I don't have a favorite because I haven't converted yet, but I'm thinking 2 3/4" #5s for early season duck, and I might carry a 3" #3/5 for a surprise honker or for when I lack discipline and crack off long and late 3rd shots. Late season divers and geese l'll carry 2 3/4" #3/5, with that 3" #3/5 final shell, and if I do spring specks and snows I'd consider #4s, but probably end up just using 3/5s. I've always been a believer of sizing up your shells as you get into 2nd & 3rd shots.
Been using Boss for 3 seasons now. Killed big honkers with shorty #5’s. Cost was $240 per case, now $340 per case. Reason we were given was supply shortage. Doesn’t appear any manufacturer has supply chain issues, so will cost of ammo go down? Would love to hear Brandon’s input on that.
I felt boss was using a common fear factor to influence the recent purchase request by informing folks of an unbacked or unproven shortage of material? Our group here in North Texas tested and found that Hevi 12 was far superior in penetration and shot patterns. boss in the original offering was also routinely inconsistent in velocities and without buffers. Shot deformed even at its slower velocity. With their newer warchief with a buffer and supposed improved wad, one would have to assume it's better than the first offering except now it cost almost as much as Hevi 12 and they are in a different league than boss and they are truly worth it if you need the distance. Honestly Migra's stacked steel is even better than boss in pattern and quick kills over decoys. Word on many streets to the duck blind says boss doesn't like it if you experience differences than what they claim, even if you have evidence on a chronograph and a pattern board or a you tube channel and video the inconsistent performance. To me something is a little off with this company.
Great to see another episode Joel. I visited Boss' new show room last January. Loved it! Awesome folks at Boss and really helpful. Can you please share with us what brand 28 gauge you ordered?
Bad thing is the bbs in boss loads will fragment and leave your birds full of tiny pieces of metal, have had many issues with shells being overloaded as well and not ejecting out of multiple guns after being shot.
Ive also experienced fragmentation. This type of issue is unheard of in the waterfowl world and i cant believe it isnt talked about more. Just wait until someone eats a copper shard and it tears up their intestinal lining... goodbye boss!
Used 3in #4 boss last year. Works great but I got other expenses this year so I went back to federal speed shok. I did have a couple of desperate last shots last year with those boss shells where I range found stone dead teal at 70 yards. I don’t advocate for that long of a shot normally but it happens sometimes on that last shell.
Hey Joel, I cant say how much i appreciate your efforts with choke tube technology and shotshell quality!!!!….wow!!! Makes perfect sense…. Im spreading the info at my gun club and to fellow waterfowlers. Im a benelli sb3 owner, so Muellers will be on the end of my families barrels from here on out. Boss will be shot out of them, also. I figure the least i can do for you is to book a hunt in the future with your business, and maybe get to share a blind. Again, “thanks” and Peace to you and your family!!! Clay Bezenek Ketchikan, Ak
I shoot the 3in #5s at everything within 40. Ive killed plenty with the 2 3/4 #5s but those extra bbs in the 3in just makes me feel more confidence in my shot. I alway keep some 3in #3s incase we happen to really get into some honkers. I will say i have taken down honkers we ranged at 72 yards with the 3in #5s. I dont recommend it but it definitely made me believe in these boss shells
We don't get BOSS over here in Europe but the 3/5s he mentioned sounds like a good compromise. I use 3/5s from different brands and with steel shot I like the performance over standard 4s. Especially at heavier canadian geese.
Have you tried the Hevi XII ? I have a case of #6 and a box of #4s for geese. I haven't hunted with them yet but they patterned well. I just bought a box of Apex 2 + 7.5s to try too. Hunting public land most shots are 40+ yards. Bismuth density is only 9 so its less than lead. Hard for me to go down in momentum. I know TSS (18) kills them dead.
Hi Joe, What a great interview with Brandon. I'm over in the UK and use a 28 gauge and Brandon right it has to be a 2 3/4 shell with a 21gram load thats lead. I been loading my shell with TSS and i have just finished doing a lot of patterns and i have found 6grams of 10s loaded first with 14grams of 9s on top give me an avg pattern of 220 pellets in a 30 inch dia at 40m. Due to plastic wads being banned on most shooting grounds im using a paper tube made for me. The patterns are better than the TPS wade. The tube has no splits. The tube length is 25mm inside dia 10mm and that holds 20gram of TSS. I have to taper the inside of one end so i can crimp the shell down , if you rolled crimped the shell you would not need to do that. My gun is fixed choked at 3/4. Loading data is 27.5grn of litlil gun gas seal 15mm cork with tube on top hope this helps. look me up on youtube shooting TSS Regards Alan Robinson
Another great video Joel! Will we be seeing anything else from TSS? And if I may make one suggestion, when having these sit-down conversations, move the mic with you as you move; your audio got a little distant/quiet at the end
Love BOSS shells after 3 boxes. Only issue is my gun (SX4) has had an issue cycling in the second round after firing. No other shell causes this in my gun. Only boss. Out of 3 boxes it has happened 4 times. Can anyone help?
Bought a box of 3in #3 and was very impressed with the pattering but inertia driven guns that I have will not cycle them. Tried Stoeger m3500, franchi affinity 3, and even a beneli m2. Wouldn’t cycle. But gas guns works perfectly. But not worth it to me
Bismuth is brittle and shatters, yes. But not copper plated bismuth. I had Kent bismuth do that, but never with Boss. The copper plating makes a huge difference.
Nice, just today I bought a 12 gauge sbe3. But a 28 is my next buy. Thank you for getting back to me and I really enjoy watching your videos. Keep them coming
I’d really like if their boxes were the pseudo industry standard 25 shells per box instead of the 20 they offer. That may say more about my aim than anything 😅. I’ve enjoyed their warchief line of shells I’ve been using this season though!
I tried them, but never got a consistent pattern. Walking back and forth from my shooting position to my board, I noticed that a few of the wads had never opened up. I'm not sure what would be the reason for that. I haven't ever seen it before
What kind of chokes you are using? I don't know what kind of wads Boss uses. But usually nowadays pellets are all inside stiff wads that protects barrel. Those wads needs choke that lowers wads speed and helps pellets to remove from wad. Speed is high and sometimes some of pellets might stuck in the wad. That might be one reason? At old times there was only felt plug between powder and pellets and everything was simpler. 😅
I bought a Remington premier and it is a great shotgun. Have shot cz, browning, and many pump guns also. A semi auto that gets great reviews is a Tristar G2. I know that a number of the Tristar seen low quality, but the G2 and the TT15 are great guns.
Bismuth is brittle and fragments easily. The copper plating is very thin to help maintain solidity under acceleration out of the barrel and through the constriction on the choke. It's the natural nature of the metal.
I've had good success with steel 4s within 30 yards as well but I can't find anything slower than 1400. Can you tell us of a factory load that is slower?
I had luck with their legacy stuff but these new warchiefs are causing cycling issues, burning/melting and leaving more crippled ducks in the field. worse yet it seems like they are hiding reviews that aren't 5 stars on their website.
Had some Boss 2 3/4” #5s left from last year. Had them out on an early hunt this year and I had about a dozen left that got wet. The bases corroded. I tried using them. They turn my 870 into a single shot as they stick in the chamber. Make sure you dry them well if they get wet.
Have boss make good 16ga steel shot because federal makes it and the 4s were good but the 2 are good but the pellet pattern out at 50 is not as good. So have then make steel shot for a cheaper price. Not 50 dollars a box federal makes 4 shot for 25 to 30 dollars a box
I could buy a 2-3 Mossbergs for what a Benelli or Beretta costs too. Good stuff costs more. You have to decide if the value is there for you. I have the B guns … and I’ve switched to Boss shells. Another month until season starts here.
The industry is becoming to expensive in general and caters only to those who can afford to pay get to play. When guys are just trying to put meat in the freezer. I see both sides
I’m writing this from the duck blind for anyone watching the video who hasn’t decided to try heavy shot yet. I shoot clays a ton in the off-season to be ready for opening morning. For the past few seasons since I’ve lived in Idaho, I’ve used steel shot. I would consistently end up frustrated after shooting a duck, and watching it fly away, not at all feeling like I missed, and wondering how I did miss if I did. I shot clays all the time, and am pretty good (not great) and consistent. When I missed a clay, I almost always knew why and what I did wrong. Last year around the end of duck season, I was tipped off by my dad to this channel. I’ve learned a ton about chokes, decoys, blinds, and shotgun shells, or so I thought. After losing so many ducks and watching Joel’s videos on boss and other heavy shot, I came to the conclusion that my problem was the steel shot shells I used. I immediately started shopping around, and decided on boss, largely in part to videos like these. I do a fair amount of Canadian goose and duck hunting (almost all mallards) so I settled on no.4s. I used to shoot bb steel, so after a lot of thinking and reading, I settled on no.4s. When my shells arrived, the weight was noticeably different between the boss and the steels. I couldn’t wait for opening day. Since then, I have had what feels like more cripples and clouds of feathers than with steel (I know that likely my emotions from the disappointment are the reason it feels like more, objectively I’d have to say there is no difference from previous seasons). I at a minimum have to put 2 shells per bird, but I average all 3, and often times need a follow up shot in the water. This morning’s incident was my last straw and why I’ve decided to right this review on this video. I called and decoyed two green heads in dead center of the landing zone. Perfect set-up. I line up while these birds are floating just feet above the water on the left most bird. Boom! I quickly move to the Drake on the right. Boom! Before my shot I noticed out of my left eye that the left most duck was flying off. I turn back and hit a follow-up shot, again, Boom! The right most duck breaks above the tree line, while the duck on the left hangs way low to the water and eventually hits the water on the opposite end of the pond from me. “Another cripple” I thought, while exhaling some profanity at what has been an unbelievable amount of cripple ducks through 2 and a half weeks. I load some more shells into my beretta and some spares in my high N drys. I make my way over and see my duck swimming around, heading towards some reeds, ready to be lost like my first teal duck from yesterday. At about 20 the green head takes off into the air, I fire, and then I fire again, and once more, watching feathers land in the water underneath his flight path and him follow a similar path through the air, following the other that came in with him. As I said, this has been the last straw for me and ultimately why I wrote this. I would encourage someone who is interested in knocking down more ducks to stick with what they’ve got. At 2 dollars a shell or so, I just put 10 dollars into someone else’s green head. I would have to shell out about 15 steels to lose that same amount of cash, which NEVER happened over these last few seasons. I have many more examples from these past couple weeks of “zombie” ducks, and even my buddies having to put follow up shots on my ducks with their steel shells, because their ducks go belly up, and mine start swimming and diving away.
What does your pattern look like on the pattern board? It sounds like a pattern problem to me. If you’re dialed-in using the proper choke for the distance you’re shooting, then you won’t have this problem…unless perhaps you’re just hitting ducks with the fringe edge of your pattern. It’s important to have an even dense pattern. If you have holes in the pattern, you can have crippling. Thanks for writing so I can help!
@@SurvivingDuckSeason I’ve patterned my shot multiple times. At about 20 yards, my pattern is about 1.5-2ft in diameter, with some flyers extending beyond that. I’ve tried different chokes as well, including all 4 of my factory chokes, and two aftermarket. I even shoot clays with a full choke at times, with no issue in accuracy. I don’t shoot ducks beyond 30 yards, except for my constant follow-up shots. Funny enough shortly after my first comment, I shot a teal coming into the decoys. It hit the water with his head up, so I hit him with another shot, it got right back up and flew off. This is the most frustrating part, as I can watch my shot hit the water in every possible spot around the duck, just to see it get up like nothing had happened.
@@chasespitzer1801 if you have an even pattern (with the load and choke your hunting with) then you would not have the experience of high percentage crippling.
Yeah this type of culture is taking over duck hunting and it’s gross ….. “If you don’t shoot boss you are wrong” “If you don’t shoot a 28 gauge” “If you don’t wear Sitka” Idk I guess I like to go against the grain but when I hear interviews with guys like this who think he has re invented the wheel I just laugh and go buy my cheap shells and kill just as much as the guy buying his designer shot shells….
Buffer was invented by Herters back in the 60’s. Ballistic Products promoted buffer starting back in the 70’s. This is not new technology. I shot buffered lead shells before the lead ban.
What’s your favorite BOSS load?
2 3/4 3s and 5s. Been shooting in for 3 seasons now, great multi use shell. Shot my first band with it last year!
3" 3s and 5s for me. I shoot like a Stormtrooper from Star Wars, so I need all the help I can get!!
3/5 Shorties. Only shells i use.
3/5 3 inch 12 ga for me. Stoned a goose yesterday at 40 with it.
I don't have a favorite because I haven't converted yet, but I'm thinking 2 3/4" #5s for early season duck, and I might carry a 3" #3/5 for a surprise honker or for when I lack discipline and crack off long and late 3rd shots.
Late season divers and geese l'll carry 2 3/4" #3/5, with that 3" #3/5 final shell, and if I do spring specks and snows I'd consider #4s, but probably end up just using 3/5s.
I've always been a believer of sizing up your shells as you get into 2nd & 3rd shots.
This video warms my heart. Keep preaching the truth! Send 3.5" shells back to the marketing teams from whence they came!
Nice to see your comment here, two amazing channels!
Thanks George!!👍🏻👊🏻💪🏻
Been using Boss for 3 seasons now. Killed big honkers with shorty #5’s. Cost was $240 per case, now $340 per case. Reason we were given was supply shortage. Doesn’t appear any manufacturer has supply chain issues, so will cost of ammo go down? Would love to hear Brandon’s input on that.
The cost of their raw material and supplies have gone up.
@@BeatRock253but the cost of Hevi-12 has gone down? Makes no sense
@@benlee7758 it was already over priced
Rather have hevi-xii
I felt boss was using a common fear factor to influence the recent purchase request by informing folks of an unbacked or unproven shortage of material? Our group here in North Texas tested and found that Hevi 12 was far superior in penetration and shot patterns. boss in the original offering was also routinely inconsistent in velocities and without buffers. Shot deformed even at its slower velocity. With their newer warchief with a buffer and supposed improved wad, one would have to assume it's better than the first offering except now it cost almost as much as Hevi 12 and they are in a different league than boss and they are truly worth it if you need the distance. Honestly Migra's stacked steel is even better than boss in pattern and quick kills over decoys. Word on many streets to the duck blind says boss doesn't like it if you experience differences than what they claim, even if you have evidence on a chronograph and a pattern board or a you tube channel and video the inconsistent performance. To me something is a little off with this company.
I’m really glad to see you posted again Joel! I was hoping to see more of you soon. God Bless
Trying the legacy 20ga 3” #4’s this season in my SX4. Great info on the Boss and thanks for sharing.
Great to see another episode Joel.
I visited Boss' new show room last January. Loved it! Awesome folks at Boss and really helpful.
Can you please share with us what brand 28 gauge you ordered?
Benelli Ethos Cordoba B.E.S.T. Just came in too!! Haven’t shot it yet.
@@SurvivingDuckSeasonwhat choke do and load do you plan on using? Have the same gun but can’t find a pattern I like.
Glad to see you back. I personally agree great product and a great place to visit My personal favorite is 3/5 2/3/4 inch 12 gauge.
Good stuff!
Joel, love your channel and all the information on ammo. I'm getting ready to go on my first duck hunt, and bought a case of Boss 12ga 2 3/4 " 3/5's
Used them for the first time here for the Michigan opener this weekend, they hammer the waterfowl. If you do your job the BOSS will do it's job 100%.
Yesterday I asked myself when your next video would be showed?!
I know a lot of people here in Germany who loves your videos!
That's awesome!
Glad to see you back doing content. Been working too hard at the duck club.
Yep. Doing what it takes!!
I wish you would also talk to remington, because I like their steel.
Bad thing is the bbs in boss loads will fragment and leave your birds full of tiny pieces of metal, have had many issues with shells being overloaded as well and not ejecting out of multiple guns after being shot.
Same on the frags it’s bad.
Ive also experienced fragmentation. This type of issue is unheard of in the waterfowl world and i cant believe it isnt talked about more. Just wait until someone eats a copper shard and it tears up their intestinal lining... goodbye boss!
Thank you for making new content always love to watch your videos.
Glad you like them!
looking forward to reports on how your new 28 gauge works out.
Used 3in #4 boss last year. Works great but I got other expenses this year so I went back to federal speed shok. I did have a couple of desperate last shots last year with those boss shells where I range found stone dead teal at 70 yards. I don’t advocate for that long of a shot normally but it happens sometimes on that last shell.
Very informative. My go to for duck is a 20 gauge with #5 boss. My favorite gauge is the 28 ! Maybe start trying ducks with it
I was curious if you'd do a video on duck hunting cammo and it's effectiveness with new and old patterns. Love the content!
Hey Joel,
I cant say how much i appreciate your efforts with choke tube technology and shotshell quality!!!!….wow!!!
Makes perfect sense….
Im spreading the info at my gun club and to fellow waterfowlers.
Im a benelli sb3 owner, so Muellers will be on the end of my families barrels from here on out.
Boss will be shot out of them, also.
I figure the least i can do for you is to book a hunt in the future with your business, and maybe get to share a blind.
Again, “thanks” and Peace to you and your family!!!
Clay Bezenek
Ketchikan, Ak
Very informative!!
Well done y'all! From Sophia, N.C.
What primers does BOSS use?
I just ordered some 12 gauge 2 3/4 boss 3/5 to try. Got 3 boxes coming. 👍🦆
3/5 is my favorite I use it ducks geese works great
I shoot the 3in #5s at everything within 40. Ive killed plenty with the 2 3/4 #5s but those extra bbs in the 3in just makes me feel more confidence in my shot. I alway keep some 3in #3s incase we happen to really get into some honkers. I will say i have taken down honkers we ranged at 72 yards with the 3in #5s. I dont recommend it but it definitely made me believe in these boss shells
We don't get BOSS over here in Europe but the 3/5s he mentioned sounds like a good compromise. I use 3/5s from different brands and with steel shot I like the performance over standard 4s. Especially at heavier canadian geese.
Have you tried the Hevi XII ?
I have a case of #6 and a box of #4s for geese. I haven't hunted with them yet but they patterned well. I just bought a box of Apex 2 + 7.5s to try too.
Hunting public land most shots are 40+ yards.
Bismuth density is only 9 so its less than lead. Hard for me to go down in momentum. I know TSS (18) kills them dead.
Hi Joe,
What a great interview with Brandon. I'm over in the UK and use a 28 gauge and Brandon right it has to be a 2 3/4 shell with a 21gram load thats lead. I been loading my shell with TSS and i have just finished doing a lot of patterns and i have found 6grams of 10s loaded first with 14grams of 9s on top give me an avg pattern of 220 pellets in a 30 inch dia at 40m. Due to plastic wads being banned on most shooting grounds im using a paper tube made for me. The patterns are better than the TPS wade. The tube has no splits. The tube length is 25mm inside dia 10mm and that holds 20gram of TSS. I have to taper the inside of one end so i can crimp the shell down , if you rolled crimped the shell you would not need to do that. My gun is fixed choked at 3/4. Loading data is 27.5grn of litlil gun gas seal 15mm cork with tube on top hope this helps. look me up on youtube shooting TSS
Regards
Alan Robinson
Their pricing is through the roof now that the loads are so popular.
#4s new warchief. Good stuff
Another great video Joel! Will we be seeing anything else from TSS? And if I may make one suggestion, when having these sit-down conversations, move the mic with you as you move; your audio got a little distant/quiet at the end
Best cost to kill ratio on the market!!!!
Can’t beat physics bro
Good stuff! 👍🦆
Love BOSS shells after 3 boxes. Only issue is my gun (SX4) has had an issue cycling in the second round after firing. No other shell causes this in my gun. Only boss. Out of 3 boxes it has happened 4 times. Can anyone help?
You should reach out to the company.
I run my sx4 as a dedicated snow goose gun (giant extended tube) and shoot boss exclusively and never have cycle issues. My versamax however.....
Bought a box of 3in #3 and was very impressed with the pattering but inertia driven guns that I have will not cycle them. Tried Stoeger m3500, franchi affinity 3, and even a beneli m2. Wouldn’t cycle. But gas guns works perfectly. But not worth it to me
Love your videos!!! but wont ever shoot bismuth. Had it fracture too much and not worth the extra cost.
Change your choke man!
Bismuth is brittle and shatters, yes. But not copper plated bismuth. I had Kent bismuth do that, but never with Boss. The copper plating makes a huge difference.
Being in and from arkansas I think I’ll support my local Remington ammo.
What 28 gauge you looking to buy?
I bought the Benelli Ethos Cordoba BEST 28 ga
Nice, just today I bought a 12 gauge sbe3. But a 28 is my next buy. Thank you for getting back to me and I really enjoy watching your videos. Keep them coming
@@johnselby570how are you liking your sbe3? I love mine. I also want to get a sbe3 28 next
I’d really like if their boxes were the pseudo industry standard 25 shells per box instead of the 20 they offer. That may say more about my aim than anything 😅. I’ve enjoyed their warchief line of shells I’ve been using this season though!
I tried them, but never got a consistent pattern. Walking back and forth from my shooting position to my board, I noticed that a few of the wads had never opened up. I'm not sure what would be the reason for that. I haven't ever seen it before
What kind of chokes you are using? I don't know what kind of wads Boss uses. But usually nowadays pellets are all inside stiff wads that protects barrel. Those wads needs choke that lowers wads speed and helps pellets to remove from wad. Speed is high and sometimes some of pellets might stuck in the wad. That might be one reason?
At old times there was only felt plug between powder and pellets and everything was simpler. 😅
That test was with Muller Chokes. I have never had any kind of issue with them before. Always been great on performance and patterns. @@aman9054
With the talk of 28ga , what shotgun are you guys using. I wish Mossberg would offer 28ga in there 940 waterfoul .
I bought a Remington premier and it is a great shotgun. Have shot cz, browning, and many pump guns also.
A semi auto that gets great reviews is a Tristar G2. I know that a number of the Tristar seen low quality, but the G2 and the TT15 are great guns.
Is it possible to get Boss Ammo in Canada? Have not been successful so far.
I’m in the same boat. So far the answer is no.
I'd love to have some Boss ammo, but I'm not spending that much per round. They may be awesome but I dont see myself spending that much.
Been looking for some 20g,2.75, steel, in 2-4 shot. Haven’t found any in 3 years. Any suggestions? I’m in CT.
Winchester drylock makes them
How about a 3/4 blend?
Been a fan for a few years but m still getting fragments in pheasants. Any idea why?
Bismuth is brittle and fragments easily. The copper plating is very thin to help maintain solidity under acceleration out of the barrel and through the constriction on the choke. It's the natural nature of the metal.
@@justinbryan370s
3 inch #3 or #4 for those early december North Dakota honkers in the frigid cold
20 gauge 3" #3's is deadly on sandhill cranes.
these are the same as the remington wingmaster hd they had out years ago
number 4 steel with a improved cylinder at the slowest velocity you can find is all a guy needs for decoying ducks.
I've had good success with steel 4s within 30 yards as well but I can't find anything slower than 1400. Can you tell us of a factory load that is slower?
I had luck with their legacy stuff but these new warchiefs are causing cycling issues, burning/melting and leaving more crippled ducks in the field. worse yet it seems like they are hiding reviews that aren't 5 stars on their website.
Had some Boss 2 3/4” #5s left from last year. Had them out on an early hunt this year and I had about a dozen left that got wet. The bases corroded. I tried using them. They turn my 870 into a single shot as they stick in the chamber. Make sure you dry them well if they get wet.
Where to buy in Canada?
Can’t purchase in Canada. You have to take a trip over the border and bring them back have someone bring them back for you.
Have boss make good 16ga steel shot because federal makes it and the 4s were good but the 2 are good but the pellet pattern out at 50 is not as good. So have then make steel shot for a cheaper price. Not 50 dollars a box federal makes 4 shot for 25 to 30 dollars a box
3” 3/5 IM choke
I can buy 460 steel shells to a case of 200 boss.. 🤔 hmmm
I could buy a 2-3 Mossbergs for what a Benelli or Beretta costs too. Good stuff costs more. You have to decide if the value is there for you. I have the B guns … and I’ve switched to Boss shells. Another month until season starts here.
@@miklm yeah you also role play lance Armstrong
The industry is becoming to expensive in general and caters only to those who can afford to pay get to play. When guys are just trying to put meat in the freezer. I see both sides
Дробь сталь или свинец?
I’m writing this from the duck blind for anyone watching the video who hasn’t decided to try heavy shot yet.
I shoot clays a ton in the off-season to be ready for opening morning. For the past few seasons since I’ve lived in Idaho, I’ve used steel shot. I would consistently end up frustrated after shooting a duck, and watching it fly away, not at all feeling like I missed, and wondering how I did miss if I did. I shot clays all the time, and am pretty good (not great) and consistent. When I missed a clay, I almost always knew why and what I did wrong.
Last year around the end of duck season, I was tipped off by my dad to this channel. I’ve learned a ton about chokes, decoys, blinds, and shotgun shells, or so I thought. After losing so many ducks and watching Joel’s videos on boss and other heavy shot, I came to the conclusion that my problem was the steel shot shells I used. I immediately started shopping around, and decided on boss, largely in part to videos like these. I do a fair amount of Canadian goose and duck hunting (almost all mallards) so I settled on no.4s. I used to shoot bb steel, so after a lot of thinking and reading, I settled on no.4s.
When my shells arrived, the weight was noticeably different between the boss and the steels. I couldn’t wait for opening day. Since then, I have had what feels like more cripples and clouds of feathers than with steel (I know that likely my emotions from the disappointment are the reason it feels like more, objectively I’d have to say there is no difference from previous seasons). I at a minimum have to put 2 shells per bird, but I average all 3, and often times need a follow up shot in the water.
This morning’s incident was my last straw and why I’ve decided to right this review on this video. I called and decoyed two green heads in dead center of the landing zone. Perfect set-up. I line up while these birds are floating just feet above the water on the left most bird. Boom! I quickly move to the Drake on the right. Boom! Before my shot I noticed out of my left eye that the left most duck was flying off. I turn back and hit a follow-up shot, again, Boom! The right most duck breaks above the tree line, while the duck on the left hangs way low to the water and eventually hits the water on the opposite end of the pond from me. “Another cripple” I thought, while exhaling some profanity at what has been an unbelievable amount of cripple ducks through 2 and a half weeks. I load some more shells into my beretta and some spares in my high N drys. I make my way over and see my duck swimming around, heading towards some reeds, ready to be lost like my first teal duck from yesterday. At about 20 the green head takes off into the air, I fire, and then I fire again, and once more, watching feathers land in the water underneath his flight path and him follow a similar path through the air, following the other that came in with him.
As I said, this has been the last straw for me and ultimately why I wrote this. I would encourage someone who is interested in knocking down more ducks to stick with what they’ve got. At 2 dollars a shell or so, I just put 10 dollars into someone else’s green head. I would have to shell out about 15 steels to lose that same amount of cash, which NEVER happened over these last few seasons.
I have many more examples from these past couple weeks of “zombie” ducks, and even my buddies having to put follow up shots on my ducks with their steel shells, because their ducks go belly up, and mine start swimming and diving away.
What does your pattern look like on the pattern board? It sounds like a pattern problem to me. If you’re dialed-in using the proper choke for the distance you’re shooting, then you won’t have this problem…unless perhaps you’re just hitting ducks with the fringe edge of your pattern. It’s important to have an even dense pattern. If you have holes in the pattern, you can have crippling. Thanks for writing so I can help!
@@SurvivingDuckSeason I’ve patterned my shot multiple times. At about 20 yards, my pattern is about 1.5-2ft in diameter, with some flyers extending beyond that. I’ve tried different chokes as well, including all 4 of my factory chokes, and two aftermarket. I even shoot clays with a full choke at times, with no issue in accuracy. I don’t shoot ducks beyond 30 yards, except for my constant follow-up shots.
Funny enough shortly after my first comment, I shot a teal coming into the decoys. It hit the water with his head up, so I hit him with another shot, it got right back up and flew off. This is the most frustrating part, as I can watch my shot hit the water in every possible spot around the duck, just to see it get up like nothing had happened.
@@chasespitzer1801 if you have an even pattern (with the load and choke your hunting with) then you would not have the experience of high percentage crippling.
He’s calling us children bc we want to shoot 3” shells.. wow I’m here to learn but okay dude
Children???
Yeah this type of culture is taking over duck hunting and it’s gross …..
“If you don’t shoot boss you are wrong”
“If you don’t shoot a 28 gauge”
“If you don’t wear Sitka”
Idk I guess I like to go against the grain but when I hear interviews with guys like this who think he has re invented the wheel I just laugh and go buy my cheap shells and kill just as much as the guy buying his designer shot shells….
Buffer was invented by Herters back in the 60’s. Ballistic Products promoted buffer starting back in the 70’s. This is not new technology. I shot buffered lead shells before the lead ban.
I just use the winchester drylok shells and they kill more than those boss shells do
What video were you watching? Nowhere in this one did he call people children for wanting to shoot 3”
Federal blue box and dont look back
Even the legacy loads are 340 for 200 shells. You gotta be out of your mind. They aren't gold pellets.
I wish beretta would make a 28 gauge
They make a couple semi autos in the A400 family and several over unders.
@@dillonb.458 they don't make one that is a waterfowl edition. They just came out with the 20 guage in the waterfowl line.
Not a fan of them. Hevi 12 for the win.
Haha junk scam