20 gauge duck loads

Craig F

Craig F

Well-known member
I'm sure this has been discussed in the past but wanted to see if anyone had any current opinions with the changes in ammo...

I primarily hunt with a SBEII 12 gauge, shooting steel and hevi-metal #3s and #4s depending on my mood. I only shoot decoying birds, 99% puddle ducks. I average between 100 and 165 birds a season depending on the weather.

I decided to pick up a Benelli M2 20 gauge to mix in for ducks, maybe just early season for teal and wood ducks, but maybe later season work as well. I figure I kill most of my birds under 25 yards so why not try a 20?

For those of you shooting a 20 for ducks what has been your go to duck load? If you follow Tony Vandemore you'll notice he's primarily shooting a 20 for ducks and canadas but he also has the benefit of shooting them over the best possible conditions with the highest end ammo. Is the Hevi-X, bismuth, Boss, etc really needed if you're shooting them over the decoys?

I probably already know the answer but wanted to see what other 20 gauge shooters are doing these days.
 
When my son was still hunting with me, he was shooting basic Federal 3" #4s out of Mossberg Maverick with a modified choke.
All birds over/in the decoys, definitely under 35 yards, gadwalls, buffies, scaup and redheads.
Birds he hit were just as dead as the ones I hit with my 12 3" #3s at the same range.
I ordered mine from Rogers, about $99/case delivered.
 
Well, I pretty much shoot a 20 gauge for everything....have been since I began hunting about 20 years ago. Have taken mine to Canada and shot geese and ducks in the field, shot sea ducks and divers in the gulf of mexico with them, used them to chase pheasants and prairie grouse in the prairies....if you stay within reasonable distances for taking your shots, steel is just fine.

If you're shooting decoying ducks, there really isn't a need for anything other than steel shot. IMO. I will hunt the gulf of mexico for divers from time to time and I'll use 3" shells in #4 or #5 shot. Mostly, I'll shoot 2 3/4" #6 steel shot though I have really fallen in love with #5 shot for steel, but it can be tough to find. I use the 2 3/4" pheasant loads when I can find them. I hunt an area where I can shoot woodducks, woodcock and quail. #6 can sometimes be too small for some of the wood ducks that cruise over me while looking for quail and woodcock.

Have fun with your Benelli M2....I love mine!!!!

Dani
 
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My son shot a 20 gauge pump for about three years when he was 12-14 or so. He was and is an excellent shot. 2 and 3/4 #4's steel. He was deadly.

You shouldn't have any trouble with steel on well decoyed birds.
 
I?ve been shooting boss for a few years now, under the same conditions as you Craig. My biggest benefit I can see is the ability to drop down a couple shot sizes. I always shot #3 steel but now shoot number #5 boss. Approximately same pellet weight but with a far larger number of pellets per load. I haven?t increased my range at all, I also enjoy shooting them over decoys, but my pattern density is far greater. I have noticed far less cripples and less lost birds. I shoot less shells per year because I need less follow up shots. In short I think the cost of boss is definitely worth it, especially for a smaller payload like you?d see out of a 20. And in the grand scheme of things $250 per case is only $150 more than bargain brand steel and I?m sure you?re like me that you spend more than $150 per week in fuel scouting so why cheap out on the most crucial moment, where the metal meets the meat?
 
I picked up a Weatherby SA-08 20 gauge a few years ago, it's become pretty much my go-to gun for upland game and I use it for a few hunts a year on waterfowl. I still primarily use my 12 gauge 870 for waterfowl because I have a chance of encountering geese throughout the season and I like the option of being able to shoot BB's, as far as I know most factory 20 gauge loads max out at #2. #2 steel is fine for geese over decoys but I like having the option of shooting larger shot. I usually run Fasteel #4 and #2 in my 20, works great for decoying birds!

There is kind of a cult of guys in my area that are obsessed with hand-loading sub gauges and using them for waterfowl, they apparently have some tungsten 20 and 28 gauge loads that will crush geese out to 50-60 yards but you're getting into some seriously specialized and expensive shells there.
 
Been shooting my 20,s on ducks and have fell in love with 3" x 1 oz. # 3,s at anywhere from 1350 to 1400 fps. Rio makes the 1400 fps ld and it patterns real good in my Invector plus 20,s and Benelli 20. Couldn,t find any late summer when searching for a case and Dunns had a killer price on Hevi Metal w/ $50 rebate. Had patterned a bx earlier in a new to me M2 20 and pattered right w the Rio,s thru Briley x2 L.Mod so bought a case. Shot them our early duck season and they killed great pass shooting woodies in a little marsh i hunt. Stone dead in the air. About 35 yd. shots. Paper says they,ll still produce at 40 thru that choke and gun . Another week or so and i,ll get to try them out on Mr. Blk Duck hopefully. By the way i,ve since found the Rio,s and picked up another case. They were at Rogers. I,ve mainly shot an M2 12 the last several years on ducks and geese but really only needed it for the geese. With our season pushed up into a dec. start on them last year and this it gives me plenty of time to play with the 20 and it amazes me how much better the 20 steel ammo has gotten. Years ago when I played with a 20 it would be stoked with the old original heavy shot 6.s and would outshoot 12 steel .. The new tss loads and h15 loads even make the little 28, and 410,s potent waterfowl medicine. Haven,t tried any of that yet but might be a good excuse to get a little 28 i,ve been eyeballing!
 
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Will M said:
I?ve been shooting boss for a few years now, under the same conditions as you Craig. My biggest benefit I can see is the ability to drop down a couple shot sizes. I always shot #3 steel but now shoot number #5 boss. Approximately same pellet weight but with a far larger number of pellets per load. I haven?t increased my range at all, I also enjoy shooting them over decoys, but my pattern density is far greater. I have noticed far less cripples and less lost birds. I shoot less shells per year because I need less follow up shots. In short I think the cost of boss is definitely worth it, especially for a smaller payload like you?d see out of a 20. And in the grand scheme of things $250 per case is only $150 more than bargain brand steel and I?m sure you?re like me that you spend more than $150 per week in fuel scouting so why cheap out on the most crucial moment, where the metal meets the meat?
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Really good input everyone and pretty much what I figured. I am intrigued at shooting the smaller shot sizes for pattern density... certainly can't hurt to get a box or two to try out. Will have you shot the 3/5 stack boss at all or just the 5s?

Between tolls and fuel what's a few more bucks for ammo? [crazy]
 
Craig I haven?t shot the stacked stuff. It just doesn?t fit the bill for me. I?m not taking shots at birds at ranges where I would need the 3s so I don?t see the point in sacrificing pattern density and pellet count for something that won?t benefit me
 
Mind you I have very little waterfowl experience but as long as the patterns are satisfactory there shouldn't be a problem. 1oz of pellets out of a 20 ga at 1400fps are going to kill the same as 1oz of shot out of a 12 ga at 1400fps.
 
I've really started to like shooting bismuth. Granted I'm mostly shooting it at pheasants on public land and where I could jump a duck. For pheasants the Boss 5s have been working good. I'm just using the 2 3/4" loads. I think the 3" 4s would be a very good multipurpose load in a semiauto.
Granted if I felt better about shooting steel in my 20s I'd probably be using steel 4s whenever I expect to shoot inside 35yards.

I do not shoot nearly the amount of birds as you do so for me the price is worth it for the bismuth right now. For pheasants I rarely shoot more than 6 or 8 times in a day.
 
I've been shooting my browning silver hunter 20ga for over 10 years. Like the Kent cartridges best in shot size 3 but normally use 4 since it's what people carry around here. Federal steel is the next best I've used. Have used hevi-shot but never saw a difference compared to the steel. Winchester I've never had good luck with.

Have had issues knocking snow geese down but they are normally on the max range.
 
I did some patterning this weekend since I was able to pick the 20 up after five days of waiting for the 'instant' background check to clear...

I only patterned what I had on hand which was, Hevi Metal #3, Hevi Bismuth #4 and Hevi-X #4.

The bismuth outperformed and patterned better by far than the other two. Excited to try it out once we reopen for our second splits.
 
roy brewington said:
What choke constriction did your M2 20 like? Factory chokes?
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I'm using a kicks high flyer IC, I also tried the factory MOD, going to try the kicks IC to start. I shoot a high flyer IC out of my 12 gauge.
 
If you get the chance try Light mod. in your 20 . I prefer Briley x2,s as Briley chokes have always throwed excellent patterns in my guns. Those Mobil choked barrels being slightly under bored in 12 & 20 can preform pretty good with the right choke in them.
 
Hey Craig i am shooting a benelli 20 and i am using black cloud 4s with a briley improved cyl and have excellent results with that combination. Also i am shooting over decoys same distance .
 
Hey Craig i picked up a sx4 20 this season an love it to death ive been shoot #2'S KENT and seems to do just fine i have boss #5 they put a hurting on ducks as well but havent used it for geese yet but standby im heading to upstate NY over the weekend to get on some geese ill let ya know how it performs i run a extended mod choke as well
 
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