Black cloud

[Troutslayer]

I've shot almost 2 cases this year, most of it was HeaviShot that I bought 80% off when Joe's Sports in Spokane was going out of business. It does knock the **** out of them, but with as much shooting as I like to do I can not justify paying more than $1.00 per-shell for anything to shoot at a duck or goose.

 

[Cigar]

Man just like a friend said... You will love Black Cloud or Hate it....

A friend loves 4s in black cloud for ducks...

I don't have that much experience with black cloud... I shoot fast steel 2/3s for ducks and 1/2s for geese.... 2s are my all around load..

 

[roaddog1m]

I dont know how it preforms on ducks and geese, too expencive for me to waste on these things. All I know is that last year when I was swan hunting i was shooting remington nitro in BBB 3 1/2 and all it was doing was slapping the heck out of them things and nothing falling out of the air! Usually you have to try to get the ones low enough and try to get a head/neck shot on them other wise it is pure luck when you bring them down. I was out with a friend and he handed me a couple of his 3 1/2 BB black cloud shells to try and the first shot, at a bird that was unbeleivably high, bird dropped like a ton of bricks! I was thinking of using that hevi shot or that dead coyote stuff this year but have bought a box of black cloud and am going to use it for swans.

I have done a lot of patterning from 40 to 70yds and penetration tests using dry Omaha phone books. Using 10gauge steel BBB, I could over penetrate the intire Omaha phone book at 70yds. I only would have one or two hits was the problem. My best pattern for the Remington SP10 was a IC choke and standard velocity BBB.
The "slapping" sound you are hearing is most likely pellets striking wing feathers as the bird flys through your pattern. At extended ranges, even with steel shot, it is possible to shoot through the goose with BBB but you usually don't have a dense enough pattern and although you may even be making a perfect shot, something the size of a Canada Goose can fly through it and not be hit critically. A wing bone is a very small target! I backed off to BB and started picking closer shots.
Like Clint Eastwood once said, "A man's gotta know his limitations."

Good luck!

 

[460or338]

I heard lots of people use kents faststeel suppose to be just as good or better .Or you can get the real pricey stuff tungsten matrix make's hevishot look cheap lol

 

[Forester]

I shoot a Beretta Xtrema and Briley chokes. Black Cloud 4s with IC choke shoot well for decoying ducks for me, for geese I use Kent 2s or HeviSteel BBs and a little tighter choke.

 

[jbaldwin]

I've been shooting winchester Xperts for ducks over decoys and Winchester Supremes for longer passing shots on ducks in 2 and 3's in 12ga and Supremes in T's for geese in 10 gauge. Two T's will give a goose a fit at 60 yds or more. I usually kill from 200 to 300 birds a year and have had no problems with either. M1 benelli and patternmaster and Sp 10 and Pure gold Modified, Don't mind a cripple shot that only cost .40 to .60 cents compared to 2.00 and change.

 

[MrMajestic]

Never patterned good for me even using the PM choke tube. My SP10 likes PM's extended choke and 1 3/4 oz. Nitro Steel #2"s. Made some amazing long shots. I prefer pattern density to speed and my results speak for themselves. Don't matter what gimmick you choose if it ain't were the bird is it won't kill them. I know pretty profound!

 

[kenai_king19]

I tried Black Cloud last year it did alright but the Benelli was the dirtiest I have ever seen it after using that stuff, only 10 rounds used. I have gone hundreds of rounds of regular Federal steel, Tungsten iron, hevi-shot and it didn't come close to that amount of fouling as the Black Cloud did. Then I tried Hevi-Metal and that works good enough, but if you are willing to pay a little more Tungsten Iron is the way to go, it will knock anything and everything down. Killed big honkers at 100 yards up last year with ease with that stuff.

 

[Lrt307]

Old thread. I have been hunting geese for the last 9 years using black cloud 3.5" bb 1.5 ounce loads. I switched the other day and tried some estates in 3.5 bb. I was able to bring them down with the estates but had many cripples I had to hunt down. Black cloud with those same type distance shots folds em up! We use A400 Xtreme Berettas and black cloud lr choke tubes. 4 of us use same guns and ammo. We bring down a ton of geese!gun)

 

[wildwings]

I am with Dennis on this one.....I use both Hevishot Duck
and HeviMetal exclusively....I tried the Black Cloud when
it first came out but was less than impressed

 

[338LAPUA]

I used to shoot it and then switched to heavy metal, never looked back!

 

[wildwings]

338,
I agree that the HeviMetal is a super waterfowl load. For 2019, there is
a long range version of the HM

 

[wildwings]

The Black Cloud cannot even come close to being as effective as the Hevishot brand of shells are. The quality with Hevishot speaks for itself