lead or steel.

Steel is the law.....................lead was banned in 1991 for waterfowl hunting.

Shot I prefer is feet down, wings cupped, hovering at about 25 yds...

i did not know steel shot was law thank you that could have been a huge mistake.

I like 3 shot in a 3 inch shell. I'd stay away from Winchester's Blind Side sheels if I were you. I took a case of them out to ND this year and for the price I was not impressed. They do great until it gets windy, which is also a great time to duck hunt cause they have to fly low. I think the flat sides of the "hex" shot catch the wind and instead of a dead bird id only see feathers.

Lead would work better...but obviously like others have said you can't use it. I usually shoot 3 in. #2's; Kent Faststeel is pretty cheap and works as well as regular steel shot can in my opinion. Or you could buy the Hevy Shot Hevy Metal...that stuff is pretty sweet, but expensive.

Alderman I didn't think that wind would effect shot very much, but after a day of hunting in 25 mph+ I kinda wonder. I was on a hunt this year hunting with 5 other guys and everyone was shooting different loads. One guy shooting 3 1/2 blind side #2's. We all shot pretty good that morning and then after lunch the wind got pretty rough. Their was alot of birds moving that day, and I can't tell you how many groups came in that we just couldn't knock a bird down. The guy shooting the blind side shells actually mentioned that he thought the wind was messing our patterns up. I thought our shooting just got worse. Some of the ducks were hovering at 25 yds. and we would just knock feathers out of them. We ended up with 27 ducks that day, and we should have got our limit easily. I just wouldn't think that the wind would effect the shot much under 25 yds.

I relly like NICE SHOT, it is a non-toxic shot that patterns like lead, & can be used in the clasic shotguns, it is actuly clasified as a lead subistute. The cost is the only down side, I loaded alittle over 8 lbs for last season just to try it out, I am hooked, it patterns better than any of the steel loads that I have tried in my shotgun.Precision Reloading sells both componets 'with data for the reloader & regular loaded shells, I used #4 for my duck loads, Will be loading #2 for geese for next year.Nice Shot has not been on the market very long , but my kill rate improved so much that I am staying with it. Befoe Nice Shot I had good results with Winchester for the money, just hate cripples and regular steel gives alot of that, with my shooting. Pattern your shotgun with diffrent loads & see what it likes. then go kill ducks ! Good Luck

I agree at 25 yds wind should not make any difference to pattern but may well affect the shooter

Clint, try shooting in LA with a tropicak depression coming in and 40 mph cross winds....

I like Winchester Expert 3-in. #2 for all ducks, decoys or pond-jumping. They have served me well, and that's all I ever buy now. I've tried Remington Nitro-Steel, and wasn't impressed. I would like to try some Hevi-Shot some day.

For geese, Expert 3-in. BB!

Tom I just now got back to the forums. I have never hunted in winds like that for ducks. I bet you have to make that first shot count, cause it wouldn't take them long to get out of range.