Black cloud

[duckmen1]

Since I have a stoeger 2000 and 3500 and they both use the same chokes thinking about getting the kicks vortex to use black cloud. How has your success been with black cloud. I have the kicks high flyer choke it patterns great with almost every brand I shoot. Just thinking when certain loads aren't available at store this will give me another option to use. I have a buddy that uses it and to see some of the shots he has made has been absolutely amazing with the knockdown power.
Again do you like black cloud

[ellensburgpo]

I've gone through three cases since it came out and it's my favorite load. There are a lot of differing opinions on whether its necessary or not but mine is that it works. I use 3" BB's most of the time and they pattern great out of my shotguns. I'm normally the cripple killer because of how well these perform long range. I've had to chase so many less diver cripples using this load that its worth the extra money. Often times my first two shells are number two' and the last is BB if I'm puddler hunting. 3" BB's will do work on geese as well.

Ultimately only you can decide if they work for your style of hunting or not. If you watch the sales at Rodgers sporting goods or final flight outfitters you can get it shipped for under 200$ a case.

[h2ofowlr]

I have ran 5-1/2 cases through my gun.  They worked.  I ended up going with Hevi-Metal these days as it works better for me.  If you plan on shooting BC then, I would suggest getting one of the BC chokes or shoot modified.  Part of the reason the shot stays together in a tight pattern is the wad slows at it's given rate, vs stripped at the barrel.  I have had birds inside 15 yards with the wad cup stuck in them.  Good long range loads.

[duckmen1]

I can say he I metal is one of my all time favorites. Ducks fold with those. I do like black cloud just need tight patterns and I will use them too. The one load I stay away from is blindside. No matter what gun we've used it sucked on patterns and have shot birds that were crippled as close as 15 yards and it never wants to kill them. From what I've seen blackcloud and hevi metal seem pretty good for higher cost loads.
Has anyone ever used the kicks vortex choke for duck hunting.

[sakoshooter]

My "Only" choke for waterfowl is an extended range Patternmaster and my favorite load is Heavy Metal. With a Patternmaster choke, you can shoot most any quality steel or other shot load and have excellent results with tight patterns and hard hit birds.
As mentioned already, the wad is the only reason Black Cloud works. Same goes for Blind Side. Basically the same wad. There's not way to shoot square shot nor pellets shaped like the planet Saturn without a wad keeping the shot column together. Because of this it's not recommended to shoot these loads thru a Patternmaster.

[ellensburgpo]

I've never used the kicks choke with black cloud. I did buy the one Carlson's makes for black cloud and it does tighten the pattern slightly. When I upgraded from the nova to the m2 I didn't think the minor upgrade was enough to justify another 50$ Due to different choke systems. The wad in the black cloud is such that even with a modified choke in my m2 it is still a very tight pattern.

As sako mentioned the bc shells and a pattern master do not work together. If it were me I would save the money on a new choke and let the black cloud do the work.

[pianoman9701]

I use and IC with Black cod and have no trouble knocking down geese with it.

[beninchelan]

Waste of money, better use of cash would be at the local skeet club before the season. And invest in a good choke

[duckmen1]

Oh trust me I have no issue dropping birds. Get most of what I shoot at. Just like adding more fun to it and I'm really into shotguns. That's my thing. Anything to do with shotguns and I'm on it.

[wadu1]

Waste of money, better use of cash would be at the local skeet club before the season. And invest in a good choke

It's all a gimmick to get you to buy new shells and the choke manufacturers followed up and offered "Special" tubes for the crap. I will not shoot Black Cloud just too many issues with the stuff two boxes that the shot fell out due to over crimping, and a guide friend had a client out where the wad never left the barrel, "Thank God" the kid knew something was wrong and did not do a follow-up shot. I have used the hot Remington stuff and the Winchester Blindside, I'll stick with Kent Fast Steel. 

[duckmen1]

Kent faststeel has always been one of my go to rounds. In fact picked up a box today. I hate the Remington hypersonic loads and won't ever use those again after the heavy pressure they give fused my choke to my gun In the past. But in the past I have seen good results with black cloud and sometime it may have done maybe a little to much damage. But I am a guy that don't like cripples so a little to much knock down versus not enough is better to me.

[vandeman17]

Kent steel is my go to shell. It patterns well out of my gun/choke combo and it is cheap. 

[elkaholic33]

I usually use Kent also.  I had some time, so I patterned various loads out of the Benelli SBE II.

The picture is a side by side comparison of Black Cloud BB 3.5" at 40 yards from a bench rest.  The paper is 36" wide x 48" high and the circle is 30" in diameter.  The aim point was the middle dot.  Shooting slightly downhill.  The left side of the picture is through an improved cylinder choke.  The right side is through a modified choke.  The IC was right around 56%, the modified was around 75%.  Think I will be shooting a modified choke unless they are really close.

[singleshot12]

Black Cloud is way over rated . Load your own and better for the fraction of the price. Don't go with the most advertised or popular chokes either. Do your Own research and use what works for your gun though. Factory chokes are just fine if you load the right recipe for them.

[sakoshooter]

BB's shoot 100% in a 30" circle at 40yds out of my SBE II thru my extended range Patternmaster choke. Plus it has a very short shot string which translates into more pellets on target, especially on crossing shots. Not a very forgiving choke but it puts more holes in birds than any other choke I've ever tried. Kills ducks/geese faster than any other choke, period. And you don't have to buy expensive shells to get these results.
A popular waterfowl guide I know bought a Patternmaster at the start of this season and told me it was a good move. Hardly any cripples anymore he says. He used to use BC and BS but now shoots any thing he wants for much less not counting the price of the choke.

[lokidog]

I just fired a Black Cloud round for the first time yesterday, hammered a goose (out of the air no less  ) with #3 shot at 25-30 yards, not even a twitch.  My secound round was BBs and I had to finish that goose off with a second shot.  I'm using a Carlson's Ultra Crio Skeet .720 which has been giving me really tight patterns out of my Benelli Nova with my mish mash of mixed shotshell varieties.

One shot is not much of a sample though so I look forward to trying it more.    

[sakoshooter]

I just fired a Black Cloud round for the first time yesterday, hammered a goose (out of the air no less  ) with #3 shot at 25-30 yards, not even a twitch.  My secound round was BBs and I had to finish that goose off with a second shot.  I'm using a Carlson's Ultra Crio Skeet .720 which has been giving me really tight patterns out of my Benelli Nova with my mish mash of mixed shotshell varieties.

One shot is not much of a sample though so I look forward to trying it more.   

I shot a nice fat greater Canada day after Christmas at about 25 yds with a 2 3/4", 1oz  #7 steel load I keep handy for snipe and cripples. Head shot on the ground since it wouldn't fly. Surprised him with the canoe as we came around a corner. He hid in the tall grass instead of flying. He had plenty of time to take off as my gun was in a case and I had to find a shell in my wader pocket. At that kind of yardage, anything will work.

[fowl smacker]

I've hunted waterfowl for 17 years now, I've tried nearly every shell on the market.  The best bird dropping dead shell is heavy metal, a close second is black cloud (which is what I usually shoot).  I shoot an extrema 2 with the Carlson's BC long range choke and I rarely ever have cripples.  I am also an avid reloader and have tried tons of made up loads, you can't match the performance for the price on either heavy metal or black cloud, yes you could load a tungsten, but it's super spendy and doesn't save you any $.  Plain ol' steel SUCKS, yes Kent will kill ducks and geese fine to 30 yds, but you do get more cripples.  My two cents is that BC is worth every penny especially the deals Rogers has on a case.

[scottcrb]

I have a supernova and shoot 3" #2 and bb black clouds and use a Carlson black cloud mid range choke and have had great performance . Haven't shot much of the hevi shot stuff but the Kent is probably my second choice. Only problem with the black cloud stuff is the damage it can cause at closer ranges. Hits hard knocks em dead.

[Blacktail135]

 I shoot an old Remington 870 with a rusty factory I.C. choke. The gun get's tossed in the back of the old rusty truck bed after the hunt where it may stay for day's. Sometimes I may put a little bit of oil on the rail's. I shoot Federal red box 12 ga. 3" #4 steel. Quite often I have to let the duck's get away a little bit before I shoot. If your on the X spot, let your decoy's do their job, are brushed in good, be still, don't blow'em out with your Kazoo call and a decent shot all this other "Whompass Kill'em Mile High" stuff is not only a waste of money but, seeding a whole new generation of SHOOTERS instead of hunters.

[sakoshooter]

I shoot an old Remington 870 with a rusty factory I.C. choke. The gun get's tossed in the back of the old rusty truck bed after the hunt where it may stay for day's. Sometimes I may put a little bit of oil on the rail's. I shoot Federal red box 12 ga. 3" #4 steel. Quite often I have to let the duck's get away a little bit before I shoot. If your on the X spot, let your decoy's do their job, are brushed in good, be still, don't blow'em out with your Kazoo call and a decent shot all this other "Whompass Kill'em Mile High" stuff is not only a waste of money but, seeding a whole new generation of SHOOTERS instead of hunters.

Other than the loving care you put into your gun, I agree with you Blacktail on the rest of what you said. But I prefer #2's later in the season for those heavily feathered birds and those that hang out a bit.

[duckmen1]

I try not to shoot over 40 yards with a lot of my shots 20 to 30. Once in a while when I jump shoot I might be shooting out to 50 yards. The last group of mallards we shot at we dropped two about 50 yards with the Hevimetal bb. That stuff is awesome. But getting more expensive.
Hevi metal plus kicks choke equals awesome.

[JustinC15]

Ive tried the regular federal waterfowl loads, Kent, and Blackcloud. and i can say for sure, i've killed more ducks with Blackcloud than any other load. i wont buy anything else to kill ducks besides Blackcloud 3in 3's.

[martin1]

i just tried heavy metal the other day and im very impressed, not only does it pattern good with my sbe2 and code black goose pattern master works great on divers both passing and decoying..

[sakoshooter]

Great combo there Martin1 - A Patternmaster choke and Heavy Metal shells.

[PA BEN]

I shoot an old Remington 870 with a rusty factory I.C. choke. The gun get's tossed in the back of the old rusty truck bed after the hunt where it may stay for day's. Sometimes I may put a little bit of oil on the rail's. I shoot Federal red box 12 ga. 3" #4 steel. Quite often I have to let the duck's get away a little bit before I shoot. If your on the X spot, let your decoy's do their job, are brushed in good, be still, don't blow'em out with your Kazoo call and a decent shot all this other "Whompass Kill'em Mile High" stuff is not only a waste of money but, seeding a whole new generation of SHOOTERS instead of hunters.

2 times this season I hunting over decoys shooting Winchester and Remington 3", #4's I noticed I was missing a lot of birds and the ones I did get were all shot too hell. I shoot an Improved cylinder choke. I was thinking with 3" my shot was too fast (1550 FPS, 1-1/8 oz, steel) and not opening up soon enough between 20 and 35 yds. Yesterday when the ducks started showing up at this one hole we hunted over decoys I decided to use Federal 2 3/4" # 4's, (1375 FPS, 1-1/8 oz, steel). First round I shot a triple. All between 30 and 35 yds. Second round was a jump shoot, I had my hens so I needed drakes. I picked a drake at around 30 yds folded him, second drake folded him, third drake folded him. Last drake was over 35 yds. Before anyone asks I haven't patterned my new shotgun yet. Got it for my birthday in November. I'm beginning to think 3" is a little overrated just like 3 1/2" are. BTW, none of the birds were shot to hell. 

[sakoshooter]

I shoot an old Remington 870 with a rusty factory I.C. choke. The gun get's tossed in the back of the old rusty truck bed after the hunt where it may stay for day's. Sometimes I may put a little bit of oil on the rail's. I shoot Federal red box 12 ga. 3" #4 steel. Quite often I have to let the duck's get away a little bit before I shoot. If your on the X spot, let your decoy's do their job, are brushed in good, be still, don't blow'em out with your Kazoo call and a decent shot all this other "Whompass Kill'em Mile High" stuff is not only a waste of money but, seeding a whole new generation of SHOOTERS instead of hunters.

2 times this season I hunting over decoys shooting Winchester and Remington 3", #4's I noticed I was missing a lot of birds and the ones I did get were all shot too hell. I shoot an Improved cylinder choke. I was thinking with 3" my shot was too fast (1550 FPS, 1-1/8 oz, steel) and not opening up soon enough between 20 and 35 yds. Yesterday when the ducks started showing up at this one hole we hunted over decoys I decided to use Federal 2 3/4" # 4's, (1375 FPS, 1-1/8 oz, steel). First round I shot a triple. All between 30 and 35 yds. Second round was a jump shoot, I had my hens so I needed drakes. I picked a drake at around 30 yds folded him, second drake folded him, third drake folded him. Last drake was over 35 yds. Before anyone asks I haven't patterned my new shotgun yet. Got it for my birthday in November. I'm beginning to think 3" is a little overrated just like 3 1/2" are. BTW, none of the birds were shot to hell. 

Shell length doesn't necessarily buy you any more killing distance per se, but does add many more pellets to the pattern at any given range. That's why longer shots benefit from longer shells as a marginal hit with a light steel shot load might be an easy kill shot with a fuller pattern. The other recommendation would be to go with #2's for those longer shots on late season, heavily feathered birds.
Congrats on the triple. Nice shooting.