Crop protection permits? Shot sizes and reloading?

I recently made friends with a gentleman who has a dairy farm and a waterfowl problem. He would consider it a favour to him if I came and killed the birds eating his crops lol. My 2 sons are pumped to go kill some birds with me...apparently at times he has hundreds of birds in his fields.

Apparently there is some crop protection rules that allow you to hunt out of season..is anyone familiar with this?

Im pretty new to duck and goose hunting because Ive never had anywhere good to hunt. I have 12 mallard decoys. My friend has access to a bunch of decoys and pop up blinds. I have a mossberg 835 pump that takes 3.5" and a mossberg 930 semi that takes 3". What size factory ammo for ducks vs geese should I be buying? I like the idea of 3" as I can reload them and theyd work in both guns..Also any other advice on resources to check out and learn set ups etc..

Ive been reloading buckshot and slugs and would like to load some steel shot..glancing through the lyman reloading manual alliant steel powder sewms to be the go to and available but all the recipes are fed f09a primers which seem to be unavailable..I have w209s and cheddittes..

I've had success getting both ducks & Canada geese with Kent Steel #4 shot. 2 & 3/4 shell with 1 & 1/16 oz load, 1550 FPS according to info on the box. There are charts & also info on some boxes that show what size shot is best suited for a given game bird. I've only reloaded slugs so far as commercial ammo for waterfowl is relatively inexpensive & like you I haven't found a suitable load in the manual. My shotties are older & not the best choice for steel shot so I need to find a good load using bismuth or hevi-shot (tungsten) both of which are pricey.

I've hit the primer wall too, in need of W209 primers for my slug loads & none to be had anywhere. I picked up some Cheddite primers but will likely not use them as I can't find a load for them in the Lyman manual. Vendor said they're interchangeable but the more I research the less confidence I have in that info. Lyman manual is quite adamant that changing any component of a load is asking for trouble.

Geese & ducks taken with Kent Steel #4
https://dm2pap001files.storage.live....&cropmode=none

These ducks I took with Imperial Steel shells #7. 2 & 3/4" 1 & 1/8oz load 1450FPS. According to the box #7 is for smaller birds like quail but I knocked 3 out of the air with one shot using the old Browning A5 full choke barrel.
https://dsm01pap090files.storage.liv...&cropmode=none

The farm owner can apply for a crop protection permit with the federal government. But in my experience by the time it gets issued the bird's will be long gone.

Yes, the land owner is the one who has to apply to the Feds to get the permit. In the application, he has to name everybody who might be allowed to hunt on the permit. If you’re not named on the permit, you are not permitted to hunt under the authority of the permit. If the permit is issued, the hunters are not allowed to use any camo, blinds, decoys, calls etc. The permit is not a “free-for-all”. There may be a few other rules that are attached to the permit as well, such as notifying either the Police or CO’s prior to every planned shoot. That is so when the neighbours call about out of season shooting going on each time, then the authorities already know about it. It is also possible that a report has to be filed at the expiration of the permit, outlining how many days the permit was utilized, how many people shot under the authority of the permit, and how many birds were killed along with the various species. Different rules apply for each and every permit. Like I said, it’s not just a free-for-all, an extension of the hunting season. Lots of things to consider, lots of rules to follow, lots of things to know.

The crop protection permit sounds complicated. Hopefully we can navigate it, thanks for the info. Apparently when the corn shoots were a few inches the birds came in and in 2 days ate 1/2 the field.

Nice pics Mike! I appreciate your caution with the primers. I read one guy tried to blow up his barrel and got to 55 000 psi before giving up, check out the article

https://www.shotgunlife.com/shotguns...pressures.html

Are there any advantages to bismuth or hevi shot?

Well luck be a lady, I just bought 1000 fed 209 primers on Gun Post for a decent price, time to order some alliant steel from bilzoir..

you wont likely be seeing many birds in the fields from now until hunting season so the crop permit will be likely redunant. Pace maker provided very good info.

As far was what shot to use, by the cheapest you can find till you learn how to actually kill something in flight. and even then the difference between a $25 box of shells and a $50 box of shells is marginal. Super X numer 4's for ducks and BB's for geese will do yah just fine.

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Originally Posted by ElectricDyck

Are there any advantages to bismuth or hevi shot?

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Can be safely used on older shotguns built before lead shot was prohibited for waterfowl hunting. Steel is hard on them. Both bismuth & hevi are softer & perform more like traditional lead shot.

The permit business reminds me of an article a couple years ago when a woman was 'traumatized' by the actions of a hunter shooting geese with permission of the property owner. The city of Vernon also planned a cull as the geese are out of hand on local beaches. Government permit bureaucracy delayed it for a year & I still don't think it's happened. The times they are a changin' with regard to the general public's attitude towards hunting.

https://www.castanet.net/news/West-K...nd-decapitated

https://www.vernonmorningstar.com/ne...ement-program/

It be easier to find a falcon hunter, lol. Propane cannon is used for some of the cherry orchards in the Okanagan to keep the Starlings out of the trees. It should work for geese.