For the duck hunters

[rut-ro]

Im in the market for a new shotgun. Question is with the new shells is a 20ga. good enough for ducks, geese and cranes or should I stick with a 12?

[Muddy Bud]

Not saying you couldn’t down geese and cranes with a 20ga, but I’d stick to a 12 with the bigger fowl. Geese can take a hit or hits. I shoot a 20 for ducks and do really well with anything bigger than 4s. But hang on to my 12 for geese.

[rut-ro]

Not saying you couldn’t down geese and cranes with a 20ga, but I’d stick to a 12 with the bigger fowl. Geese can take a hit or hits. I shoot a 20 for ducks and do really well with anything bigger than 4s. But hang on to my 12 for geese.

Great Thanks

[CTR0022]

If your willing to spend money on bismuth or the steel/tss duplex loads from apex then the 20 will get the job done on goose and cranes. If all you want to shoot is steel than I would stick with the 12 on goose and cranes.

[diamond10x]

Not saying you couldn’t down geese and cranes with a 20ga, but I’d stick to a 12 with the bigger fowl. Geese can take a hit or hits. I shoot a 20 for ducks and do really well with anything bigger than 4s. But hang on to my 12 for geese.

This is no exaggeration

[DKirk]

If you’re able to get quality shells you will be good with the 20, if you want to shoot anything you find go 12.

[ATI]

12.
If you hunt geese and Cranes a lot, I'd even go 10.

20 is more for upland and doves, but even pheasant and Chukar wear Kevlar sometimes.

[rut-ro]

If your willing to spend money on bismuth or the steel/tss duplex loads from apex then the 20 will get the job done on goose and cranes. If all you want to shoot is steel than I would stick with the 12 on goose and cranes.

I was thinking was the bismuth would be a game changer.

[bloodtrail18]

All of the above, plus ammo is a little easier to find for the 12.

[riverbowman]

I'm considering a 10 ga. after my last crane hunt where we couldn't get them in real close. Also, with the ammo shortage I saw 10ga steel available when I couldn't find 12 ga anywhere.

[Cstat_Mex]

12 all the way.

[REDGUN]

I was thinking was the bismuth would be a game changer.

Bismuth is better than steel, Hevi-Shot is better than bismuth, Tungsten Shot is better than Hevi-Shot. All of it is VERY EXPENSIVE, compared to steel.

12 ga will give you the most ammo options, unless you load your own.

[jakeb03]

I watched people kill cacklers dead with 410 and 20 gauge a lot this year. The new ammunition makes a huge difference. It is expensive but it is noticeable enough to make me want to make the switch.

I shot 2 3/4 #5's boss shells this year and killed more ducks and geese graveyard dead than I ever have. 12 gauge.

Will more than likely shoot ducks solely with 20 gauge next season.

[Texas Grown]

TSS18 in a 20ga will reach way further than any steel or bismuth load in 12. It really shines past 55 yards and out to 120 on geese. Or so I've been reading. Turkey with it in 410 out to 90. And that's with #7 shot on either.

There is also TSS15 that doesn't carry quite the same as TSS18. But still better than anything else on the market.

I'll be giving it a try next season on ducks with #9 or #10 in 410. Shells are very expensive though.

The fish are biting, and there's hogs to be kill-t. Gotta go!

[captainsling]

Check out Boss ammo. Buy directly from manufacturer. It is expensive but we’ll worth the money. You won’t need to use as much shooting the bigger birds. It kills birds dead. And you can go down in size. Buddy of mine was killing geese with #3s and #5s.

https://bossshotshells.com/

That being said, I would still shoot a 12 for the bigger birds. I have seen geese and cranes eat a lot of ammo and keep flying.