Don’t Be Afraid…

My preferred shot shell size has always been between #1 and BB. I grew up hunting fast water rivers and areas where shot size could be the difference between retrieving a bird and watching it float downstream heads up. Recently I’ve been enlightened.

A few weeks back I loaded up with HEVI-XII #4s for the first time. I’m a creature of habit, and to be completely honest, the only reason I shot them was they were all I had left. I quickly realized this stuff is NOT steel. I was shooting a 20 gauge on a Canada goose hunt. Four shots. Four geese. No cripples. All around 30 to 50 yards. I sat there thinking, “wow, I had a great day of shooting.” Two weeks later I understood the truth.

I was at Locust Grove with Momarsh founder Ira McCauley. I was the only one left with a limit. Multiple groups of mallards finished at 15 yards. I picked out one drake per bunch and was quickly one bird away from a full strap. That’s when I saw it. A gorgeous black duck was working his way toward us but keeping his distance. I’ve only shot one black duck in my life, and I wasn’t about to let this opportunity pass me by. I picked up my call and started sweet talking birds into the decoys. Greenhead after greenhead touched down right in front of me, but the elusive black duck kept just out of my effective range. He took one final pass, and I knew this was my last chance. There’s a lot of fish tales out there, but this bird had to be 70+ yards. Would I have taken this shot normally? No. But this was a bird of a lifetime. With an ounce and a quarter of HEVI-XII 3” #4s, this bird folded like he had been shot at 20 yards with BB. I was in shock.

I can’t be the only one who gets stuck in their ways, and I’m here to tell you, don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid to drop down two shot sizes from your comfort zone when you’re shooting HEVI-XII. I’m no rocket surgeon, but I know enough to recognize that density kills. HEVI-XII gets its density from tungsten, and I’ve seen first hand the difference it makes.