Anyone else find Hevi-Shot #2s pattern too tight for late-season mallards?
Been running a Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus with a Modified choke for late-season mallards over decoys at 25-35 yards. Switched from Federal Black Cloud #3s to Hevi-Shot #2s for better penetration on big, fat late-season birds. The Hevi-Shot patterns are super dense, but I'm getting a lot of cripples that fly off - feels like the pattern's too tight and I'm just peppering them instead of getting a clean kill.
1 Answer
Yeah, I've seen that with Hevi-Shot #2s - they're great for long-range geese but can be too tight for close-in ducks. Try dropping to an Improved Cylinder choke. That'll open up your pattern just enough at those decoying ranges while still keeping the Hevi-Shot's legendary penetration. I run that exact setup (A400 with IC) over decoys with Hevi-Shot #3s or #4s and it's lights out. What's your average shot distance when you're seeing these cripples?
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