Sea ducks and chokes
 

I just made some plans to try and bust some sea ducks & divers this November, while I'm in the Boston area.

Do eiders & scoters need to be hit harder than puddle ducks? I've hunted geese & ducks in Sask a few times. I'm just checking to make sure I don't overlook something.

My turkey gun will reach out and pound'em, but it's not exactly the tool I'd take for pass shooting. I figure my mod & IC factory chokes (Win) oughta do it.

What think you? Would a Kick's High Flyer be worth getting?

Hunting open water is far different than hunting puddlers in a marsh HOWEVER, the gun you use and your shotshell of choice is no different.

I hunt the Horicon area for puddlers and geese and then hunt Lake Michigan for divers and we get a few Scoters too as well as Old Squaw.

I use a Binelli or a Berreta and use 3" #3 Steel - both guns have a Modified choke for everything and do just fine.

The difference in open water of "Sea Duck" hunting and if youhave a partner we have a rule.

Duck hits the water and head pops up - "Swat" and I mean now! Or you will loose them.
JW

Most of my duck hunting is for sea ducks here in CT on Long Island Sound and in Maine.

For eider & scoter I use 3.5" BB (high velocity) with a IC choke as my Benelli patterns tight. The sea ducks decoy real well and long shots are not the norm.

For targeting oldsquaws I use #2 shot.

Good luck!!

here in northern california we get lots of sea ducks mostly scoters (like my avatar) modified chokes are what works for me but if im out to shoot the tuff sea ducks i up the shells to something a little more dense like heavy shot or the new heavy metal works really good its cheap and leaves no cripples

pattern your gun...with divers/sea ducks you want to put as many pellets (with good energy) in them as possible or you will lose them; a crippled skunkhead can get under water more easily than a mallard with a broken wing in a rice field or farm pond.... and yes, if their head is up keep shooting, fast!!!!

Four of us went to Alaska last year, had a great trip, but two of us had taken the time to check out our patterns with the loads of choice, and the other two used the same choke with those loads that they used to hunt puddlers...the difference in cripples was obvious.... I found my light modified choke worked well, but different guns like different chokes....