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Shot sizes for every part of the waterfowl season: Here’s what to consider

Matt Gnatkowski admires a pair of gadwalls. When shooting ducks at close range, the author believes a load of No. 3 steel shot (when you can find it) is hard to beat. (Photos by gnatoutdoors.com)

If you go to any major retailer and try to find steel shot for waterfowl hunting, you’re likely to find BB, 2, and 4 shot. Maybe.
These limited options oftentimes leaves you in a conundrum. The early season typically finds you shooting a lot of wood ducks and young-of-the-year puddlers that are small- to medium-sized birds. You don’t want or need No. 2 shot for those birds. A workable compromise is No. 4, but if you’re able to decoy bigger adult mallards, it would be good to have some slightly bigger shot. And for teal and woodies, you might want something even a little smaller.

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