duck hunting with a 20
 

Old Geezer,
You will be glad to see that your old 32" 20 ga. is still hunting.

Ditch Jumping again Jeff?... Nice job!





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Very nice. Aren't you supposed to be harvesting crops right now :)

Hey - a guy's gotta have a little fun.





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Rain Day! Darn.

Jeff: It is good to see the 20 back in the field and it has found a good home and good shooting by the way. Thomas

1920 GHE 20 32" Straight grip 0 frame - 1 oz KM #5 yesterday - all morning rain - sun came out after hunt. Craig with his new pup Nelly. She is going to be another great one!! Back at it tomorrow.....

1912 VH 28 ga. 30 inch straight grip F/F - 7/8 oz Bismuth #4 Opening Day - Hard rain. Decoying ducks. All dead on water. Had to try it once. Wont press my luck anytime soon. Glad to be back to the 20 and bigger.

Got to love those long barreled, straight stocked small bores!

Nothing better that a long barreled 20....unless it's a 16:rotf:

20 ga on ducks
 

I like the sound of these guns on ducks. I'm going to try for the first time my 20 DHE 30" steel barrels in Ms on Beaver Dam Lake as a guest in Jan. Question: I bought Kent Bismuth 1 oz. #5 to use on mostly their big ducks like Mallards. My barrels are both Full choke. Is this a good mix???

David -

I have been shooting 20 gauge Kent tungsten Matrix 1 oz number 5 1350 FPS for years. I have used it in both my 0 frame and 1 frame guns.
Recognize, it is a Hot Load. There is risk to your gun. Make sure you have substantial Barrel wall thickness especially in the high-pressure area. Also consider that this load will push the envelope on your wood, and you could experience a crack or worse.

Given those concerns I buy my guns to hunt them. The enjoyment of taking them out into the marsh far exceeds the downside concerns of a crack in the stock. (Barrel wall thickness being crossed off the list of concerns after a thorough check.)

In my opinion the Kent tungsten Matrix is the best product out there. The above mentioned load absolutely crushes ducks! any size, any color,, on any given day!
I have never been afraid to use that load on decoying geese either.

I hope you have a big hunt. Please give us a report when you return. Safety First. Kind regards. Mark

Ok -We are frozen out here in NY so time for another post of hunt gone by.

Last Thursday hunt at Vanderbilt - 5 minutes after shooting time we were late setting up because we had to break ice. Doug was not even loaded when we had a group of 8 travellers come into our blind with minimal calling. I had them dead on the cross, but one more quack and they turned right towards me.... 15 yards out and touching their toes - I had a drake on my front bead when two birds began to cross in flight... I saw the gap shrink, swung to them, and the timing was right. Then I went back to the drake. 3 big fat ones stone dead with 2 shots -

GHE 20 32 inch F/F with Kent matrix 1 oz #5 - and upon inspection, many shots penetrated through these ducks. - I remain a HUGE fan of Kent Matrix.

Right spot, Right time - Thank goodness it went my way. The over and under was at 2 when they turned. Anything less and I would have been inconsolable!

Next stop the elusive Double Double!

I can dream right?

I dunno. I don't like straight thru penetration. Means a lot of energy didn't stay in the game, whether duck or deer. I prefer what I call the "Splat Factor". Nothing is better than a slower moving bunch of soft lead

David……the only way to know for sure how effective a load will be from a given barrel is to shoot paper. I know most people don’t do this but it is the only way to definitively determine which load and shot size works best for a particular gun. The results are sometimes surprising. In general, I have found that large shot patterns are lacking in the 20 bore. This is why I don’t use shot size larger than #6 in a 20. In general, a good shooting full choke 20 bore should be a 45 yard gun with the heavier 1 oz. load. I load 1 oz. 20 bore loads but keep the velocity to about 1200 fps and I only use the 1 oz. load on ducks. I much prefer the 7/8 oz. load for everything else.

I don't consider the 20 bore a duck gun per se. But if used within its limitations and with the proper load, it is a fun gun to take ducks with.

And another for those interested...........

Fresh mallards came into the Bay last week with all the marshes frozen here.
I just bought a TDB 17 foot this fall. Took her out for a maiden hunt voyage of about 1/4 mile to north of my house. Had the young Pup Ellie with me as she was back from training while my daughter was home for Thanksgiving.

It was a great day for a hunt as winds were 25-30 MPH. Not such a great day to test hunt a new boat. Hence my reluctance to go far. So I set up at the first north point. Build a blind with what I had. Some Burlap and an old piece of canvas (painfully unprepared)... threw out 6 blocks and sat down just hoping to get Ellie her first live duck.

Wasn't 20 minutes and 3 flight birds came from the south on final approach. I let the first one come all the way in and crushed him at 15 feet - then swung for his twin brother and dropped him 20 yards out front. Ellie was out of the boat and into the reeds for the first bird before I could blink. Back she came while I watched the second flounder out front and fumbled for my camera. I sent her for the second but she needed a little coaxing until she saw the movement. Then off to the races for the second. I was beaming proud - My first ducks for the new pup! and a double on drakes to boot!

Finished off my limit within the hour and headed in for a fire and a bourbon. It has been quite a couple weeks for me and my 20 gauge 32".

I have been smiling a lot lately. I will take them as they come. Best time of the year!

Amen brother. Great job with the new pup and the smallbore.:bowdown:

Mark, after reading your latest post and looking at the pictures, I had to take another Norvasc. I was anchored here at home all last week after my wife invited her whole extended family to our house for Thanksgiving week - 9 people! (Her sister and Bro IL live in Spencerport NY).

Our duck season first half closed the day after Thanksgiving and opens up again on Dec. 12, at which time I will disappear for a week to the Eastern Shore of MD. We've had cold weather but no ice so far, and it sounds like your recent influx of birds may push some more down our way. I sure hope so!

Kevin -

Ugh! Your time is coming my Friend!!! Get em!

Living vicariously through my friends and fellow hunters on days I cannot get out is one of my favorite parts of this site! I hope my stories bring hope to those trapped inside - As others stories do for me!

We are wishing for this weeks thaw to get us back in the marshes. I pulled my TDB to get a blind set up built in case we can't - and have my best man on it right now.

More to come I hope!! I am rooting for you come the 12th!!! We will be shut down then. Our Roles reversed. Please post some pics for me. I will have "The Fever" BAD!!! by then :rotf::rotf::rotf:

Mark -

You all shooting 2-3/4' or 3" out of your 20/32's?

Jay -

I shoot a 2 3/4" 1 oz load in my 0 frame.

I have shot a 3" 1 1/8 oz load through my 1 frame (widgeon gun) but I have only ever hunted that gun twice and only shot 4 3" shells through it (the balance being 2 3/4's on those two hunts). I have subsequently turned over the balance of that case of 3" 20's to Rick L. to reload into 10 bore duck loads which I hope to introduce to some greenheads in the not to distant future!

In my opinion 2 3/4" 1 oz. 5's of Kent matrix is all that is needed.

Mark

Thank you Mark. My VHE 20/32 is a 1-frame with original 3" chambers (typical "wigeon" configuration) so I thought I would ask. I have never been impressed by 20g, 3" ammo.

Have you ever shot Bismuth and if so why do you prefer TM over Bis?

Jay

Jay -

Absolutely The Tungsten Matrix. Not even close in my experience. I would take that load over any other in the 20 bore. The only load I have had similar success with was the original Hevi shot from 15 years ago and we of course cannot use that in our Parkers.

It will cost more but is worth the extra $$$.

Mark

Last hunt with 20/32 for the season. Moving to the 16/30 1 1/2 frame.

These were circling to land ducks over cut corn. We certainly had the advantage. I made a couple nice long ones on ducks trying to get away after others shot:rotf: - then finished off by missing a crossing layup at 20 yards!:banghead::cuss:

Great season with this little gun. Certainly not the highest condition or grade in my small collection but quickly moving up the ranks as my favorite.

Nice!

that 20 is a duck gun for sure....charlie

Ok - My Bad. - I pushed it tooooo far. Ugh!
I knew it was a mistake. I made the decision to move up to a bigger gun for the later ducks ..... and then I grabbed the 20 again......:banghead:

These fat red legs fresh down from near the top of the world are really tough for 1 oz. #5 shot in a marsh like ours, with numerous escape routes and no dog. I killed most but I lost two birds I had down and considered dead. If we had a dog I am sure we would have had both but we didn't, and I know better. A lesson I will not soon forget.

Craig and I had a 3 day run surrounded by Ice - I Hunted my new to me 3 frame DHE (Thanks again Mr. Swanson!) on day 3 with TM 1 1/4 #3 bone breakers - much better results.

A nice double by each of us. Although.... Craig's was a thing of beauty I will remember for a very long time:bowdown:!

Counting down days till second set Dec. 26.

Me with Mallards on day 1
Craig's Superfox day 2 - Mallards and Blacks
Forgot to take pics on Day 3 -

I enjoy your duck hunting stories and pics Mark! Keep them coming!

What Mark does not mention is our day two hunt. We had 8 birds down but without a dog to pick them up we broke down our boat blind to collect what we thought was a limit of mallards, 4 hens and 4 drakes. What we discovered after motoring around the ice covered pothole was instead of 4 hen mallards we had 1 hen mallards and three blacks. Mark looks at me and says should we set up again I said dam right!! We no sooner got set up and I had two more drake mallards on the water. So we were short one black and it was Mark's turn to shoot. No sooner than I said it's your shot a big drake black duck comes screaming in over our decoys left to right. I am positioned behind Mark and I see him swing on the black with his 32" 20ga straight grip G and crush the bird. Unfortunately we lost the last drake mallard but a high five hunt we will recall for years. God I love duck hunting!!

Nice!!!

While it is the 12 ga. time of the season for duck hunting, I hope that
my new to me ghe 20 with 32" barrels gets here before the second season starts.
i hope to use it one day this year.

Jeff, have we seen pictures of that GHE?





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Rock Island auction

It's not a Parker but the next best thing.
A couple of fat Maryland Canadas with the 20 Sterlingworth.

It was a beautiful day in Saint Michaels Maryland. It had poured rain for two days over the weekend and Monday was greeted with balmy, clear skies and 50 degrees so not much was expected as far as bird movement.
I was'nt wrong. Nothing flew until 9:30 and when they did they were sky high and headed out to open water. It was'nt until 10:30 or so that three peeled off a large group and pitched in to about 100 stuffers. One of our group has taken the world championship goose calling contest 3 years in a row at the Easton Waterfowl festival and he just sweet talked them in range. That was the hard part. Dropping them at 30yds. was the easy part.
I had wanted for a while to limit out with a 20ga. and today presented the perfect opportunity. As late as yesterday afternoon I located a box of 20ga. Bismuth, 1oz. #5's so the gig was on. I just love this Sterly and it did not let me down.

Daryl, I am jealous of your hunt last Monday. I was in Annapolis with my wife visiting my in-laws last weekend (my Father in Law is a Naval Academy Grad, class of '59) and flew home Tuesday. Rain, rain, rain until Monday when as you say it broke. Have been to Saint Michael' s several times for lunch. Wish I was there hunting with you:)

Steve,
Please call next time you're in town. If not a hunt or shoot, we could at least have lunch.

St. Michaels is a beautiful area, My dog trainer for years was across the bridge on Tilghman Island.

Will do:)

It was the Crab Claw restaurant:)

Yep, that's a good one to chow down after a day in the blind.