A shotgun with multiple-shot capability is the standard for waterfowl hunting. Many hunters prefer the reliability of pumps in the often harsh conditions, but auto-loaders and side-by-side or over-and-under doubles also work well. If the shell capacity of the gun exceeds three shots, the magazine must be plugged to limit it to three or less.
The most popular shotguns for waterfowl hunting are 12-gauge guns with 3- or 3½-inch chambers. Some hunters prefer 10-gauge guns, especially for situations where longer shots or heavier shot charges are required. Others, especially youths and ladies, prefer the lighter recoil of 16- and 20-gauge guns.
Steel or other non-toxic shot is required for waterfowl hunting. Steel shot is lighter than lead, and the general thought is to shoot one size larger steel pellets than lead to help retain downrange energy. Many of the other non-toxic materials are heavier than lead, and most hunters shoot the same size shot as with lead. The longer magnum loads carry more pellets at higher velocities, which help with downrange penetration. In general, a shot size between 6 and 2 will work well for ducks.
Goodwin recommends using a shotgun with interchangeable chokes for hunting in the swamp. Over decoys, an improved cylinder or more open choke helps create a full pattern at the shorter ranges. When jump-shooting, he switches to a modified or full choke to tighten the pattern and put more pellets on target at longer ranges.
Goodwin believes it doesn’t require a lot of decoys to attract swamp ducks, especially wood ducks. He said they are usually headed somewhere in the tight confines of a creek and all you have to do is have something for them to look at and lure them within shooting range. With this said, he believes that movement in the decoys is important for attracting ducks and often uses a Mojo decoy and/or a string of swimmers on a bungee cord.
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