/16 oz payload gamebore and reo and winchester brand shells. Ive now got a old hand loader for the .410 so put together some lead #7s today to try out. I dont have issues with steel anymore this year I bought a case of kent #2 3inch steel. they work great. yes steel is illegal to use in 12ga but the smaller gauges are allowed lead at this time. But that may change I can see the 20ga being made to go steel as well before too long.

Better don't ask for steel pellets. It might be better on claypigeons because it's faster and you have more pellets for a given load, but it's bad for hunting. Steel breaks a lot of bones, makes game very bloody, misses the killingpower of heavy metal (so lot of game dies out of sight), is more dangerous due to ricochets, is bad for you teeth and we even had a case of 'blasted' (?) appendicitis due to rusting steel pellets sticking together, steel even kills the trees when the pellets start rusting.

did I mention I don't like steel?

Lead pellets will only poison waterfowl when they can eat it, so in undeep water. On (dry) land seems to be no problem. But on the other hand I would like to see some numbers on the increase of botulism due to ducks hurt but not killed on the spot because the use of steel shot.

And thanks for the info on the cal 36.

you forgot that the pellets sit in the base of the toilet and leave rust marks that annoy the lady of the residence. yip it has its faults but Ive decided not to get worked up about it and we kill ducks and BIG canada geese without too much fuss. if a fella or felless doesnt like it well go and buy the other alternatives. the new kid on the block here is heavier than lead and is retailing for around $2 a shot. good steel is less than $1 per round.for the amout of shots the average fella uses if they only shoot opening weekend as most people who have moaned to me about steel do. I say buy the expensive stuff and put up with the price.

Congrats to you and your son, Elivs. Good shootin' too with the lil' sub-gauge! Wow!

I aint popped a bird in a few months now with my pop guns and I'm really gettin' the itch man! Ca. DFG still aint updated the new season opener dates fer this year etc....grrr! Man I can't wait ta git back to chasin' them lil grey chickens.

*chi-CA-go!* BOOM. Dinner!

the 410 is a baikal it is choked modified. the new shot alternative is made by target products and is called tundra.

I too love the Baikal. It's far better than the italian, spanish or the turkish, but not as good as the old belgians

Have you ever shot a .45 LC in a .410? I read and hear that's it's possible, but when I tried to put a .45 LC bullet in the muzzle-side, I feared what would happen in the choke-part of the barrel when shot. One day I'm sure going to try it. I think that's the result of that "Startrek-feeling" that accompanies every reloader... to go where no one...


By the way Vince, such teeth would look fine on my wall. It would bring some shining among the other trophees... so watch out

Aloysius DONT DO IT the stuff I have read leads me to believe that would not be a good idea. the models I have seen to use both dont have any choke and are lightly rifled. the 410 solid is a much better way to go. a 85grn pill doing 1850fps from a 2 1/2" shell by my gonkulations thats the same as a .243 at 200yrds. should have heaps and plenty of grunt to do the biz. you can also get 3 ball buckshot.

Such out of the normal things always catch my attention. I already tried shot in my .44 RM but even my S&W 29 with 8 3/8" barrel couldn't get a rabbit killed on 5 m distance. A rifled barrel is not good friend with shot, altough the very expensive belgian shotguns specially made for rabbithunting with ferrets have a cilindric barrel that's rifled on the last 20 cm, a kind of rifled cilindrical shoke.
And such things as a .577 Snider and cal 24 or a 45 LC and cal 36 are always funny things to investigate. But I do agree, it looks safer to make a lead slug in cal 24 or the .410 instead of taking their rifle-brother or sister.