Monday, May 16, 2011

What shot size is the best for killing ducks?

Recently we did a blog post on the type of shell that is preferred by most duck hunters hunting in Mississippi. Today we look at the shot size coming out of the shell. This is another of the numerous questions I get from hunters coming in to do a guided hunt at Mossy Island Outfitters. What size shot do I need to shoot? I have always given my opinion on what I shoot. I have always shot BB's down to a 2 shot in the field and 2 shot down to 4 shot in the timber (remember inexperienced hunters the larger the number the smaller the shot). I try not to go lower than these shot sizes, seeing how I could end up just wounding a lot of ducks.  Being a guide, the faster we get out of a duck hole with the limit, the sooner we can hunt that hole with other clients. Another reason to always shoot bigger shot, is while hunting  in the field is the chance of shooting down some geese. There is always a good chance geese are going to fly close enough or decoy in to a field hole you are hunting. So it is smart to have these bigger shot sizes to knock some geese down along with your duck limit.

Again this week I proposed the question of shot size to my group of expert hunters on www.msducks.com and got their opinion. I counted their votes and put them on a pie chart. I hope this group vote from expert Mississippi duck hunters will help you make your next decision on shot size.

So I called on my old pal Jimmy Slater, at Slater's in Indianola, Ms www.slatersjigs.com,  who owns an outdoor store that services a lot of Mississippi Delta duck hunters. He said that most hunters that shop at his store prefer 2 shot more than any other shot size. He said it is versatile to most hunters for the field and then to use also in the timber.I hope this helps hunters deciding what size shot to buy when coming to hunt on a guided duck hunt in Arkansas or Mississippi. Please call us to book you next guided duck hunt at 1-877-699-6677 or check out our website at www.mossyislandoutfitters.com.


Rocky Leflore

http://www.mossyislandoutfitters.com

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I'm new to duck hunting and I was wondering if the best shot size for killing ducks was based on what shot size actually killed the most ducks or what shot size sold the best? I've heard it said by you professionals that 10% of the hunters kill 95% of the ducks. Is this true? Does that 10% shoot #2's also? Does this apply to large groups of hunters from Pennsylvania who have never seen or shot diving ducks before? Thank you so much for your help. I want to learn to shoot ducks one day like they did before the Civil War.

R. Jiones