Gunning up for duck season
John McDougall weighs up the competitors
The recent history of duck-hunting guns has been something of a nightmare for Australian shooters, starting with the firearms buyback of 1996 which saw the removal of all self-loading and pump-action shotguns. Then the introduction of non-toxic shot in 2001 brought a further whittling away of firearms not suited for steel shot. Only some Remington and older Winchester over-and-unders were deemed suitable, until European manufacturers introduced the Fleur-de-Lys proof mark which designated those shotguns for steel, especially high-performance loads compared to ‘ordinary’ steel shot.
‘High-performance’ related to the shot size and velocity those loads were travelling at, so size 3 shot and loads doing in excess of 1300fps were designated high-performance, while steel loads of smaller shot size and slower velocities were deemed ‘ordinary’. Neither were recommended to be used in shotguns with a barrel constriction of more than half choke. So what’s currently available, now that all game shooting on public land must be done with non-toxic shot?
Most duck hunters will be using their favourite sporting clays gun or a second one they can shoot well with, which could be either an over-and-under shotgun, a double gun or side-by-side. More recently there’s been a trend for in-line bolt-action shotguns which come mainly from Turkey, often with a six-shot capacity, though they remain a Category A firearm due to their action and not their magazine capacity.
I’ve reviewed a number of these guns and found the Templeton Arms offering one of the fastest and most reliable, now it has the release button located to the rear of the receiver. The Bushmeister from Nioa is another popular in-line bolt-action shotgun. These can be bought for less than $1000, depending on whether you prefer a combination gun with a second, shorter barrel which can be used on pigs or quail, or if you’re content with the 28” version.
To find out what shooters can expect for the 2026 duck season (starting in February in South Australia and March in other states where legalised), I visited several gun dealers as they were stocking up for what should be a bumper season, subject to water availability and southern state rain.
There are some shotgun bargains to be had since Raytrade passed their Fabarm distributorship to C.R. Kennedy in Brisbane. During the transition, Raytrade were selling their stock of Fabarm shotguns at bargain prices, often $1000 off the normal retail price, so it pays to shop around. Yildiz have gone to OSA from Raytrade and, once again, there are bargains to be had as remaining stock is cleared out.
Stopping in at Apex Firearms and Defence in Dandenong, Victoria, one of the sales people picked out a few guns they expect to sell well this season, starting with the Bushmeister Combo at around $1320 with combination 20” and 28” barrels. These are Cerakoted to withstand the brackish waters found in most duck swamps, with the attraction of a cartridge in the chamber and five in the magazine having great firepower appeal. This combination won’t necessarily translate into more ducks for the bag, but your limit may well be achieved sooner with the extra number of shots available.
Next up was a Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon 1, priced competitively at $3350. Being limited to two shots may be seen as a bonus by many dedicated duck hunters, as it restricts firepower which means you can enjoy being out in the swamp longer. That two-shot capacity also pushes you to become a better shot, as you must be focussed enough to make them count. I’ve only one criticism of this gun and that is its silver receiver, which could potentially alert ducks as the sun catches it.
The third gun presented was a Bettinsoli X-Trail over-and-under. I own one of these with a case-hardened receiver which has served me famously, though my son shoots extremely well with it too and commandeered it for his own use. The latest model with a satin-silver receiver sells for around $1975 including a full set of chokes.
During my day in Melbourne I met Morgan Raymond of Raytrade who was sending out some bargain-priced Yildiz shotguns. The SPZ SME Black was selling for $1395 and the Elegant model side-by-side for $1495. These were both greatly reduced in price and, with black receivers, are well suited to duck shooting. Both came with a full set of chokes and for a gun at just above the $1000 mark were an excellent buy.
SJS Trading sell the Templeton T2000 in-line bolt-action shotgun and, since my review of this one some years ago, the lever has been removed and replaced by a button to the rear of the receiver. This upgrade is far more suited to the gun, ergonomically well designed and positioned for smoother and faster handling.
Next stop was Miall’s gun shop in Frankston where they had a good display of Browning and Miroku shotguns. These were mainly 3”-chambered guns, well suited to handle the semi-magnum loadings often required for duck shooting in large open waters.
Then it was on to Pakenham Firearms where owner Michael was most obliging. He started with a Franchi Instinct, a favourite duck gun of mine thanks to its mechanical trigger mechanism and colour case-hardening. At $2250 it’s well priced for a gun with dedicated steel shot proofing, a hard plastic carry case and full set of choke tubes.
A Charles Daly caught my eye as it was unusual in colour, having a grey receiver which also featured a couple of partridges in flight that looked pretty basic. A closer inspection revealed this was an entry-level shotgun, though I’d rather pay the extra dollars and own a Yildiz over-and-under. Among some great buys were a couple of superseded Fabarm sporters, an RS12 selling for a knock-down $3495 and a N2 Elos at a greatly discounted $2750. Both had black, non-reflective receivers, a bonus when duck hunting, and were backed by a substantial warranty.
In conclusion, I’d encourage those in the market for a duck-hunting shotgun to consider interchangeable choke tubes and, don’t forget, no tighter than half-choke for steel shot loads. And if you opt for an in-line bolt-action gun, get along to your local club for some valuable practice before heading out.