ORIGINAL: SwampCollie
ORIGINAL: DuckHuntin247
Sorry, should have been clearer. I mean't "prefered" as most commonly used, not nessecarily everyone's first choice. I will break down and buy Hevi shot for geese. I usually use Kent fasteel or reloads.It seems that for ducks hevi shot doesnt kill them any deader in my opinion.
One thing that I think really sets hevi apart perfornmance wise(other than density and price), is pellet count. Because you can go from shooting #2 steel to shooting #6 hevi, you have a much more dense pattern, which allows for more opportunities to hit the head and neck. Shotguns kill by target saturation, and its a random thing. We cannot control EXACTLY WHICH PELLETS GO WHERE! We can control where the sample population of pellets go....but having more chances to get a spine, neck, and head hit on a duck or goose is one big advantage. Also, reduced surface area will equal more penetration (all things being equal). But that extra weight helps even more. There again, just my experience, but hevi just flat hammers the birds I shoot at. But, I am a small pellet, head/neck shot believer. Thats why I shoot doves with #9 shot...because I have lost right many with 7.5s (doves aren't tough....but when you knock feathers out..they should fall....).
If you ever get the chance to shoot waterfowl with lead (where it is still legal), I would suggest you take the opportunity to see what a massive difference there is between birds hit with lead and birds hit with steel. It will make you a beleiver.
I think you know what you are talking about, I was getting very discouraged about waterfowl hunting because of all the cripples and long lost birds that I will never know if I killed them or if they swam off to die else where. Well, I had a box of #6 hevi shot that remington was makeing at the time that I had bought for the previous turkey season and was afraid to use them because I had always read that you dont want to use anything less than #4 or #5 shot. To get to my point, I ran out of steel and decided to give my hevi shot a try and I shot once at a canadian and dropped it, then two mallards came by at about 40 yards and shot twice bringing it down with the second shot. So guess what, I bought a case of #4 shot 3" hevi shot for this upcomeing season. Spend the extra money, you will save money in the long run because you wont use as many shells and you will have more to bring home.