Steel Shot for Waterfowl: Sizes, Loads & Chokes

Every waterfowler ends up with a box of steel shot in the blind bag, but surprisingly few understand how to pick the right load. Steel replaced lead as the standard for ducks and geese for a simple reason: federal law has required non-toxic shot for waterfowl hunting nationwide since 1991. Steel is the cheapest and most common non-toxic option, and when you match shot size, load and choke to the birds you're after, it kills just fine. Here's how to sort it out before the teal and early goose seasons give way to the main duck migration.

How steel shot is different

Steel is roughly 30 percent lighter than lead, which changes everything about how a load performs. A steel pellet sheds velocity faster than lead of the same size, so it carries less energy at long range — you need bigger shot and tighter patterns to kill cleanly past 35 or 40 yards. Steel pellets also don't deform on firing the way soft lead does, which is actually a plus: the pellets stay round, pattern more consistently and produce fewer flyers.

The practical rule of thumb: drop the distance, or step up the shot size. A duck that falls to No. 4 lead at 40 yards needs No. 2 or No. 3 steel at the same range. Keep waterfowl shots inside 40 yards with steel and you'll rarely cripple birds; stretch past that and you're asking for trouble.

Shot sizes for ducks

• Teal and small ducks (wood ducks, widgeon): No. 4 steel is the standard, with No. 3 a good choice when birds are swinging a little higher. Small pellets mean denser patterns for small, fast targets.
• Mallards and puddle ducks: No. 3 steel is the do-everything mallard load; No. 2 adds reach for windy days and bigger ducks like pintails and gadwall at the edge of range.
• Divers and late-season ducks (cans, redheads, sea ducks): No. 2 steel, or No. 1 where birds are big and decoying tight to big water. Divers are heavily feathered and need penetration.

Shot sizes for geese

Canada geese and snow geese are a different animal — bigger bodies, heavier feathering and often shot at longer range. Steel in BB and BBB sizes is the marsh standard for Canadas, with T shot gaining ground for big honkers and late-season birds over decoys. For snow geese and specks in the spring conservation order or early fall, BBB and BB steel both work; the lighter-bodied snows don't need the heaviest shot.

Pattern density matters as much as pellet size. A load of BBB that patterns too thin will let birds through; if your gun won't put a dense pattern of big steel on the bird's head and neck at the ranges you're shooting, drop to BB or No. 2 and take the closer shots.

Gauges and loads

The 12-gauge is the waterfowl standard, and a 3-inch 12 with 1⅛ to 1¼ ounces of No. 3 or No. 2 steel covers almost every duck hunt in the country. For geese, the 3½-inch 12 with 1½ ounces of BB or BBB steel adds the payload and velocity for long-range work, at the cost of recoil and a heavier gun. Ten-gauge autoloaders still have a loyal following among serious goose hunters for the same reason.

Don't write off the 20-gauge for close-cover ducks. A 3-inch 20 with No. 4 steel and an open choke is lethal on teal and wood ducks over decoys at 25 yards, and it's a joy to carry through a timber hunt. The 28-gauge and .410 are marginal for waterfowl even with non-toxic loads — leave them home.

Shotshell velocity for steel typically runs 1,400 to 1,550 feet per second. Faster loads flatten trajectory and add energy, but they also pattern tighter and kick harder. For most hunters, a 1,450 fps load in the right shot size patterns better than the hottest magnum on the shelf.

Chokes and patterning

Steel patterns tighter than lead through the same choke, because the hard pellets resist deformation and don't squeeze through the constriction the same way. That means you generally want more open chokes than you'd use with lead. Improved cylinder or modified handles most duck hunting; modified or full works for geese and late-season birds at range. A full choke with steel at close decoying teal will produce doughnut-hole patterns and missed birds.

Pattern every load before the season. Shoot at a 30-inch circle at the ranges you expect to take birds — 20, 30 and 40 yards — and pick the choke that keeps a dense, even pattern with no holes at your maximum range. Write down what your gun likes; it changes with every load and barrel combination.

Non-toxic rules and alternatives

The federal non-toxic shot requirement applies to hunting ducks, geese, swans and coots anywhere in the United States, and states can layer on stricter rules — many restrict lead for small game and dove on public lands, and some require non-toxic shot for all hunting. Check your state's regulations before you head out. If you hunt on a wildlife refuge or WMA, verify the rules for that specific property too.

Steel is the value pick, but it isn't the only non-toxic option. Bismuth and tungsten-based loads are denser than steel, so they carry energy farther and pattern more like lead — useful in older shotguns with thin barrels or fixed full chokes that shouldn't shoot steel, and popular with hunters who want lead-like ballistics without the price tag of a new gun. They cost two to four times as much as steel, so most hunters reserve them for pass shooting and big geese.

Whatever you shoot, the seasons are close. Early teal is already running in several states — Iowa's opened Sept. 5, with Missouri and Arkansas following this month — and September Canada goose seasons are open in Wisconsin and Iowa. Get your loads patterned, your chokes sorted and your shot sizes matched to the birds, and you'll be ready when the ducks pour south.