Duck hunting shotgun question...

[roverandbrew]

Maybe you need a better place to hunt? Effective range doesn’t change just because it’s late season and birds are more difficult to decoy. With good shells you can kill birds efficiently out to 40 yards and beyond, not only in 12 gauge but 20 guage. I typically limit 28 gauge shots to 35 yards or less and birds die just as dead as when shot with a 12.

I will stand by what I said about for the average person using 2 3/4" shells on late season geese. While good shells help, I personally would recommend a client to not use 20 or 28 gauge unless we are bringing them in low over a lay out or pit. I have seen way too many birds absorb shot and keep flying.

 

[Hornedfrogbbq]

You have really good answers in this thread. The gun camo or wood or synthetic black won't matter. The minute you move any of them (or yourself) assume the ducks see it.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

Most of the Left Handed shotguns off the shelf I saw have been Camo; including Beretta, Benelli, Winchester, Browning. Not to say you won’t find a Left Handed black Beretta A400 Extreme Plus or can’t order it.

To each their own…

 

[Altitude sickness]

Rover, I think a great shot using a 20 or 28 that limits shots to close head shots only will be ok. And pass on those exiting, going away tail shots.

Also there can be wounded birds that either dive or run. If everyone is carrying a 28gauge who is shooting those wounded birds at longer range?

Birds with the wings folded while swimming or running have a lot more armor than when the wings are extended.

How many would be using a 28 Ga without a 12 Ga backing them for the cripples? Dogs can get dangerously exhausted swimming bigger water for wounded diving birds.

 

[Firebird]

Funny how many different opinions there are on this thread and they all seem to be correct. I disagree with most of them but that’s just one more correct opinion isn’t it. . .

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Rover, I think a great shot using a 20 or 28 that limits shots to close head shots only will be ok. And pass on those exiting, going away tail shots.

Also there can be wounded birds that either dive or run. If everyone is carrying a 28gauge who is shooting those wounded birds at longer range?

Birds with the wings folded while swimming or running have a lot more armor than when the wings are extended.

How many would be using a 28 Ga without a 12 Ga backing them for the cripples? Dogs can get dangerously exhausted swimming bigger water for wounded diving birds.

I'm a better than average wing shooter and I do not claim to have enough skill to definitively hit a goose on the wing in the head at 40-50 yards. Or even half that range. As to shooting at geese with a 410 or 28 gauge, that is foolishness. Should be criminal. Like hunting Cape buffalo with a 30-06. Sure, a goose won't kill you if it's wounded (though I've experienced a few who tried!), but they still deserve the same respect.

I know guys who foolishly hunt out of layout blinds with 3.5" twelve gauge. And they regularly turn geese into a cloud of feather confetti. And laugh about it (many videos online). 2.75" is sufficient for that kind of hunting. Often the shots are very close. Personally, I can't stand layout blinds. Hate shooting off my butt and they are VERY cold. I just don't need to shoot geese that badly. Fortunately, here the farmers are all into dairy. Their crop fields are typically small with adjacent brushy fence lines or timber. I use cover on the edge of the field and set the decoys out at least 55 yards (geese won't come any closer). Several fields are usually available so I can utilize the wind. Hide downwind of the decoys and the birds have to come into them over me. Pass shooting is more fun than blasting them point blank from a layout in the middle of the spread. Shots are not close but I regularly shoot triples or limit in as many shots. There's also a few brushy sloughs I can jumpshoot with the dogs. Very hard work and lots of stalking through terrible stuff. If more jump shooting was available, my decoys would go to the Salvation Army bin. I love it!

 

[Arty0802]

I don't know if this has already been mentioned, but another (and in my opinion, very important) aspect of the camo coating on waterfowl shotguns is that it helps them mitigate damage from water, etc. I have a Stoeger M3000 which is very inexpensive but punches above its weight in my experience. Fully coated from butt to muzzle, and cleanup is a breeze if it gets wet, muddy, bloody, etc. I also have a Benelli SBE3 which has a Cerakote-type (might actually BE Cerakote, I'm not sure) coating on the metal which serves the same purpose.

If you want to buy-once-cry-once.... get a Benelli. You'll be happy you did.

 

[jeanes]

This is an interesting thread so I'll chime in with my two cents worth. In my VERY limited experience hunting waterfowl gun cammo makes no difference. I use a black synthetic Benelli ( Nova), my hunting partner uses an older Auto 5, blued & wood. We manage to kill ducks. We do, however, cammoflage ourselves. My advice, buy whichever gun suits your fancy.

 

[coreydb]

Shotgun selection is personal preference, just no shiny surface. Camo is just a marketing gimmick, and I do love my camo.

 

[DLSJR]

I will stand by what I said about for the average person using 2 3/4" shells on late season geese. While good shells help, I personally would recommend a client to not use 20 or 28 gauge unless we are bringing them in low over a lay out or pit. I have seen way too many birds absorb shot and keep flying.

We typically hunt honkers from very well concealed pit blinds with excellent decoys and calling. That’s why I can shoot honkers with 20 or 28 gauge guns. Most shots are 15-25 yards.

 

[HankBuck]

A couple of weeks ago I was in ND for pheasant hunting. After filling my limit in the morning (3/day), I went duck and goose hunting and really enjoyed it.

I borrowed a semi-shotgun for the duck hunting. I really enjoyed it, so decided to get my own lefty shotgun for the future. Based on an earlier post here and my own research I decided on a lefty Beretta A400 Extreme Plus.

Question for those that have a lot of experience, does the camo pattern really matter for ducks? I am leaning towards no camo.

@Tanks - I think the Camo pattern is completely irrelevant and unnecessary, it has become “fashionable” over the past 25 years…. Ducks/Geese never flare because a gun is Not camo: keeping your gun “still” and not waving the barrel around like a FlagPole - until ready to shoulder & fire is what’s important (being a good Wing Shot also helpful). Anyone that has waterfowl hunted before the 1990s never even thought about a “Camo gun” but now some seem to agonize over it, remember Market Hunters in the early 1900s almost wiped out our Waterfowl population WITHOUT camo guns or Camo clothing and they made-a-living-at-it !! That’s my opinion and here’s why:
1). I grew up duck hunting in the 1970s, waterfowl hunted 30+ days a year from 1970s to 2010 (except years where season was cut to 30 Day Season).
2). For a few years had a small side business as a Waterfowl Guide in the early 2000s.
3). I never even wore a camo jacket or hat until the 1990s - when I could no longer find much quality NON Camo clothing….confession —- I do now like the camo jackets. 2nd confession: I now own & shoot a camo Benelli SBE LH 12ga but only because I hated the “flat black” finish versions and couldn’t get gloss bluing & wood stock in LH.
Another thing I do like about camo shotguns - they are so Ugly that I don’t care if they get scratched or fall against the boat, get salt water on them etc.. I have oars in the boat that look nicer….
Buy the gun YOU Like - buy the gun that you shoot well and will reliably cycle in rain, snow, cold weather (Benelli is proven), the older Beretta 300 models jammed a lot in cold wet weather but the 400 model is much better. Enjoy your waterfowl hunting - I always did. (How could anyone Not like being out on the water, in a boat, with a dog —— shooting ducks & geese !!)

 

[Katy Darren]

Another AH subject and debate that doesn’t disappoint! Great site.

I’m glad so many know why ducks flare or don’t come in, I need to hunt with them. One of the great things about duck hunting is you have to do everything right, decoy spread, blind, cover, call, no movement, etc to have ducks circle many times and still come in. I sure haven’t ruled out anything as the reason ducks don’t come in. I’m not that smart and they don’t tell me.

That said my duck killing machine for 36 years was an 11-87 that recently retired itself. And never failed in the field by the way and I wasn’t always as diligent as I shoulda been in cleaning it. Especially since we hunted brackish water many times (it was born and hunted in Kansas incl a -20 deg (-60 wind chill) Canada Goose hunt, then hunted in Tx from ‘92 on). So you might think I’m in the camp of camo doesn’t matter on a gun. We killed a lot of ducks…and had a lot of ducks flare or not come in. And there were times I had to sit outside a blind with Ellie the Chocolate Huntress where I’d find myself covering the shiny barrel / receiver with my camoed arm. Did it matter? I don’t know.

When ol reliable retired itself I went with the camo Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus. I haven’t hunted with it yet but do know it won’t be the reason ducks flare next time they do. One more variable removed.

 

[Wiley64]

I’ve seen people lose their shotguns on two occasions dude to them being camo. If you lay a camo shotgun on a Levi it disappears. I don’t feel like it is necessary and would only buy black.

 

[BeeMaa]

I’ve seen people lose their shotguns on two occasions dude to them being camo. If you lay a camo shotgun on a Levi it disappears. I don’t feel like it is necessary and would only buy black.

I don’t have a camo knife for this reason, but I can’t imagine actually loosing a shotgun after setting it down. Are you saying that they never recovered or simply had a hard time locating them?

 

[Altitude sickness]

I put a small piece of reflective tape on Backpack buckles, range finders, some knives, I’ve set too many things down during a final stalk. Only to come back after dark to find everything looks the same.

I just read an article that ducks and geese see the same colors as humans. But in more contrast. Their vision includes a fourth type of cone that is sensitive to ultraviolet light, giving them a tetrachromatic color vision that is richer than human trichromatic vision.

Some guys go as far as to shine UV lights on gear and blinds to see what the flaring duck or goose saw that he didn’t like.

It’s obvious that some birds come in more easily than others.

 

[roverandbrew]

We typically hunt honkers from very well concealed pit blinds with excellent decoys and calling. That’s why I can shoot honkers with 20 or 28 gauge guns. Most shots are 15-25 yards.

View attachment 726477

That is a great picture and 15-25 yards is a great time. My comment was geared towards working a few hundred to a couple thousand snows or Canadians late season who have a bit of anxiety from being shot at so many times on their flight south. In your case I agree with you on what can easily be used at that distance.

 

[roverandbrew]

While not scientific just an observation. My camo SBE 2 seems a bit more weather resistant when it comes to corrosion than my brothers blue steel and wood semi. Being on the bay is not good for any metal.

 

[Rubberhead]

Tundra swan with a .410... this is a old digitized video from an old analog video through a cheap video camera but here's a single shot .410 killing a 17 lb tundra swan dead-in-the-air...

[media]

 

[mdwest]

I don’t have a camo knife for this reason, but I can’t imagine actually loosing a shotgun after setting it down. Are you saying that they never recovered or simply had a hard time locating them?

I started putting blaze orange or other bright color liners on knives I make for exactly this reason.. I’ve spent way too much time looking for a knife I just put down “somewhere”…

Also started using orange paracord for knife lanyards

 

[Dirtdart]

Tough birds. I couldn't believe how heavy it was either as I had never hunted geese.

It is hard not to laugh when one of those big honkers burns in on top of the blind next to you. I have never seen any real damage other than a few full body decoys severely wounded in action.