hello everyone, my name is trevor, ive been viewing these forums for a while now and thought that some of you may have an answer to my question. I'm not the most expeirienced waterfowl hunter but im out there trying! anyways my question is what do you guys suggest for the best all around waterfowl load? right now im shooting steel #4's and those are great for teal and woodies but what would you guys suggest for the bigger mallards and geese? Should i be taking out two different types of shells with me? a heavier load and a lighter load or is there a happy medium in there where im not going to blow away the teals, but im not going to wound geese either? thanks alot for your help!

BBs are my universal round, those and #1s, ive killed geese dead with 2's when my dad wounded one with BBBs, but it all depends on how your hunting, pass-shooting or decoying. I'd carry out a box of BBs or !s though if i didnt mind changing shells quickly. When i am changing shells, i generally have it loaded this way; first shot - #2, second shot #1, third shot- BB/BBB/Hevi, it means when i switch to goose i have the second shot right there, and i generally dont shoot three times at ducks

I think #1's are the best all around load. Get enough pellets, and a ton of knockdown power for those farther shots.

There is no "best load", don't get trapped into thinking there is. The best load for youmight be different than for other guys. If you're pass shooting, you'll want one type of load, and if you're shooting decoying birds, you'll need another. The gun and loads I shoot probably wouldn't work for a lot of guys, but they're great for me. I shoot a 2 3/4" 12 gauge with a 26" improved cylinder barrel. For ammunition, I mostly shoot #6s early in the season when we shoot more wood ducks and the mallards have lighter down and feathers. About mid-way through the season I switch over to #4s, and just about all the loads I shoot are 1 1/4 ounce loads. A lot of guys would tell you that isn't an optimal setup, but they probably hunt under different circumstances than I do. I shoot in a riparian marsh where we're shootingworking birds over decoys. I'm sure that 90% of my shots are around 30 yards or closer and 95% of my shots are 40 yards or less. For the type of hunting I do, my gear and loads are pretty optimal. They would suck for hunting in conditions that some other guys hunt in. There is no place for a 3 1/2" magnum, or even 3" magnum whereI hunt, just like there my 2 3/4" gun with standard loads wouldn't work as well as those big guns and heavy loads of large shot would work where some other guys hunt.

The point I'm trying to make is that you have to tailor your loads and gun to the conditions you hunt in. And that will vary from hunter to hunter. Gotta run now, I"m heading up to my club to do some final work before next Saturday's opener.

I personally like the Federal Premium #2's 1-1/4 load. Good all around. I hunt bigger water mostly or potholes. I shoot them through a carlsons LightModified choke. My shotto kill ratio has went to 2or3 shots to a kill. I'm still learning the game and usally try to keep the ducks at a good safe and close difference. No pass shooting here. 2's will kill geese to, if you keep 'em at the right distance and dont pass shoot at the moon!

Those are the shells that I used this years early goose/teal season. I used a pure gold modified choke, and dropped geese at long distances with no problem.

thanks alot for all your help guys, much appreciated!