16ga.com ~ View topic - Duck load questions for old lead shooters

Joined: 08 Oct 2012 Posts: 72 Location: Hilton Head SC

I have a question for you gentlemen who remember shooting lead at waterfowl. I was wondering what a typical duck load was back in the lead days? It seems as though I am finding that people preferred a 1 1/4 oz load at around 1330 fps.

I am going to be purchasing some Nice Shot for duck season next year and want to load a "lead clone" load from yesteryear. Also what size shot did most people use for ducks and geese (decoying). I have read that copper plated #2 were popular for geese and I've read anything from #4-#6 for duck depending on the type. Right now people in my area the accepted sizes are #2 steel for combo duck/goose decoying shots if that helps anyone with the types of shooting that this area sees.

I guess what I am asking is for some first-hand experience or knowledge of what type of lead loads people would load if it were legal. If anyone had used a 16ga on ducks in the lead days that would be a bonus. I plan on loading these for a 16 and with the price of nice shot I would like a good starting point before I hit the patterning board. Thanks a lot

WELL, in those days I used a 12 gauge, with 1 3/8 ounce of #5 shot and 3 3/4 drams of powder. Mostly loaded with Alcan powders and Win AA Red wad.

MY, oh my, would they kill a duck

One question, what gun will you be using for these duck loads?

Mike

p.s. I use Steel #3s for ducks mostly

Member Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 451 Location: La-Tx

With nice shot and a 16 I would go with 1 1/8th oz of 6's between 1300-1350 fps for ducks. I might even go with 1 1/16th oz to get a few more shells. I load up 3/4 oz of nice shot in 28 ga at a supposed 1330 fps that works great on ducks. I have everything to load Hevi and Nice shot up for the 16 but I just hate to put so much of that high dollar stuff into just one shell.

When I was using my Win M12 16ga for ducks, and I used it over 20 years, I was loading up 1oz. of 4 or 5 shot in a WW comp-formed hull with a Remington SP16 shotcup, WW209 primer, and 29.5grs of SR4756. John

Joined: 20 Nov 2008 Posts: 171 Location: VA

Pleased to see this thread. As I have yet to delve into the water fowl affliction, I had been pondering the same question. Thanks for the insight from "the good old days".
Very Happy

jpm

Member Joined: 15 Mar 2007 Posts: 601 Location: Virginia

My 12-gauge duck load back in the day was 1-1/4 oz of No. 5 at 1330fps through a full choke. It hammered ducks at pretty much any reasonable range and brought down the occasional goose that ventured within 30 yards.

For the 16 gauge, I mostly stuck to factory shells of 1-1/8 oz No. 5 at 1295fps. It worked pretty well, but I mostly shot waterfowl with the 12.

Dan

Joined: 12 Sep 2010 Posts: 1975 Location: Maine

I only got into trying to jumpshoot ducks the last year we could hunt with lead, so I was using whatever high-brass shells I had. But, the other winter I picked up at a gun show a full box of 12 ga 2 3/4in. Remington Duck/Pheasant loads from that time. The load was 3 3/4 dram equivalent, 1 1/4 ounce shot, #6. Can always use a box of high-brass #6....
Pictures:
Duck

Pheasant

The shells are black plastic, really high copper-colored brass, headstamped Remington Peters 12 Ga.

1977 The load that killed my ducks was the Federal Premium 1.25 oz. # 4 copper plated shot with buffer. I did a lot of field shooting of mallards, black ducks and wood ducks over goose decoys. For water spreads I used my hand loads of 1.25oz black lead #4 in a win AA hull with a Maxfire 220 primer 37grns. of 4756. I used a Flite Max #1 wad. truly a young hunters perfect load, it kicked would be an understatement.

Joined: 07 Mar 2010 Posts: 483 Location: South Eastern PA

I just recently picked these up but can remeber using ones like these in the late 60's and early 70's. The 6's and 5's are 1.25 oz but the 4's are labeled magnums and have 1.5 oz of Lubaloy (coppr plated) lead shot.

been handloading for a thousand yrs ... back then , kinda a heavy version of nick's hot rod laods . A 1400 fps trap load of 7.5's out of the old m97 - knocked em on their butts as far as I could shoot !

Well, around here anyway the "standard" store bought duck load back then, meaning probably up to the mid eighties was the 12 ga 1330fps 2 3/4" 3 3/4-1-1/4oz in #4,5,6 depending on personal choice.

For the sixteen, I used the 3 1/4, 1 1/8oz #5 that they said came out at 1300 or so.

Lately, the 1 1/16 oz#5 Kent TM through FULL or MOD does a fine job on ducks

Member Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 1863 Location: Wisconsin

High brass Winchester 3.75 dram pushing 1.25 oz. of lead at factory speeds. Because I didn't know better, we used #4 for ducks and the '97 got the same load for turkey. The '12 would not pattern 4's so we shot the same load in 6's for turkey, and still do.

You'd have thought we had Winchester stock, cause we very rarely shot anything else. I didn't have to buy shells as long as the meat made it to the table.

Reno

I've thrown plenty of lead at ducks and geese in my lifetime, using both 12 and 16 gauge. I don't think you will ever come up with anything as lethal as lead. If using the 12 ga, I used 1 1/4 oz at 1330 fps 2's and 4's on geese and 4,5 and 6's for ducks. The last few years I hunted ducks, I used 5's only. Thats probably the best compromise. For the 16 ga, I used the same shot sizes in 1 1/4 oz magnum loads. My aunt used to work for Olin and could buy four boxes of shells a month at cost. She used to buy, for me, Winchester 16 ga magnums for $2.46 a box. I'll never forget tht price. I also liked Peters blue shells. When they came out with plastic shells you could see the shot and wad in those blue shells. I thought that was neat. I hunted a few years after steel shot was required and then quit. For the first year or so, you were allowed to used lead in the 16 or 20 gauge as steel was not available in those gauges yet. Steel was very poor in those first few years.

Joined: 08 Oct 2012 Posts: 72 Location: Hilton Head SC

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who responded. I think I'm going to try loading some 1oz and 1 1/8th oz loads in #5 and #4 to handle my duck/goose combo hunts. I don't specifically go goose hunting but if I do I'll use one of my 12ga's and 3.5" shells if I feel I really need it. It was nice to hear that #5 and even #6 was a suitable duck load back in the lead days. I'm thinking the slightly less dense nice shot 4 and 5 should do just the trick. I don't plan on shooting the 16 all the time for duck but I am trying to take some game with my great grandfathers old model 12 that he would have shot with it. Plus I plan on getting a 16ga o/u or sxs before next duck season.

I know that nice shot is sold out of many popular sizes right now and they are planning on making more to be available this fall. I am hoping that they bought the ore at the right time as it seems to have dropped off from the high of $55/kg last January to its around $40/kg as of today. Hopefully they played the market right and can pass on the savings (or at least some of it) on to the end users. If the stuff was a little cheaper I'm sure there would be plenty of people who would bring sub gauge guns into the marsh.

Thanks again for the info and if anyone else has anything that may be helpful I'd love to hear it. I'll keep everyone updated when I get a hold of the shot.

Last time I checked,Precision Reloading still had #2 Nice Shot in stock. While they are a little more expensive, check http://www.ecotungsten.com/online-store.htm
They advertise most smaller nice shot sizes as being available.

Art