GEESE, SEA DUCKS & PASS SHOOTING
It doesn't matter whether you shoot them from pit blinds amid corn stubble, along the coast or in desert marshes, geese are big, tough and remarkably difficult to knock out of the sky. While they aren't nearly as big s geese, sea ducks such as scoters, goldeneyes, long-tailed ducks and Harlequins are also capable of absorbing a lot of punishment. And large ducks such as mallards, canvasbacks and redheads can be hard to kill at distances that are common among pass shooters. Waterfowlers who regularly hunt these species or at birds beyond 40 yards need a shell that packs as much downrange punch as they and their gun can handle. To do this they need shot that either fly faster or weigh more.

Let's talk about speed first. It has been proven that shot needs to retain a velocity of at least 600 feet per second (fps) on impact to consistently kill waterfowl. When lead was still legal, a 12 gauge, 2 3/4 inch, standard-velocity load (1,255 fps muzzle velocity) of No. 6 shot averaged 610 fps at 60 yards, and a "high velocity" 20-gauge round (1,220 fps at muzzle) was 605 fps. Even with all the improvements in steel, a 3-inch shell with 1 1/4 ounces of shot (1,350 fps at muzzle) only has 579 fps left at 50 yards. The only way to maintain enough velocity to kill big birds at 40 or 45 yards with steel at traditional muzzle velocities is to increase the size of the shot. A 3-inch 12-gauge BB shot (1 3/8-ounce load), for example, is still moving at 643 fps at 50 yards. But steel shot in 2 3/4 standard velocity loads is only effective on large tough birds if you limit your shots to 40 yards or less.

Those who shoot modern shotguns chambered for 3- or 3 1/2-inch shells have the option of turning up the heat on the pellets. All of the ammunition companies now produce shells with barrel speeds of 1,500 fps or more, and these loads retain plenty of wallop beyond 40 yards. Winchester's Dry Lock and Remington's Nitro Steel whistle along in excess of 625-plus fps at 50 yards.

Although these loads extend your downrange effectiveness on ducks and geese considerably, they are not miracle workers, just as the magnums that preceded them weren't. You shouldn't push them beyond 50 yards normally. The super-charged loads are also more expensive than standard shells, are very loud, and they kick like the dickens. Flinching when you shoot doesn't improve your accuracy.

JACK O'CONNOR ON SHOT SIZE

Jack O' Connor argued for the use of smaller shot on small ducks at close range in his Sportsman's Arms And Ammunition Manual, published in 1952, in the final chapter, "Shot For Your Scattergun." He wrote: The choice of shot is necessarily a compromise -- to get density of pattern one has to sacrifice punch and penetration and to get punch and penetration one has to sacrifice density of pattern. The larger the bird is, the larger the shot that can be used, since there is less chance of his flying through a fhinnish pattern. The only way one can get denser patterns at longer range is to use more shot, and the only way one can get more shot, with suitable penetration, is to use a larger gauge. It simply isn't in the cards to kill small birds like quail or doves at any great distance, and when a small bird is killed at an astounding range the gunner will usually discover it was a fluke. -- Doug Rose

HEAVIER SHOT HAS MORE PUNCH
Waterfowlers who usually shoot ducks over decoys or jump shoot need markedly different features in a shell. You seldom need to shoot at ducks much beyond 40 yards if your decoys and calling are appealing, and jump shooters don't usually flush birds until they are within 20 or 30 yards.

At first glance, these situations would seem to present no shell problems at all. You simply need to buy a fast shell in a small shot size. But many of the hottest loads are literally overkill at short range, especially if you intend to eat the bird or tie flies with its feathers.