# BB BBB or T shot



## coyote sniper

What size shot is the best ALL AROUND canada goose hunting? Using a 3.5 inch with 1 1/2 oz to 1 9/16 oz loads.


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## Buck25

i never shoot anything bigger then BB and I only shoot 3's


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## Chuck Smith

Depends.... Are you decoying and at what distances you planning to shoot.

I mainly use 2's. But have used BB's.


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## coyote sniper

they will be used over decoys occasionally and some pass shooting so ranges will vary from 20 yrds to probly 60yrds I am thinking of buying a case thats why I asked all around not just one situation. I usually use BB's and have what I consider good luck but was just curious what others are using.


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## the professor

2's and 1's for decoying birds, BB or tungsten for pass shooting or late season town birds.


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## HugeBurrito2k6

60 yards! Some people are retarded...plain and simple.


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## FoldEmXtreme

Buck25 said:


> i never shoot anything bigger then BB and I only shoot 3's


+1 this shot is great for giants to snows


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## Duckslayer100

I shot almost exclusively 3-inch No. 2s last year from early season honkers until freeze up. Good for ducks and geese.


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## coyote sniper

HugeBurrito2k6 said:


> 60 yards! Some people are retarded...plain and simple.


 wa wa wa always gotta be some crybaby that thinks he is better than everybody else because he doesn't take longer shots (Or so they claim)!!  either answer the question or keep your opinion to yourself!!!


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## EllendaleND

Duckslayer100 said:


> I shot almost exclusively 3-inch No. 2s last year from early season honkers until freeze up. Good for ducks and geese.


Yup, 2s all the way man


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## CrazyWalsh81

I'll shoot BB's if I'm only hunting Geese (early and Late Season, or filled ducks already) I do like 2's for all around and 4's in a duck hole where I'm thinking no geese are coming in. Anything over BB isn't need and I think just go slower and will bounce off at alittle distance. 
Pattern your gun with all new loads and buy a box before investing in a case.


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## Finlander

Shoot'em where the corn goes in with 2's with improved cylinder choke when there over decoys! When there not committing all the way and hanging up at 30 yards, then go to BB's and BBB's thru a modified choke! :thumb:


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## HugeBurrito2k6

coyote sniper said:


> HugeBurrito2k6 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 60 yards! Some people are retarded...plain and simple.
> 
> 
> 
> wa wa wa always gotta be some crybaby that thinks he is better than everybody else because he doesn't take longer shots (Or so they claim)!!  either answer the question or keep your opinion to yourself!!!
Click to expand...

I think you should use buck shot... :withstupid: :thumb:


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## Beavis

Hey HUGE BURRITO....we should suggest to shoot the new SPEED BALL!!!!! i mean you dont even need to shoulder your gun. hevi shot staffers has talked it up so much that all you have to do is look at the goose and it dies :beer: :thumb: :rock:


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## Gunny

I'm going with this new, never before seen killin' machine...

I just need to have someone be the sucker... i mean "guy" up front...










Any takers...? :lol:


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## Gunny

Also, what size shot should I use for killing doves?


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## Chuck Smith

60 yards on giants..... is a long shot with # 2's if you don't have the right choke tube.

Like mentioned before.... pattern your gun before buying a case. Buy a box of both the 2's and bb's. Go out and pattern your gun with different choke tubes....mod, imprv cy., or if you have an aftermarket. Draw a 30 inch Circle with an aiming point in center. Shoot three times at each distance.... 30, 40, 50, and if you think 60 yards. Then count pellet density for each of the bb's and 2's. See what works best and go from there. Every gun, choke, and hunter are different.

Good Luck.


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## 870 XPRS

Gunny said:


> Also, what size shot should I use for killing doves?


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## Gunny

Is it copper cladded?


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## 870 XPRS

No....just copper clad


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## Gunny

With out "ded" you cant get dead... :lol:


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## HugeBurrito2k6

I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT THE SPEEDBALL ROUND!!!! In my expert opinion if you are going to go for those 60 yard hail mary shots nothing will be the lethality of the speedball round it has copper cladded pellets and hevi shot. With the right choke tube it is lethal out to 130 yards. Sure it is a couple dollars more but with that added range it is hard to beat


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## Buck25

I use T's when i'm busting roosts in north dakota


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## kingcanada

Getting some good entertainment here, but back to the gentleman's original query. Having shot a very respectable number of geese over the years with everything from 28 ga. to 10 ga. weaponry, I feel that with a 3 1/2" 12 ga. I can make a sound recommendation. I had/ have the best day in day out performance with 1 9/16oz. charges of #1 steel. Second choice would be size BB. With an open choke over the decoys, #2 makes a broad "curtain of death" indeed. I had high crippling losses with size T shot, even with a 10 ga. My 10 does handle BBB's very well for giants, MY 12's do not. Size 1 steel is an honest 55-60 yard shot pellet for geese. This is all most folks need unless they are PROFICIENT pass shooters. I say proficient for a reason. When I used to do a good amount of pass gunning for snow geese, nothing was more aggravating than some guy down the line who banged away at everything while having no clue about range or making the shot. That was true "sky busting". I am sure someone may call me a ****** for shooting at truly long ranges, but when I do, I pick the gun and load that I have tested for the purpose. I know the gun's limits and mine. My limits are subject to change. If I am having a rough day, I cut back. Most of the time I shoot my geese over decoys with a 20ga. and #2 steel and have my 10 ga. as a backup plan.
I still use my 12 ga. with #1's quite often. If BB is all you can get, buy them with confidence.


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## Gunny

_"Getting some good entertainment here, but back to the gentleman's original query"_

Sorry, my bad.

I also like #1's. However Double B's work good too.

Gunny


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## coyote sniper

HugeBurrito2k6 said:


> I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT THE SPEEDBALL ROUND!!!! In my expert opinion if you are going to go for those 60 yard hail mary shots nothing will be the lethality of the speedball round it has copper cladded pellets and hevi shot. With the right choke tube it is lethal out to 130 yards. Sure it is a couple dollars more but with that added range it is hard to beat


Might be a hail mary for anything but a benelli!!


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## Plainsman

> I am sure someone may call me a stupid for shooting at truly long ranges


  I don't do that much shotgunning, but years ago I busted some cranes a long way up.

When laser rangfinders came out it sure was educational. I once had a fellow tell me he would never shoot beyond 40 yards. He wasn't that far away at the time and even allowing for the difference in angle he was shooting out to 80 yards and beyond and didn't know it. 
While working as a biologist I collected cranes. I needed to kill about 200 per year for I think it was three years. This was back in the early 1980's. I settled on copper clad #4. The big stuff didn't penetrate well, but going smaller for some reason did a better job. I don't know if it was penetration, pattern, etc, but it worked better. I used shotgun and rifle. Mostly rifle actually.


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## kingcanada

Some guys always seem to pull the short straw...bet you really hated having to shoot cranes for a paycheck! :lol: Somehow I am not surprised about the rifle either!


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## Plainsman

kingcanada said:


> Some guys always seem to pull the short straw...bet you really hated having to shoot cranes for a paycheck! :lol: Somehow I am not surprised about the rifle either!


Ya, I thought it was the greatest thing in the world --------- for a week. Then laying in the snow, away from home for six weeks, waiting to pick out a crane that was eating, then have to watch him for three hours before I can shoot him. It wasn't so bad when it was zero degrees as when it was near melting. No gortex back then and I would frost the front of my legs laying prone for six to eight hours. Then it was back to measure, dissect, weigh. We worked from 5:00 am to 8:00pm, Feb 15 to April 1 some years April 15. Tough not being home with the wife and kids for six to eight weeks. Still, it beat the heck out of many jobs. 
I used a heavy barrel Remington in 222. I was missing 80% of my cranes beyond 200 yards until the guys in the basement at Hornady loaded 200 rounds for me. Then I went 14 in a row. I also found that the Redfield scope was screwed very high to get sighted in. When I put the cap back on I was hitting the turret and turning it back down. Redfields make good hammers. I wanted Leupold, but you know how supervisors are.  
I collected a few in the fall with a shotgun. They were getting out of dodge because of cold was the reason I dumped so many in one night. At that time I didn't need to dissect and identify food items I only needed then so they could be chemically digested to determine lipid content.


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## kingcanada

I understand completely, almost went into the same line of work. I had my foot in the door right out of high school, but lost interest in working for the department.


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## BirdJ

Duckslayer100 said:


> I shot almost exclusively 3-inch No. 2s last year from early season honkers until freeze up. Good for ducks and geese.


Also agree! A friend of mine got me hooked on using 2s about 3 years ago and never looked back! Winchester Supreme's, great knock down power!!!! :thumb:


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## templey_41

Plainsman said:


> The big stuff didn't penetrate well, but going smaller for some reason did a better job. I don't know if it was penetration.


That's not what your mom said last night!


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## Plainsman

templey_41 said:


> Plainsman said:
> 
> 
> 
> The big stuff didn't penetrate well, but going smaller for some reason did a better job. I don't know if it was penetration.
> 
> 
> 
> That's not what your mom said last night!
Click to expand...

That may be sickly humorous if my mother had not died years ago.


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## kingcanada

The big stuff has plenty of penetration, just not much pattern. T's gave way too many 1-2 pellet strike cripples. Often times the pellets were not in the prime kill zone. Very often. Dropping back to size BB gave amazingly consistent results with 4-5 strikes minimum. Still does. This was/is in 10 ga. guns. I get the same consistency using size 1's in the 12 ga.


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## Plainsman

kingcanada what you say makes a lot of sense. I have never seen 7 1/2 shot in 3 inch mag. Not back in the 80's when I did a little more shotgunning anyway. So I loaded my own 1 7/8 ounce. A partridge at 60 yards could not make it though that pattern. I killed grouse further than I could believe. A friend of mine who shoots a lot of blackpowder shotgun always quotes an old English proverb:  "little powder much lead shoots far kills dead".


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## teamflightstoppersND

T shot has put holes in the geese I shoot. From early season to late season snow hunts, T shot has put the hurt on geese. We do not shoot many cripples but have experienced a few heart shots that dropped birds out 200 yards or so. T shot penetrates the fatty late season geese wherever you hit it. If you use BB you better be hoping for a head shot.


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## HugeBurrito2k6

teamflightstoppersND said:


> We do not shoot many cripples but have experienced a few heart shots that dropped birds out 200 yards or so. .


Oh yeah brotha tell me about it. I got my hands on some custom SPEEDBALL "U" shot which is just alittle bigger than the "T" shot and all i can say is wow. I had such good range with my mossberg i had to mount a 4x12 power scope just for those 400 yard heart shots as well. I really like to dial in that kill shot. Last year my buddy gill shot a coot from 525 yards away right in the face :thumb: I guess all i can say is if you want to be a cream of the crop waterfowler you need 3 vital things. SPEEDBALL AMMO, Nice scope for those tricky 400 yard shots and lastly a good retrieving dog that can handle those 300 yard retrieves.


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## teamflightstoppersND

HugeBurrito2k6 said:


> teamflightstoppersND said:
> 
> 
> 
> We do not shoot many cripples but have experienced a few heart shots that dropped birds out 200 yards or so. .
> 
> 
> 
> Oh yeah brotha tell me about it. I got my hands on some custom SPEEDBALL "U" shot which is just alittle bigger than the "T" shot and all i can say is wow. I had such good range with my mossberg i had to mount a 4x12 power scope just for those 400 yard heart shots as well. I really like to dial in that kill shot. Last year my buddy gill shot a coot from 525 yards away right in the face :thumb: I guess all i can say is if you want to be a cream of the crop waterfowler you need 3 vital things. SPEEDBALL AMMO, Nice scope for those tricky 400 yard shots and lastly a good retrieving dog that can handle those 300 yard retrieves.
Click to expand...

Haha funny. Obviously I was not shooting geese at 200 yards, they just happen to die and fall from the sky 200 yards away. C'mon man!


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## Finlander

teamflightstoppersND, looked like you opened up a can of worms! Oh well, I have seen people shooting ducks and geese what seemed like 100 yards up, but when you finally hear the shot from the distance it seems like they were, only to realize they were in range and it took a while for the sound of the guns to get to where we were at!
People will jump to the conclusions quick when they can. Oh well, I used to shoot F shot but I find I get more killed birds with Black Cloud Snow Goose BB loads @ 1635fps. Either you smack'em dead or clean miss with that load! :bop:


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## Plainsman

Like I said take a laser rangefinder along hunting. Some people shoot to 60 yards and think they never shoot beyond 40 yards, while others shoot to 60 yards and think they are killing geese at 100 yards. It's all a guess, but a range finder will help a shotgunner be a better hunter if you use it only for a few hunts. People will bicker for years only to find out they are all shooting the same distance.


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## theqmaster

kingcanada said:


> Getting some good entertainment here, but back to the gentleman's original query. Having shot a very respectable number of geese over the years with everything from 28 ga. to 10 ga. weaponry, I feel that with a 3 1/2" 12 ga. I can make a sound recommendation. I had/ have the best day in day out performance with 1 9/16oz. charges of #1 steel. Second choice would be size BB. With an open choke over the decoys, #2 makes a broad "curtain of death" indeed. I had high crippling losses with size T shot, even with a 10 ga. My 10 does handle BBB's very well for giants, MY 12's do not. Size 1 steel is an honest 55-60 yard shot pellet for geese. This is all most folks need unless they are PROFICIENT pass shooters. I say proficient for a reason. When I used to do a good amount of pass gunning for snow geese, nothing was more aggravating than some guy down the line who banged away at everything while having no clue about range or making the shot. That was true "sky busting". I am sure someone may call me a stupid for shooting at truly long ranges, but when I do, I pick the gun and load that I have tested for the purpose. I know the gun's limits and mine. My limits are subject to change. If I am having a rough day, I cut back. Most of the time I shoot my geese over decoys with a 20ga. and #2 steel and have my 10 ga. as a backup plan.
> I still use my 12 ga. with #1's quite often. If BB is all you can get, buy them with confidence.


I know this is an old thread. @KingCanada what's your recommended lead at longer shots 60+yards ? Any tips of pass-shooting. Can you please share that info. Also what's the shooting technique, longer shots no longer require instictive shooting like skeet but rather aiming and taking time to pull the trigger. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. I am thinking to add a red dot on my shotgun - just to accomodate these longer shots.


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## aplon150

Hopefully that question is a joke. Maybe try a .270 oke:

Since I don't think it is, here we go...
Trying to shoot birds at 60, 70, 80 yards is ineffective and wasteful. Can you kill birds at those distances? Sure, but the number of birds that take a few pellets and fly away increases with distance making these shots unethical. It happens occasionally at 30-40 yards and as patterns open up and pellets slow down nothing but a head shot or a broken wing will bring a bird down. Being behind the bird is easy to do, especially at long range, and much like a gut shot deer these birds will keep flying and bleed out over time. This isn't a "if you don't have 1000 decoys and a big trailer you can't goose hunt" rant, I have no problem with pass shooting geese within range. That said, if you are shooting at birds 60+ yards either find a new spot where you can get closer, or wait for a foggy/snowy/windy day when the birds fly lower.


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## Wulffhunter

I agree. 60 yards is max for me and I shoot a patternmaster with 3.5" BB shells. Pick your shots and if your mind says its too far don't shoot. It's pretty simple.


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## dakotashooter2

kingcanada said:


> The big stuff has plenty of penetration, just not much pattern. T's gave way too many 1-2 pellet strike cripples. Often times the pellets were not in the prime kill zone. Very often. Dropping back to size BB gave amazingly consistent results with 4-5 strikes minimum. Still does. This was/is in 10 ga. guns. I get the same consistency using size 1's in the 12 ga.


As I understand it one thing that penetration tests, we so often see, do not compensate for is penetration of the feathers and skin. Most penetration testing is done with ballistic gel. Since it has no "skin", size of the projectile is only hampered by the gel itself. However it's been suggested that skin and feathers can provide more resistance to shot than the underlying flesh and that in some cases large shot may not penetrate as well or as well as we perceive.

I have no arguement that a t size shot is going to put more energy into a bird, however as mentioned if that energy is not it the right spot it may not do any good. If you are consistently putting 3-5 t size pellets on a bird I doubt you will have any problem bringing them down. But I question how many shooters are getting even 2 such pellets in a bird at extended ranges with any consistency.

When I pattern my loads I use the worst part of the pattern as the determining factor for my maximum range because I know I won't always hit them with the best part. I suspect most guys use the best part of the pattern.


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## the professor

dakotashooter2 said:


> I suspect most guys use the best part of the pattern.


I suspect most guys don't even pattern their guns.


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## fieldgeneral

the professor said:


> dakotashooter2 said:
> 
> 
> 
> I suspect most guys use the best part of the pattern.
> 
> 
> 
> I suspect most guys don't even pattern their guns.
Click to expand...

X2


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## snow

Beretta A400 xtreme,best all around choke for me/gun is "briley extended range(IM contriction),over dekes #2's 3" HM @1500fps,looks to be the best [email protected] 30yds,pass shooting,same choke with #2 hevi shot and sometimes B load for the 3rd and longer range shot,have'nt found a need for 3.5 ammo these days or larger shot size,if the birds are flanking the spread or 60+yds out comes the 10ga,hevi shot BB's does the job...Everyone has a different tool for the job,this works for me.


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