Anyone hunt ducks with a 10 gauge regularly?
 

I have my eye on a 10ga damascus gun that I am thinking of using for turkey hunting and possibly ducks. I was just curious if anyone uses a 10 bore regularly to hunt ducks or if it'll be too much like a canon to shoot effectively.

I shot nothing but a ten gauge for ducks and geese for about 15 years. Finally, it got too much to carry in the marshes and I sold my ten AYA.

I have used a 10 gauge for ducks with regularity. I have three nice 10 gauge waterfowl guns -- an Ithaca (New Ithaca) Hammer gun, an Ithaca 3.5 inch NID, and a very nice Parker GH. The hammer gun has more open chokes and works best for me (hunting over decoys). The other two are choked very tightly, but really drop birds when I'm on (ok, not often). The bigger issue for me is getting the right shells. My wife likes to kid me that the price per ounce of duck is far higher than caviar when she factors the price of guns, decoys, and shells, etc. Sheesh, it seems like a bargain to me.

I should be getting my Grade 3 top lever Parker back this year from Bachelders (once things settle down there). It also has open chokes and will get a crack at doves with some light loads I'll be cooking up.

Heck yea, get that 10 and have attum!

I noticed RST only makes one type of bismuth shell in 10 ga is that what you typically used? This is a damascus gun so I would assume I need to shoot RST only in it.

I mostly use RST shells, and I have a stash of 1 1/8 oz (which I like better) as well as their 1 1/4. I also have some Bismuth shot in size 4 and load some light versions when I have time.

I've had no problems with the RSTs in any of my Damascus barreled guns (which have decent wall thickness, I might add).

a short ten with weight of around 9 lbs to 9 3/4 makes fo a very good handling turkey or duck gun...buy the rst shells or better yet make your own....do not worry about the damascus barrels if in good shape will do fine...i have shot them for 60 years and most of the shells were factory heavy loads....you will enjoy the ten ga .....charlie

i hunt with a short ten quite often, i have hammer and hamerless (not really- the hammers are just on the inside) - i do not find them too heavy to hunt waterfowl with - although i would not drag one through my woodcock covers

cannon or not depends on how you load it- 1 1/8 for clays or 1 1/4 for birds seems to be light on the recoil -

i reload for them with lead for clays and non tox for hunting- go to the shotshell reloading forum - and download the spread sheet

yes, ducks, geese, crow and turkey. 1 1/8th crow, 1 1/4 oz bismuth for duck and geese to 1 1/2 oz lead for turkey, Ithaca NID 10 with ,040 choke at 9 lbs even and a 2 frame EH Parker with ,025 choke at 8 3/4 lbs
scott

I shoot my 10's on ducks frequently. They are perfectly suited for duck hunting in my opinion, even my beloved Super Foxes are not better than the short 10. Kind of like a 0 frame 16ga is the perfect upland gun never really improved upon. I handload 1 1/4oz of bismuth 5's. If you shoot a short 10 it pays to reload. I own Parkers, Elsies and one new to me Ithaca super ten.

Never killed a duck in my life , but this season I’m hoping to start . And it’ll be with one of several Parker 2 7/8” 10’s . Already have Bismuth #1’s , #2’s and #4’s to load for ducks and or geese .

Craig,

Enjoy your duck hunting...and your 10s! Just curious where in Virginia you might hunt. There are certainly lots of good places. I lived in Virginia (and was born there) for many years.

To be honest I have no idea at the moment . I started on the geese three or four years ago . The duck thing is more because of a Boykin puppy that should arrive the middle of April .

Do it! The short ten is my go-to for ducks. They are my favorite Parkers. Only down side is availability of non-toxic loads. I highly recommend reloading for the short ten. Otherwise, you need to stock up when available from RST (not always available).

-Victor

10's are great for duck guns.

Duck hunting is an addictive pursuit, take it from a recovering duckaholic. Please enjoy responsibly.

Hi guys, pardon me but when you say "short ten" are you referring to barrel length or shell length?

My Parkers have a 2 7/8 inch chamber, which receives what we call “short ten” (2 7/8 inch) shells. If you are looking at a 10 gauge with the more modern 3 1/2 inch chamber, then I have no SxS experience to share. My Browning Gold autoloader softens the blow of those monster shells, but I would think a modern 3 1/2 shell out of a SxS would be pretty jarring. The short ten is so perfect that I have not messed with the modern 3 1/2 inch ten gauge shells in quite a while.

-Victor

My Ithaca nid 3 1/2 will vibrate your teeth with 3 1/2 " shells!

You will find the Short 10 to be very effective on just about anything covered with feathers. For an added thrill get some solid brass shells and load them up with black powder. I worked up a turkey load for my gun. After spending time at the range I felt very confident the patterns would be effective to 50+ yards. This load worked on ducks and geese.

I hear you ! I thought I had a need for an NID 3 1/2” but after messing with a BPS 10 shooting factory 3 1/2” stuff I saw the error of my ways 😂😂😂

Don't knock the NID 3.5 'til you've tried it. :)

Mine is used mostly for fall turkeys, and it makes my arm longer by the end of the season...and leaves my middle finger swollen unless I shoot the back trigger. When I shoot it at turkeys they die, and at ranges I would not attempt with anything else. I only shoot it sparingly, and can't imagine shooting 3.5 inch shells at anything other than turkeys. I have used the Ithaca for ducks loaded with my own light, short loads, and it will reach out an touch a duck...when I luck into leading them correctly (not all that often).

I guess the Ithaca ten 3.5 would be called an niche gun, yes? :rotf:

I’ve killed a fair amount of deer over the last 7 or 8 years using handloaded 2 7/8” Buckshot and slugs . And I had a couple old Ithaca MAG-10 semis and the BPS although I never killed a deer with the BPS or the Ithaca’s . I already have an NID Super 10 that does very well , but I got the idea I needed to be able to shoot 3 1/2” from a double also , hopefully I’m past that but I often have flashbacks . 😂😂😂

OK, seriously...you're hooked. I can tell. Yes, you DO need another gun! and you do need to shoot 3.5" shells through a double. :)

P.S. I sure wish we could shoot buckshot at deer here in Missouri. One of the many things I miss from growing up in Virginia.:crying:

Wouldn't matter what state I were in :whistle:

Funny thing I'm 56 and have hunted VA for 50 seasons but I NEVER used buckshot until I started loading for my 10 gauge accumulation .

But the way I do it isn't exactly the text book way .

I go up my tree and when settled in I'll have a rifle of some type hanging on the side the tree and a double of some sort across my climber . The shotgun be it with buck or slugs is used more like archery IE: I don't shoot if the deer isn't inside 25 yards .

I recently acquired an Parker EH with factory original 28" barrels . I suspect before I ever get an NID MAG 10 I'll defer to a factory original EH in 26" or 24" .

Funny you should write this. I hope the statute of limitations is out...my first Missouri buck was on public land in an area with a shotgun only rule (slugs are the only legal ammo for shotguns, but I did not know this at the time). I took my old H&R 36" single shot out on the last morning of our 9-day season. I had the place to myself. I climbed up in someone's wooden stand (illegal now since it used nails). At daylight a nice buck came in and I shot him with buckshot -- left handed (I'm a righty, but he came in from the right). He dropped with multiple holes in his side. I took him to the check station and the agent checked him over (noting the multiple wounds in the deer's side). For some reason I did not say anything about shooting the deer with buckshot, even though I thought it was quite the accomplishment at the time. It was after checking the deer that I discovered I was illegal.

We bird hunt during the deer season sometimes. I have had the dogs point deer with some frequency (and turkeys). Every time I walk in to flush and a deer gets up, I wish I could have the left barrel loaded with buckshot. I would have taken some really large deer that way.

I like your two gun deer method, though. Especially getting to shoot one with a nice, old double.

I feel ya on that point. Have a BPS 12 gauge setup for a turkey gun with built in sights on the barrel that can shoot 3.5 inch shells. It is lightweight with a 26 inch barrel for a 12 gauge gun. I am not certain if felt recoil on same setup on 10 gauge is more than the 12. Weight of 10 gauge gun might offset the extra charge and load that 12 may offer, but betting that 10 probably does kick like an angrier whipped mule than equivalent 12. Either way remember vividly patterning my gun one afternoon to figure out which shot size would give me best patterns at 50+ yards with choke I was using, and that was 10 years ago.

I know these 10 gauge SXS guns generally are pretty heavy guns to offset recoil shooting a 3.5 inch shell but still there is no comfort of recoil reduction.

Was reading last night about Jerry's use of of 9 shot tungsten and lighter loads effectiveness at 50+ yards, may need to rethink this whole 3.5 inch heavy load big charge notion to get those longer shots.

i shoot rst bismuth in my short 10 all the time, as long as the birds are over the decoys it kills just fine i’ve even taken cranes swans and big geese with bismuth B shot

The 10 bore handles 1 ¼ oz. of shot better than the 12 bore. The 10 bore makes a great waterfowl gun and it patterns larger shot better than most 12 bores. I don’t shoot larger than #4 in a 12 except when I could get #3’ back in the day for geese. I never owned a 12 that patterned 2’s worth a damn. The 10 might do ok with them, but since I don’t use 2’s for waterfowl there is no need to pattern one of my 10’s with them. I would suggest that if one wants to use larger than #4 shot in a 12 bore that they take some shots at paper and see what the patterns look like. You might be unpleasantly surprised. I used to do a lot of pattern work with my guns and know the shot size limitations, for optimum performance, for the different gauges.

Back in the day, I used to kill deer in a thick swamp with buckshot. Patterns were awful with 00 buck but I found that I could get decent 40 yard patterns with #1 buck, but only if I melted wax around the shot. That worked pretty well. I wish I had a 10 bore back in those days for buckshot.

Amen to bismuth! 7 for ducks and 5 for the big boys. Case price just go 5's

short 10
 

Rio has a new load out for 2 3/4 in 12 gauge in # 6 bismuth works really well for ducks i buy custom loads for crane and bid honkers with #B in bismuth in 2 7/8 inch for my short 10 there is a new non toxic shot out called NICE shot that is a little denser than bismuth but soft enough for old doubles i may try some this year

To answer the original poster's question, yes. The short ten's seem to work pretty good :-)

http://i449.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps6182569f.jpg Ithaca magnum 10 great for Geese and larger. Nid super 10 is great on almost anything

Here is my NH 10 with some wood ducks

yep them old short ten s will make do for ducks and such...and they handle really well...and they just pattern better than most 12 s....charlie

I have shot early morning teal, mid day mallards, geese, you name it, with my AYA Matador Lightweight ten with steel for many years. I carried it through the Dorchester County, Maryland marshes and relaxed in the blinds in the afternoon with the same gun. I carried nothing else for years, until I couldn't carry it any more. I owned a bunch of Parkers during the same time period, but didn't want to get them wet. HA HA. The AYA performed to an excellent degree, and made some 90 yard pickups when called for.

I HAVE USED MY SCOTT EXCELLENTIA 10 GA A LOT. I LOAD 23-24 GR GREEN dOT AND 1 1/4 OZ SHOT AND IT WORKS GREAT