doublegunshop.com - home Forums Thread Like Summary - Looking for a good 20 gauge duck load

After a long wait, my new 20 arrived today. It fits well and should be fun on a covey rise. I may try it out on ducks later on, though it won’t be a regular for such.
It weighs about 5 3/4 pounds, so I probably shouldn’t use too heavy of a load. Here are the gun’s specs.
Some of you fellows really know your stuff. Suggestions?

Well, that’s obviously a very nice gun. It was made to be a game gun, not a heavy fowling piece. No fleur de lis steel shot proof mark, also Notice the 950 bar proof…..for duck loads, you’d want the barrels proofed just a bit higher, usually in the 1200 bar range. The 2 3/4” chambers will also limit what loads you can shoot out of your gun.
If you were planning on shooting steel, that really limits your options.
Non-tox like TM or Bismuth gives you a few options, just remember that larger shot rarely patterns well out of a 20 bore.

What kind of ducks? Teal, gadwall, woodies, Widgeon you should be fine if your in reasonable range and using a high quality, moderate velocity non-tox like Tm or bismuth.

Unless you had a spot where you can shoot big ducks within 15 to 20 yards, I’d probably hold off and use a different gun capable of using more efficient loads.

Don't know about that but it took me 20 years to find a good deal! If you're in my neighborhood anytime soon, at least you'll know why I'll only be eating beans for a while....

My only problem with the photos is that they remind me I haven't had a duck hunt like that for a couple years! But I leave for Manitoba next week and, although weather conditions haven't been optimal, hope springs eternal.

The last thing I'd line up to do is to justify myself to a guy like Ed, but as you'll see from that day, our duck total was well under the limit. We carefully manage our harvest so that we can hunt the pond throughout the season. It's a lot of fun , especially when we have father/son combinations, as was the case again in this pic. It's special to introduce the next generation to good times in the outdoors.

You can also probably guess which of the two dogs did most of the work....

I'd agree the everything Dustin said.

Being from GA you will likely be using it on woodies, maybe a few early teal, and possibly gadwall as they have become more prevalent here over the last 10 years. I will be doing a bit of experimenting on woodies myself with a 20 this year. I don't recall ever using a 20 for ducks, but I bought 14 boxes of 20 ga. NiceShot and bismuth a few months ago from a friend, with the intent of trying my Parker 20 on them. I have no intention of ever using steel loads with a 20 for ducks.

I shoot 3/4 oz of ITX 6's out of my light 16ga and 7/8 oz out of my 12. A 3/4 oz of 5 or 6 bismuth would work great. The real trick to killing waterfowl is wait until they are in lethal range of the load your using. Sometimes you have to pass on a few birds that are marginal shots.

That is a great shotgun to take some woodies with enjoy your duck dinner.

7/8 oz ITX 6's(bismuth works just as well)

Yes, we hunt woodies; usually about once a week during the season. Shots aren't that tough and easily manageable with a 20. I won't be using this gun regularly on ducks, which lets me consider a legal load besides steel. I use Hevi-Metal a good bit ordinarily, but bismuth or tungsten might be good for the bit I'll be using this gun. I'm mostly trying to be conscious of finding a modest load for a lighter gun.

Beans with a side of duck - yum!

That looks like a happy group but the look on that boy's face says it all. Great job introducing them next generation to our sport!

Less than a GA limit for eight guys. Pretty clear that the elderly guy on the right end must have shot the merganser on the other end of the picture, because he is as far from it as he can get...Geo.