The "Black Cloud" post got me to figuring

[Doc & Nash]

If you are sitting in the blind with me and you are not dropping ducks at 40 yards then I will kill your limit.
end of discussion.

I don't really pay attention how far i lead them, i just instinctively shoot good.

Ever since my lasik surgery my shooting is unbelievable...i'm not trying to brag, but i know what i can do and i know when and when not to take the shot. 40 yards is not that far..... i've set up 30 yards from the decoys before in certain spots.

You won't kill mine, you might kill over your limit but you won't kill my 6... As far as you consistantly dropping ducks at 40yds I call BS.....

Go ahead and take a stab at the lead distance for a duck under the above conditions....

[swamprooter]

"There are alot of people that seem to think that 40 yds is a normal killing shot. The responces should be interesting." Doc and Nash

A forty yard duck backwinging down Outside my decoys is a shot I have high success on even with a Kent 2 3/4. I hold on it's feet.
A forty yard duck swinging and swinging and swinging above my decoys is a shot I'll take every now and then. I hold 2 duck lenghts ahead.
A forty yard duck buzzing the decoys from a decending drop overhead is a shot i rarely take but i have . I'll lead 8-10 feet.

I shoot instinctive ( snap shooter). Now next time your in the field. step off forty yards and you'll be surprise how close it looks. Now pattern your shotgun at 20 yards, 40 yards, and gosh forbid 55 yards. Pattern your shotgun with BB's then #4....................Pay close attention how how much your BB's open up from 20 to 40. You'll think twice about a 40 yard shot next time or least I did and have sworn off BB's.......

[cheeko]

PUT IT ON THE HEAD SWING THROUGH AND SHOOT THREE TIMES

[DuckBoat]

The mathmatical answer for

40 yd shot = 120 ft
40 mph duck= 58.67 fps
1400 fps shell

Get all numbers in the same units.
Then find how much time it takes for the shot to go 40 yds. 120/1400 =.085714 seconds. Now how far does the duck fly during that time. 58.67*.085714= 5 feet

That is if you hold your gun steady (no swing) five feet ahead of the bird, no wind, and shot maintains 1400 fps at 40 yd.

In the real world shot loses velocity, wind factors, and swing come in to play. This is where someone mentioned above that you use your instincts.

[bourne33]

that sounds good to me... doc what you think about that.. is that what you would have said.. how far would you lead one even though you would never do it just wondering about your answer.

[Doc & Nash]

I would lead them about 9-12 feet just depending on the circumstance. But my feelings are if you have to lead a duck by that great of a distance is it an ethical shot. In my book no. Odds are even if you think you missed you have actually hit the duck with a small quanity of pellets. That duck flyes off and ends up dying or being injured to the point where he/she will not be able to reproduce the upcoming year if ever. Or they end up as Coyote food. Personally I would rather let them get inside 25 yds and make sure the duck I am shooting at hits the water. My set up starts 15 yds away from me and my furtherest deke is 25 yds. If a duck is on the out skirts of my spread 30-40 ft high it puts the duck at a range of about 30 yds. This is my maxium shot, not because I can't kill them at further distance but because I choose not too. This duck I would lead two lengths or to make it easier, the width of the gun barrel twice over.

In my opinion, any shot where there is a greater probility between a clean kill than not, I feel it is skybusting.... If can tell me that you shoot greater than 50% at 40 yds, I am willing to put $ on it that you can't. (That does come with a disclaimer GC is not included) Reality is you can take the top 10 wingshooters on this board and shooting 50% at that distance on live ducks would be take a miracle to accomplish.

Most of those involved are dog trainers and have ducks in the freezer. Take a duck, and place it at 40yds. Do not step it off just gauge 40 yds and set the duck there. Then get a tape measure and mark out 120 ft. Odds are if more of you than not set the duck in the 25-30 yd range.

[novacaine]

O.K.-I just want to know what calculating device ya'll are using-
1)hewlett packard 48 gx
2)old school slide rule
3)abacus
While hunting with said device do you-
1) calculate and then drop said device to shoot
2)calculate and shoot while holding said device
or to you go ahead and have everything calculated before hand or plot a chart and post it on the inside of you blind?
My personal preference is to give large lead and shoot 3 times really fast.More or less lay a steel curtain for them to fly through

[GulfCoast]

The mathmatical answer for

40 yd shot = 120 ft
40 mph duck= 58.67 fps
1400 fps shell

Get all numbers in the same units.
Then find how much time it takes for the shot to go 40 yds. 120/1400 =.085714 seconds. Now how far does the duck fly during that time. 58.67*.085714= 5 feet

That is if you hold your gun steady (no swing) five feet ahead of the bird, no wind, and shot maintains 1400 fps at 40 yd.

In the real world shot loses velocity, wind factors, and swing come in to play. This is where someone mentioned above that you use your instincts.

I think your math is pretty good, except the shot will not stay at 1400, it loses speed very quickly. Yours is pretty close to what Brister came up with in his "duck shooting experiment." Bob Brister's book shows the experiment of shooting a moving duck target (12 feet or so of paper pulled behind a car at a constant speed with multiple ducks on it) and holding dead on the lead duck's bill, the shot cloud never got "closer" than 7-8 feet to the leading target, showing the real world lead. This was repeated hundreds of times with the same results, different shooters, hot loads, light loads, etc. Thus, about an 8 foot real world lead. He did the same thing at 60 yards and had to hold in front of the station wagon pulling the trailer to get the shot on the pattern trailer paper.

I used to shoot some tournaments in Texas when I was wild eyed and crazy about competing, and two rebuilt shoulders ago. Got squadded with him twice, and I asked him what he promised his wife to get her to drive a station wagon pulling a trailer that guys were shooting at with live rounds. He just grinned. Dude was a genius writer, one of the best shooters ever, and crazy as HELL. This one guy showed up to shoot in a jersey cow vest, with "cow spots" painted on his gun, cow spotted visor, and Brister says to him "What homosexual dance party did you just walk out of boy?" The dude was MUCH.

[GulfCoast]

By the way, if Dan Moulder (MSDuckmen); Randy Dennis (Anatadae); David Melton (DeltaDuck) or Bankermane (Chan) say they can go clean on ducks at 40 yards, I would not quibble with ANY of those guys.

[swamprooter]

So in short i was right again 8-10' lead .......pay attention my little grasshoppers with window duck decals!........Thats good info GulfCoast you gave there. I love to read that book. I bet it has some great stuff.

[Doc & Nash]

By the way, if Dan Moulder (MSDuckmen); Randy Dennis (Anatadae); David Melton (DeltaDuck) or Bankermane (Chan) say they can go clean on ducks at 40 yards, I would not quibble with ANY of those guys.

When I said top 10 wingshooters on this board them 4 and you make up the top 5. After that The next 5 would be interesting, but fun to try to sort it out.

[Doc & Nash]

So in short i was right again 8-10' lead .......pay attention my little grasshoppers with window duck decals!........Thats good info GulfCoast you gave there. I love to read that book. I bet it has some great stuff.

You don't actually think I asked a question with out already knowing the answer or at least looking it up do you????

BTW I figured it out with the mallards average flight speed of 50 mph and 1400fps shell and came up with 11.889 ft lead. However if you follow thru with the swing of the gun it will cut it down to 9 ft.

[DuckBoat]

BTW I figured it out with the mallards average flight speed of 50 mph and 1400fps shell and came up with 11.889 ft lead. However if you follow thru with the swing of the gun it will cut it down to 9 ft.

If the average velocity is 800 fps for shot and duck at 50 mph 40 yd distance only works out to be 11 feet. How are you doing your calculating? Do you have some constant that factors other variables? I was just using straight math with theoretical assumptions of no wind and no velocity loss, no swing. Otherwise you have to have some other tested values in the equation.

[Duct-Up]

a foot to a foot and a half

[sunnylab]

OK i will take a rangefinder with me next time and post up some of my shot distances.

All i'm saying is i KNOW FOR A FACT that i can kill a duck at 40 yards dead as a hammer...and I really don't
care which way he is flying.