At one time in my shooting life I would have agreed with Michael McIntosh, but, no longer. I did use cylinder-bored guns, with heavy loads of hard shot in one-peice plastic shot cups, for decades for everything, including ducks over decoys. Worked fine. However, as I now need and much prefer lighter guns, I need lighter loads. I simply cannot any longer even shoot those heavy, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 oz load, even in 8 and 9 pound guns.
In last decade I have been finding 7,0 to 6,0 lb hammer doubles, with long barrels (75 cm or longer), tightly choked, and 1,0 oz loads to be just as deadly and far more suitable and enjoyable to hunt with.
I do shoot lots of bismuth ammo each fall on ducks and geese and find that it patterns really tightly, as tight or tighter than high Sb lead shot that is Cu-plated. Only problem I have with 1,0 oz of #5 bismuth is that ducks and geese shot at up to about 40 yards are sometimes riddled with deep-penetrating shot pellets.
Niklas
