I had a lot fun pass shooting diving ducks with my lightweight Dewson percussion 10 ga. 1 5/8 oz Lubaloy 4's really reached out after I had V.M. Starr jug choke it. The old RR engineer I bought it from said he bought it from a gunsmith in a small town along the railway east of Medora, site of Teddy Roosevelt's ranch and that it once belonged to the cook at that ranch who shot passenger pigeons with it before leaving New York. Then non-toxics came in and bismuth was too costly so I retired it.
Then I shot waterfowl, including geese, cranes, and swans for 30 years with my dad's single-trigger 12 ga F/M Nitro Special 28" using light loads of 1 1/12 oz 1's and 3's in shotcups.
Bad eyesight now in my early '80's so I don't boat hunt ducks much any longer, but still flail away at them from shore or in fields a bit with a 30" Nitro Special using the same reloads. I always without the foreend as they just collect weeds, mud,and alkali water.
When I was a kid, I shot a lot of ducks with full power loads through my $35 bringback 1911 Sauer Model 8 with no ill effects I could detect, but it is my grouse and dove gun now even though I mostly just carry it and seldom bag a bird. It replaced the Stevens Mod. 311 I started out with.
Its been a fun ride shooting these old doubles since 1948.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!
