doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Duck loads old guns

Have nid ithaca 12 ga. 32 " full & full steel shot not an option.....any recommendations that are not insanely expensive but safe for gun and shooter?

RST non-tox shells $3 per shell. It's not going to be easy to find cheap shells for that gun for ducks. www.rstshells.com. You might try Kent shells too.

Kent Tungsten Matrix is suitable for tight fixed chokes, and while it is not cheap, it patterns well and kills ducks and geese like the best lead loads. Expect to pay $3.00 per shell for 2 3/4".

Bismuth is the next best option and is available as loaded shells, and as loose shot for handloading through Precision Reloading. I've shot a lot of it and it responds to chokes just like lead and kills ducks dead in the air.

Niceshot is another highly regarded lead substitute available through RST as loaded ammo (lighter, lower pressure loads) and as loose shot. ITX is Ballistic Products' new offering and their claim is that it is malleable enough for old barrels and is very effective. I have not used either of these two products, yet.

None of this stuff is cheap. Handloaded ITX shot 1.25 oz loads would be the least expensive, about $1.75 each. However, the first time one of those loads kills a "can", greenhead or a fat Canada goose dead in the air at 50 yards, you'll know it's worth it.

Look in to new era .com shells. They are a very good option.

I've posted about it here before, but I've been shooting nice shot through my old elsies with fabulous results. It patterns tighter than lead, and has a lot more oomph than steel. I'm swatting ducks with authority out to 50 yards with 7/8oz loads of #5. On the surface, a 7/8oz load might seem anemic, but when one considers it has more pellets than 1-1/4oz of steel #2, pattern density is less of an issue.

I'm not sure what insanely expensive is, but my reloads are $1.75/shell. The pressures are low, the recoil non-existent, and the results amazing.



Since switching to nice shot, I'm averaging 80-90% success on ducks. Thats less than 9 shots/limit. The cost of shells for a day of shooting is inconsequential.

A second vote for Nice Shot. I regularly shoot Canada Geese over decoys at 60 yards with 1 3/8 oz Nice Shot at 1200 FPS in Damascus barreled Parker 10 gauges. I've also done the same with 1 1/8 oz Nice Shot in a Chain Damascus barreled LC Smith 12 gauge.

For 40 yards or less a 7/8 ox load should kill cleanly.

Slow down and choose your shots wisely. If you average 50% shots/kills the cost of ammo will be far less than the gas required for traveling to your hunting spots.

the surface, a 7/8oz load might seem anemic, but when one considers it has more pellets than 1-1/4oz of steel #2, pattern density is less of an issue.


I did not know this.What size 7/8 oz load?

#5 nice shot. It has almost exactly the same density as high antimony lead, my 1oz MEC drop bar gives me 7/8oz of nice shot. I just measured my drops, and I'm getting 170-175 pellets of #5. I cut up a 1-1/4oz #2 steel load and got 153 pellets. My patterns are very tight out of a full choke, and I take ducks with confidence out to 50 yards with this load.

Rob.

I picked up some ITX last year for my Ithaca Lewis 2 7/8 10 gauge. I have not shot any waterfowl with it but it does pattern nicely in my gun. I have tried 1 1/4 oz and 1 3/8 oz loads. Both showed good patterns.

Marty

Marty did you get the ITX from BP and their load data and proprietary components? I am slightly puzzled why the loads use wads designed for tungsten shot (TPS wads).