December 9, 2022 2 is the Magic Number- What Shot Size Should You be Using for Waterfowl Hunting By: Justin Hunold Empty hulls signifying a successful venture onto the back water. A 12 gauge 3″ #2 will handle this sort of work marvelously. Let’s start by saying there is no one size fits all situations in waterfowl hunting. A lot of “Gospel Truths” to some folks maybe hocus pocus to others. “I only need half a dozen Mallard Decoys and a Jerk rig.” – Not on the coasts of North and South Carolina. “ Canada’s are dumb over water.”- Not if you shot em up where they roost over the same water. “ You gotta have spinners out to add visibility.” – Not if you’re way down South and those birds have been shot at over Spinners for a few thousand miles. I’m going to stick my neck out here and give you a truth that I and a few of my friends cling to, if a hunter shows up with a 12 gauge loaded with 3” #2’s in anywhere from 1 ⅛ to 1 ½ Oz of steel shot they can handle just about any waterfowl situation they might get thrown into. We are focusing on steel shot and not other non toxics like Bismuth or Tungsten. This will be a matter of KISS or Keep it Simple Stupid. Because let’s face it we all get out smarted by birds so the stupid part applies and keeping it simple makes you a more efficient killer. When Not To Use #2 Let’s look at some reasons you might not want to be shooting #2. If there is one argument against #2 in all situations, everything is a nail if all you have is a hammer argument…kinda. Shot size and choke constriction work together and can be very situational. So, it stands to reason that although a #2 might be great at a lot, it’s not optimum for some applications. Early Season Teal, Gadwal and Woodies might be very common in your area. In fact a lot of places have a “Teal Season”. This is a place where a #2 can work but shouldn’t be the first choice. These ducks are small, fast and maneuverable. Most hunters will opt for a #3 or #4 in Steel for this sort of hunt. Likely this will get paired up with a bit more open a choke as well. In areas of extremes either especially big or small birds a #2 sits in the middle of the bell curve. There may be better choices but it will certainly work. Most of the time when taking on the little ducks we will be expecting them in close with shots over decoys. With this in mind small ducks in close calls for smaller shot with good pattern density. The little guys aren’t as hearty as say a diver and a hunter will be better suited with less holes in their pattern. This isn’t to say a #2 won’t work, it just isn’t the best option. The other extreme is late season geese. I’ve hunted Canada’s coming off the Finger Lakes that had what seemed like inches of fat on them. When it came to those birds we were starting our shot size choices at BB and going up from there. These are big tough birds that have plenty of cushion for the pushin so to speak. This is a time you’d find a lot of us running full charge 3.5” shells stuffed full of BB or BBB. We killed a lot of birds with those loads, but looking back a 3” #2 probably would have done fine at the distances and circumstances we were putting birds down at. When to use #2 Firstly, if I was limited to one steel shot size for all waterfowl hunting situations it would be a #2. This shot size is about as big as you can go without hampering ballistic performance, it holds reasonable pattern density, and carries enough kinetic energy for most waterfowl work. So, it’s a great choice for a lot of hunters who might be in crossover seasons with ducks and geese, or situations like I was in last Saturday where I was as likely to get a shot at a Blue Bill or Bufflehead as I was a Mallard or Black Duck. Big Puddle Ducks are what most waterfowlers chase. Mallards, Blacks, Widgeons, Shovelers, and Pintails will all be reliably taken with a 3” #2. I know a lot of folks like a #3 for this sorta work but let’s face it the ducks don’t know the difference and #2 are easily found at Walmart if need be. Normally, when I head out to some backwater and I am expecting to encounter the likes of any of these birds my Retay will be stoked with 3” 1 ⅛ #2 of some brand or another. I’m confident that I am not leaving anything to chance with that shell selection. Divers, you might love em, you might hate em but man are they fun. So, here’s a confession, TJ Rademacher and I have been hunting partners for a long time. And have been Long Line hunting partners. We chased Divers when every other person in the piedmont of NC was out looking for Green Heads. We would be out setting twelve dozen decoys, that’s 144 for you mathematicians out there. After all that work we would wait for some ducks with little wings and big feet to come circling in and try to land in our lines. We generally did that with 3” #2’s ready and willing. We killed a few Diving Ducks back then, and I have no reason to shoot anything other than #2’s at them. They are tough and we were the school of shooting until they stopped moving. Shot size matters in the world of tough ducks built to disappear so, this is where the majority of my thought on the best shot size for duck hunting came from. I never met a puddle duck that was half as tough as a buff even if they were normally twice the size. Number 2’s were my go to. In most of the places I inhabit there is a September Goose Season for Resident Canadas. When those 30 days roll around you can bet your bottom dollar that my gun has #2’s in it. In one of my previous articles I talked about a hunt where TJ and I crushed some local Canada’s on an island. We were shooting #2’s. In that same article I talk about my stupid head flairing geese , well we killed our 4 man limit that day and we were shooting #2’s. In all my Goose hunting experience I believe that a majority of birds were taken with a #2 and I see no reason to change. For more about that check out this article about shot size for geese. Stoking a couple Retay’s with your favorite 3″ # 2 steel shot is a near perfect combination. In the famous words of Austin Powers “Who does number two work for?” The simple answer is everyone. This shotshell combination isn’t the end all be all. It’s not the best for all situations but there are few other options for a shot size that can realistically take on most waterfowl situations. If you’re going out with a guide or experienced friend and they tell you to grab something else for a specific situation, take note, grab a box and pattern it and then run it if it makes sense. But I would advise grabbing a few different boxes of 3” #2’s and patterning them all. See which shoots the best and then buy as many as you think you’ll need for the season and then add some. None of us are as good a shot as we believe ourselves to be and no matter what situation you end up in during the waterfowl season you can’t go wrong with the best shooting 3” #2 you can find. This stuff just works.
April 22, 2022 All Around Shotgun: What does a Do All shotgun look like? By: Justin Hunold A shotgun is by far the most versatile firearm in a hunting arsenal. You can hunt anything that moves with a shotgun. But in today’s social media driven outdoor-scape we are seeing very specific tools for very specific hunts. We seem to be in the search for the “Best (insert game) Gun” these days. And when the budget and seasons align we can differentiate and own guns for specific purposes like Turkey, Waterfowl, Clays, Upland and Various small game. This style gun is at home in any situation. Let’s not forget that all of these “bests” are still Shotguns. So, what makes for the best Do All shotgun? What covers the most bases so that we can spend more time sharpening our hunting skills rather than thinking of the lack of a specialized tool as a hindrance? If given a choice for one gun for all the targets above, a shooter would be well suited to go with a 12 Gauge. The current trend is moving towards 20 gauge and even the smaller sub gauges like 28 and .410, hell, even the 16 gauge is having its own resurrection. These options are being spurred by more consistent and lethal ammunition choices in everyday available factory loads. But we are talking about one gun versatility here, and there is no answer other than 12 gauge for that question. 12 gauges leave very few gaps in ability to handle the task at hand, including big game with buckshot and slug options. Ammunition for the king of gauges was also available throughout the shortages of the recent past. Good luck killing a Tom with a .410 and TSS if you can’t find any, or trying to takedown a few big, fat Canada’s with your 20 gauge when the only waterfowl legal and appropriate shells you can find are 12 gauge BB’s. It’s not that the other’s don’t do the job, it’s just that they can’t do anything the 12 doesn’t, and this relationship is not inverse. Add in the ability to shoot 2 ¾ “ light loads up to the heaviest 3 ½ “ Magnum loads and a good twelve will handle way more than most hunter’s need. Ok with gauge settled let’s look at barrel length. If I’m running through the spring turkey woods, or pushing the understory for Upland or small game my gun would have a barrel length of between 22-24” . A shorter barrel is just easier to manage in tight cover, it makes your profile a bit tidier when pushing through the stuff, and doesn’t lend itself to snagging when a fast shot is needed. When breaking clays, or shooting birds in flight such as ducks’, geese, crows, pheasants or doves I prefer to have a barrel length of at least 28”. There tends to be the misconception that a shorter barrel is “easier” to swing, which is not the case. A shorter barrel is easier to point and begin the motion of the swing, but to truly swing through a target be it live or clay the weight and momentum of a longer barrel will literally help pull you through the motion of a smooth swing. This brings us to what would be an apt choice for barrel length in an all around shotgun. With the idea of a one gun in the forefront I would choose a 26” barrel. It’s easier to maneuver through the woods than a 28” with a 2 inch extended choke poking out, but it also carries that all important mass to help you break clays and deliver big shot at long distances on geese and divers. Plus in my opinion it’s about the perfect length for niche things like, layout blind, layout boat, hunting over dogs in fields and hunting for deer and hogs with buckshot. So here we are, we have a 12 gauge with a 26” barrel, we need to settle on a mode of operation, pump, semi, over under, side by side, single shot? Let’s face it, we can do anything with a single shot, except reliably shoot a double or the like in the field. When an opportunity does come up for multiple targets or animals, with our limited time in the field for most of us, we need to be able to take full advantage of the situation. Or what if it’s a single, and the only shot you get all day, but you whiff the first trigger pull? Man, I’d like to have a second or even third shot. And we aren’t even talking about a fast paced dove field or a crazy 50,000 bird snow goose flight. A well loved dog and gun just go together. If you asked hunters from generations past what their choice of repeating shotguns would be a lot of them would have settled on a pump, but today’s semi auto’s are as reliable and much faster than the pumps of yesteryear. I would choose a semi auto, they are the fastest way to get three shots off if needed. Other bonuses are generally reduced recoil, a good profile for carrying and overall they are generally fairly light all things considered. So, with multiple shots on deck, a fast cyclic rate, and reduced recoil I am able to leverage the tools at hand to have the best opportunity to make my time with gun in hand the most fruitful. This brings us to our final category and honestly, functionally, the least important. Do we want to choose wood or synthetic furniture? I prefer a nice, black synthetic stock with a matte black finish for an all around gun. There are arguments to be made for a camo gun too. Synthetic is easy to take care of, I don’t cry when I scratch or scrape it and it’s impervious to the weather conditions at hand. You should love the way your gun looks, it will inspire you to use it. With that I can understand why you may choose a wood stock set for your gun. Wood is beautiful, warm and is one of a kind. I love the way wood guns look and feel. I have a bunch of wood guns that make their rotations in and out of the safe for days out in the sun. You need to like the way your one gun looks and feels or else you won’t have the inspiration to use it. This is as important as any other feature. This is your one gun and you should love it. The final feature is the fit of the gun, I believe this sorta goes without saying. The gun needs to fit you. Close your eyes, shoulder it, open your eyes. Is the bead there, are you looking down a straight rib, is your finger comfortable one the trigger? The Cast, Drop and Length of Pull all need to be correct no matter what gun you are choosing. A gunner who has the highest end shotgun in the world that doesn’t fit them will get outshot by a shooter with an inexpensive gun that fits them like a glove. Also, with that thought, shoot the gun. Shoot it often, know your one gun, love your gun. Well, let’s put a bow on this thing. If you have different thoughts on an all around gun that makes sense, you might not have tight quarters shooting, you may only hunt turkeys from a blind, maybe you’re not a clays shooter or a waterfowl hunter, there are great options for your particular pie chart of hunting. Yet, day in day out if we sit down and say what makes for a great all around shotgun, a jack of all trades and the best value for your money I think that we can say a 12 gauge, 26” Barrel, Semi Automatic, Synthetic shotgun won’t let you down. It might not be the best at any one thing except for being great at all of them.
