Since the move away from lead, duck hunters have been faced with the problem of matching the right steel load with their gun to effectively down ducks.  Thankfully the steel shot of yesteryear has been replaced with much higher quality loads on the market today.

To me it comes down to two things: speed and shot size.  I am a big proponent of fast steel.  I've seen the difference it makes when hunting ducks.  I consider anything over 1,500 feet per second to be "fast steel".  I only shoot steel that travels faster than 1,500 fps.  I have found the Winchester Xpert shells traveling at 1,550 to work quite well, despite their relative bargain price.  But enough about speed, you came here expecting a post on shot size.  Well my unscientific response is 2 shot.  I have run the full gamut of shot sizes over the years trying to find the "perfect" duck load.  I have used as small as 6 shot for teal over decoys to as large as BBB.  My experience has shown me that you can kill ducks with the smaller shot, but it will also lead to more cripples and birds that keep on flying.  For this reason I have settled on 2 shot.  When I hit a duck I want that duck to come down, there is nothing worse than being centered on a duck and watching it fly away hurt but not much worse for wear.  2 shot has been very good in this regard.

I encourage you to take some 2 shot to the duck blind with you the next time you are out.  I think you will notice an improved kill rate if you have been using smaller shot sizes.