Anyone use a 10 gauge?

[Turpentine21]

I noticed a few mentioning swan hunting with the 10 which should work wonderfully. I’ve never hunted swans and I don’t think I am anywhere near their flyway but out of curiosity do you have to use steel shot?

Toxic Ammo Regulation By State. Again, federal law requires hunters to use non-toxic ammo for harvesting ducks, geese, swans, and coots on all the lands and waters of the United States.
We had 3 swans using a duck pond near home several years ago. No season though. But it was nice to have them around. They are large, kind of like a Volkswagen with wings.

What I always found odd is that we could go to the salt marsh and shoot marsh hens with lead. But hunting ducks in the same area required non toxic.

 

[birddog 68]

Toxic Ammo Regulation By State. Again, federal law requires hunters to use non-toxic ammo for harvesting ducks, geese, swans, and coots on all the lands and waters of the United States.
We had 3 swans using a duck pond near home several years ago. No season though. But it was nice to have them around. They are large, kind of like a Volkswagen with wings.

I have seen them when I was in Wyoming and once on tv they were hunting them in Texas. They called them the ribeye in the sky. Must be pretty tasty!

 

[Allen Kitts]

I noticed a few mentioning swan hunting with the 10 which should work wonderfully. I’ve never hunted swans and I don’t think I am anywhere near their flyway but out of curiosity do you have to use steel shot?

Unfortunately steel, tungsten or bismuth are required

 

[Turpentine21]

I have seen them when I was in Wyoming and once on tv they were hunting them in Texas. They called them the ribeye in the sky. Must be pretty tasty!

Strange I have heard the same thing about Sandhill Cranes.
People in Louisiana will fight you over a Coot gizzard and a guide in NC cooked some up for some friends that said they were amazing.

 

[Allen Kitts]

I have friends that go to Texas and hunt Sandhill Cranes every year. They love to eat them. They call them the ribeye of the sky! Supposedly very tasty.

 

[birddog 68]

I was thinking of Sandhills. 🙄 not swans

 

[Turpentine21]

I have friends that go to Texas and hunt Sandhill Cranes every year. They love to eat them. They call them the ribeye of the sky! Supposedly very tasty.

Saw guys on TV hunting them once. The kicker was that they said to leave the dog at home. The cranes were pretty dangerous and would peck them in the eye if wounded. Half the reason I go in the first place is to see the dog work.

 

[Turpentine21]

I was thinking of Sandhills. 🙄 not swans

If your memory ain’t what it used to be, you’re in good company.

 

[birddog 68]

If your memory ain’t what it used to be, you’re in good company.

Not even close to what it used to be

 

[Allen Kitts]

Saw guys on TV hunting them once. The kicker was that they said to leave the dog at home. The cranes were pretty dangerous and would peck them in the eye if wounded. Half the reason I go in the first place is to see the dog work.

Agreed!

 

[longrangebo]

I’ll politely disagree with the outperforms statement. On paper, the 12 would seem too. There is the internal pressure difference. The pellets from the 12 are faster And carry slightly more energy per pellet. But in the blind it doesn’t play out that simply. While the 12 has slightly more pellet energy, I believe the 10 puts more pellets on the target consistently and possibly in a shorter time duration. The 10 for whatever reason hits game hard. I can’t exactly explain why as I said before. My thoughts are shot string and patterns. The 10 shines with large pellets and payloads. Every 10 I ever shot patterned beautifully with big shot and with 00 buckshot. I’ve shot both, a lot. Killed a lot of birds and deer with both. Patterned both, a lot. Through all sorts of chokes. I’ve even shot clays with both. Shooting a 10 in a hunting setting never really bothered me. That was before my accident and being forced to use much lighter loads or stay home for the most part. But I wasn’t shooting several boxes of shells through the 10 either. The 10s recoil in a suitably weighted gun is different. More of a hard push. Kind of like 40 S&W vs. 45 acp. It isn’t as snappy. The 10 was actually a cream puff to shoot compared to a 3.5” 12 gauge 870. That gun would hurt you. Admittedly today I shoot 2 3/4” 12 gauge through a Beretta with Kick Off And limit my range. I don’t shoot any 3.5” 12s. Plus I don’t hunt nearly as much as I used to. Breaking 4 vertebrae and 9 major back operations will slow you down some. But if I knew I was going out to shoot large, long birds and HAD to put meat on the table, the 10 would go and the 12 would stay home.

I have a 10 ga. double Parker that I used when I hunted ducks and geese, Havent shot it for years but still have shells for it! Steel for ducks now and lead for turkey. It has 32inch full choke pipes. Thirteen pounds empty it is a horse!

 

[Allen Kitts]

I have a 10 ga. double Parker that I used when I hunted ducks and geese, Havent shot it for years but still have shells for it! Steel for ducks now and lead for turkey. It has 32inch full choke pipes. Thirteen pounds empty it is a horse!

Do you ever pull both triggers at the same time? That would be a rush.

 

[longrangebo]

Do you ever pull both triggers at the same time? That would be a rush.

I have , because of the weight it is more of a strong push! Not a sudden jolt!

 

[Orange Dust]

I really shouldn't post this, 10ga shells and components are hard enough to find as it is. We are pretty much forced to handload for them now. I guided for 30 seasons and have killed and seen killed my share of birds. Where we hunt now we kill geese on nearly duck hunt. I always carry my 10 when we hunt the fields where geese are present. The secret to the 10 is to never shoot shot smaller than BB's and to load enough of them to achieve the pattern density required for long range. Velocity needs to push 1300fps. Guess it is bore size, but patterns with big shot just hold up better than with any 12. while the 3.5" 12 looks good on paper it just doesn't cut it in the field compared to the 10. It's not even close. Anything that can be killed or even crippled with a 3.5" 12 will be absolutely crushed with a 10. Advertising and gun writers spewing propaganda about HV and low payload weights are killing birds best shot with a 20ga. They are in the business of convincing folks they are fantastic, while the ammo manufacturers increase profits by lowering the most expensive components in the shell. Most of that excess velocity is actually shed in the first 10 yards. Round pellets, drag etc, make it useless. Bring a LRF and hunt with me. You will not believe how far a 10 can kill light geese. As for the 12, I have around a dozen of them. Shells are cheap and easy to find and I carry one sometimes with 3" bismuth. 3.5" shells will blow the pattern if you choke it tight enough to justify the purpose of them in the first place. More often I carry a 3" 20 loaded with Tungsten 4's. The 20 will kill ducks as far as any 3.5" 12ga with steel. It does a good job on light geese that are actually in shotgun range. You just have to hold tighter because the pattern is smaller. Actually makes it more fun. But if you have Canadas around and would like to see them fall dead instead of flying into the ground there is no choice other than the 10 with proper loads. Shooting over decoys you can literally make it rain Snows. All the propaganda and wishing in the world will not change this fact.