Best 12 Gauge Ammo for Duck Hunting

When looking for the best 12 gauge ammo for duck hunting, it might be easier to start with what you shouldn’t use: lead shot. After explaining why, we’ll get into you best options to actually use in the field for ducks this fall.

Lead Shot Is Not Ideal for Duck Hunting

Lead has two qualities which make it an excellent metal for shot pellets: cheapness, and density. As of April, 2025, lead costs only $0.88/pound. That’s downright economical. And thanks to its relatively high density of ~11.35 g/cc, lead is capable of conserving superior momentum downrange, thereby enabling it to (A) resist wind deflection, and (B) strike with deadly force over impressively long distances.

Unfortunately, lead has an unsavory quality: toxicity. I won’t go into all the ways it can damage the ecosystem, but suffice to say it is harmful to native bird populations (including ducks, which we want there to be tons of). That’s why the federal government banned the use of lead shot for waterfowl hunting in 1991.

In short, although lead is extremely effective at pinning down ducks, it is totally unsuitable for the job. Sticking to nontoxic lead-free shot won’t just make you a steward of the environment. It will also help you avoid fines, losing your hunting license, and having your shotgun confiscated by an irate game warden.

Steel. Tungsten. Bismuth. These are the types of shot you should use for duck hunting. But before we continue to our recommendations, let’s briefly touch on which shot size you should use.

Best 12 Gauge Ammo for Duck Hunting

Federal Premium Black Cloud TSS

Federal Premium’s premium duck hunting ammo ain’t cheap. Prepare to spend more than $5 per round on a good day. But if you’re looking for ammo that dominates quackers at ranges beyond 50 yards, then it’s hard to do much better than Black Cloud TSS.

This shell is loaded with a 60/40 blend of two different shot pellets. First you have TSS, which at 18 g/cc is more than twice as dense as steel. Second you have FliteStopper: steel pellets featuring ridges around their midsections that help them punch wider, deadlier holes through fowl. And thanks to its FliteControl Flex wad, a Black Cloud TSS shell can be trusted to pattern extra efficiently through any type of waterfowl choke.

Winchester Drylok Super Steel

Not keen on converting a large percentage of your net worth into tungsten? Then never fear, because Winchester’s Drylok Super Steel ammunition lets you avail yourself of cheaper steel!

This shell’s steel shot pellets are plated for protection against corrosion. That ensures they stay smooth enough to pattern efficiently. The payoff? More shot on target, even if you’re hunting in the damp places ducks prefer dabbling in. These shells also showcase Winchester’s Drylok double-seal wad system and have lacquered primers, which provide even greater protection against moisture.

Find the 1 3/8 oz. #2 DryLok shells here.

Get the 1 1/4 oz. #3 high velocity shotshells here.

Find the 1 1/4 oz. #4 steel DryLok shells here.

Kent Fasteel 2.0

Kent is one of the country’s foremost authorities on nontoxic waterfowl ammo. Choose the big K, and you’ll be okay.

The West Virginian manufacturer’s Fasteel 2.0 label shell is a tried-and-trusted solution to downing Daffy. This round’s precision-plated pellets avoid becoming coarse as a result of long-term exposure to humidity. Its nickel-plated cap is similarly corrosion resistant. Love that high-performance base wad which is specially optimized for semi-automatic shotguns (but by no means incompatible with pumps and break-actions). And Kent’s powder, which is formulated to deliver consistent results at either extreme of the temperature spectrum? I’M A FAN.

Hevi-Shot Hevi-Bismuth

Hevi-Shot’s usual tungsten shot is nothing to sneeze at, but their bismuth loads are equally excellent. This shell’s perfectly nontoxic 9.6 g/cc shot pellets are 22% denser than lead, which helps them conserve the momentum requisite to inflict deep, deadly wounds downrange. It certainly helps that Hevi-Shot knows how to make reliable shotshells, which they promise are safe for use in antique scatterguns.

Remington Hi-Speed Steel

Remington’s Hi-Speed Steel isn’t anything extraordinarily fancy. It’s just loaded with uniform shot pellets, tight-patterning (and protective) full-length wads, straight and concentric hulls, dependable primers, and fast- and clean-burning powder. It’s budget ammo that performs like the premium stuff. Everyone loves it (except for ducks).

Find 3″ 1 1/4oz. Remington Hi-Speed 12 gauge shells here.

Fiocchi Golden Waterfowl, Winchester Super-X Xpert, and Browning Wicked Wing XD

All of these are excellent American-made duck loads, complete with corrosion-resistant plated steel shot, wads which play nicely with a wide range of different choke tubes, and tough hulls which cycle reliably even after they have been hand-loaded a few times.

Find Fiocchi Golden Waterfowl 12 gauge shells for sale here.

Best 12 Gauge Shot Sizes for Duck Hunting

The best shot size for duck hunting depends on a couple of factors: the metal your shot is made of, and the type of duck hunting you’re engaging in.

Common Shot Materials

• Steel is the most common type of nontoxic shot used for hunting. Its ~7.9 g/cc density isn’t amazing, but it’s relatively inexpensive and freely available. If you are using decoys to bring ducks in close, then you can get away with smaller #4, #3 or #2 shot. If you’re pass shooting ducks over longer distances, then you want to bump it up to BB, #1 or #2 shot.
• Tungsten shot (which is often marketed as “Hevi-Shot” or “TSS”) is also commonly used for duck hunting. Tungsten’s ~19.3 density (when unalloyed) dwarfs that of steel – and even lead – which is why you can get away with using smaller (and therefore denser-patterning) shot pellets while you’re hunting with it. If you’re firing over decoys, then you can confidently choose #6, #5 or #4 shot. If you’re pass shooting, move up in size to #4, #3 or #2 shot.
• Bismuth is cheaper than tungsten, albeit not as dense at ~9.8 g/cc. It’s also a bit brittle, even when alloyed with tin, which is why bismuth shot pellets are known to fracture under the intense pressure of shotgun ignition. If you’re decoy shooting with bismuth, choose #6 or #5 shot; pass shooting, #5 or #4 shot.

Density Matters

Remember: If two shot pellets are identical in size and velocity, then the denser one would necessarily strike with greater force. Also, the denser the shot, the fewer pellets contained in an ounce; the smaller the shot, the more pellets contained in an ounce. You would ideally fire as many pellets per trigger pull as possible, as that translates to a thicker pattern which has a higher chance of ensnaring a duck downrange.

Also remember: None of this is set in stone. If you successfully harvest ducks using a different shot size than you were recommended, then you don’t have a problem.

The Takeaway

Whatever you do, don’t choose lead shot for slapping ducks out of commission. Choose a high-quality purpose-built steel load, or something containing tungsten or bismuth if you want a longer effective range and more authoritative stopping power.

But the most important thing to know about the best 12 Gauge duck hunting ammo is this: buy it at AmmoForSale.com for a good deal. You’ll get the goods delivered to your doorstep so fast that you’ll shriek like a little girl on its arrival.