Federal Blackcloud

[jlmatthew]

Have any of you guys used Federal's Blackcloud loads for geese? If you have, whats your opinion of them?

Just curious cause I've heard those flight-stopper pellets cause a lot of damage

 

[174in]

Not geese but I did try them the first year they came out on ducks,they worked awsome.I didnt notice any more damage than regular shot.If I hunted waterfowl again that is what I would buy.

 

[xrayts]

I didn't notice a huge difference. Heavy shot is the only thing I've ever been wow'd by, but who can afford it?

 

[grizzly5028]

It depends on your choke, but at long distance shots its great. Close shots the pattern can be very dense and you can miss more. it has great penetration though, i use it as my 3rd shot for geese most of the time. the only other down side is that it makes your gun really dirty so you have to clean our gun and action more often.

 

[mtmiller]

I have only used it on ducks. I was very impressed.

 

[Razorback]

It works very well on ducks. It is worth the little extra you pay for it. I'll agree with Grizzly that it requires extra cleaning.

 

[mdunc8]

Don't waterfowl hunt, but my buddy who does has switched over to it. He loves it.

 

[wingman1]

It's a dirty load. I have to use safety glasses with it. Performance is good. When I don't have time to reload I buy BC. I think it will tear up some guns because it had extremly high pressures. 1.5 ounce @ 1500 fps , thats smokin. My buddies bereta kept breaking extractor parts until he quit shooting that load.

 

[drtdeer]

Yes, I understand they are do a nice job. I have not used them, but my waterfowl hutning buddy uses them and likes them. I have been with him when he soots them, and the ducks do die. If they are doing a nice job on big ducks, I'm sure they will do a nice job on geese. Of course if they are close enough, it doesn't really matter the make of shot!

 

[blue devil]

I saw no difference compared to regular steel. Killed just as many with regular steel shells and my pocket book feels better now, since I stopped using them

 

[MTGunner]

Just another gimmick for the ammo companies to sell. 1990 the feds decreed that all waterfowl had to be hunted/shot with non toxic shot. At the time all that was available was steel shot. Poor steel shot by manufacturers that had put little time into research. Some of us started handloading steel shot. Found that speed was the answer. I loaded 1 ounce in 2 3/4" shells. Lots of old time hunters gave up waterfowling. I had numbers give me their store bought steel shot shells. Most was OK. Some was crap. The ammo companies came upon a new market to sell lots of new non toxic shells to those who knew little about ballistics and shot only before or during the waterfowl season. Great for the ammo makers. The new Blackcloud ammo is merely a poorly formed round shot that was discovered to penetrate well and fly OK. Ya' know, just like the original steel shot. But, hey lets get a well known TV hunting personality to back 'em says the sales department. Someone like, Phil Robertson, the "Duck Commander". Yeh! A real down home duck killer! Or, lets shoot some of that new shotshell loads, "Heavy shot", that requires one to take out a mortgage to buy a box of 10 shells. Then, sky bust a bunch of ducks, geese, sandhill cranes or what have you. Only to have one of the golden pellets actually hit their mark. I think not. Stick to the basics and all will be the norm. Non toxic shot is here to stay. Don't need the newest, slickest, heaviest, magnum buster out there. Haven't found the need over the last 50 yrs. of waterfowl gunning. Lead was great. Steel is OK. The newest crap doesn't make up for a poor spread of tollers or not practicing during the off season. Many may not agree. Good 'nuff! MTG

 

[BirdDogWebb]

I never used them but my son has. He was very pleased and we didn't notice a lot of damage. It does just what it says.

 

[choc dogs]

I've hunted with people who use it, and in the cleaning, I can usually tell which birds were shot with BC, and which with HSS. The black cloud seems to leave more bloodshot meat in the breast, in my opinion, and when we take turns shooting, my 20 gauge seems to do just as well, for about 50% cost. I'd not use it, but that's my choice.

 

[jlmatthew]

The black cloud seems to leave more bloodshot meat in the breast

Thats what I've been hearing, that it tears up the meat pretty bad. I was curious about what others have seen or heard

I've been having great success with Federal's Ultra-Shok using the 3.5" load of BBB going out at 1500 fps. Couple of the Geese I shot last weekend were pretty tall, but when I cleaned them the shot had made it through the breast meat and into the vitals