As the editor in chief of the largest hunting magazine in the world maybe I shouldn’t admit this, but I hate deer hunting—not all deer hunting, mind you, just the kind that makes me sit alone on stand looking (almost always) at an empty woodlot or empty field. I’m speaking of course about white-tailed deer hunting. To be blunt, it lacks enough shooting opportunities to hold my interest these days, and mainly it lacks companionship, a major factor when one considers the importance of camaraderie among hunters.
That makes me more than likely to accept an invitation to hunt almost anything but whitetails. So last year about this time found me in Illinois, at the invitation of Winchester hunting ducks.
A morning in a duck blind with friends is a welcome change of pace to big-game hunting, particularly deer hunting. In a duck blind you don’t have to be quiet, at least not until the birds are cupping their wings and dropping into your setup. During a duck hunt it is perfectly acceptable to jaw with your neighbor, something one can do on a deer stand only if he’s on his phone, texting. It’s not like you’re hunting trophies, after all, unless one counts a banded bird. That’s something I’ve never shot. Until I do, I’ll view every duck hunt as a welcome reprieve from the solitude—the utter, lonely silence—of a whitetail hunt, and thank my lucky stars for it.
The destination was Lower G Farm, a property NFL quarterback Carson Wentz purchased because he and his brother, Zach, grew up in North Dakota and absolutely love hunting just about everything, especially deer and ducks, which are found in abundance on the Illinois farm not too far away from Indianapolis, where the Wentz brothers make their homes these days. Lower G is a fabulous place to ply their craft, which on social media is known as Wentz Bros Outdoors. (Yes, Winchester sponsors them, which of course is how several duck hunters ended up on Lower G last December.)
Now, that first morning I questioned my sanity. As Jed Clampett used to say, “Woo, doggie!” Man, it was cold. I was glad (again!) that we were duck hunting, which meant extra layers over my frame I likely wouldn’t wear on a big-game hunt. But it was fun to chat with friends, some old and some new. And it was fun to listen to Zach Wentz and Mike Brasher, senior waterfowl scientist and co-host of the Ducks Unlimited Podcast, talk ducks and what attracts them to the habitat on Lower G.
Moreover, it was fun to learn from Brasher about duckDNA, a DU program launched in 2023 in partnership with the University of Texas-El Paso that relies on waterfowlers nationwide to submit tissue samples from harvested ducks for genetic analysis. DuckDNA enables hunters to learn so much more about their bird harvest than simply numbers. In its first year the program garnered interest from 4,200 hunters nationwide, and in the end collected and processed 707 duck DNA samples. Participating hunters received a “certificate of pedigree” through their duckDNA account, which provided a scientifically vetted overview of each bird’s sex and ancestry, including whether it was a hybrid. In the 2025-26 season DU hopes to enlist 1,000 hunters in the program. Interested? Visit duckDNA.com and submit an application.
But the absolute best part of the hunt was shooting at birds and watching them fall. See, I came to waterfowling several years after lead shot had been banned in the wetlands. I grew up in Virginia, and didn’t know anyone with decoys let alone a duck blind. So by the time I started shooting at ducks and geese it was usually alongside somebody who’d done it for some time, who almost inevitably would shoot and yell … well, shoot. Actually, I’ve heard worse. The point is the steel shot that replaced lead just didn’t seem to kill ’em good enough. I’ve heard many duck hunters swear they are convinced more waterfowl has been wounded and later died because of steel-shot woundings than lead in the bottom of a water impoundment ever did. Is that true? I don’t know, but I’ve shot many birds and watched them fly away.
These days I’ll take the good stuff every time. That is, I’ll take bismuth, tungsten or even some of the new, super-cool steel-shot blends. Winchester offers all the above. Last year we used it all, too.
On both mornings I grabbed some Xpert Steel because, well, I don’t want to be a hog—I don’t want to grab all the best stuff when I’m not the best shot anyway (and believe me, my blind mates can tell pretty readily that I’m not the best shot in the blind). This is a load you should reach for when price is an issue but solid performance still weighs heavily on your mind. It’s high velocity, producing more velocity per pellet than steel of old, which equates to increased range and shorter leads. It’s available in 20-gauge 3-inch and 12-gauge 23/4-, 3- and 31/2-inch loads packed with just about any shot size a duck hunter could want: BB, 2, 3, 4. Best of all, since it’s steel it’s packed 25 per box.
The star of the week, though, was Winchester Last Call, a TSS load released in September 2024. This is tungsten super shot. It’s 125 percent heavier than steel, 85 percent heavier than bismuth. Last Call is buffered 18 g/cc tungsten, which produces payloads with more than 80 percent more pellets than steel. That kind of punch delivers 50 percent more payload energy and 1.6-times greater penetration. Last Call 3-inch shells are loaded for .410-bore, 28-gauge, 20-gauge and 12-gauge, so pick your poison between shot size No. 9 or 7 or 5. The fastest load, a 11/4-ounce 12-gauge 3-inch, flies at 1500 fps. The second morning in the field I shot plenty of this, and I felt it on my shoulder. I also saw the birds drop. This stuff throws the hammer. But you’ll note it’s packed 10 rounds per box, which means you’ll throw a dollar or two to get it.
This year the folks at Winchester have outdone themselves in the quest to marry affordability with performance.
First, there is Final Pass, a blend of plated precision steel shot that includes, in 12-gauge 3-inch, a 11/4-ounce load of No. 21/2 and 4 or BB and 11/2 at 1400 fps. It’s also available in 12-gauge 31/2-inch packed with an ounce-and-a-half of BB and 11/2 at 1400 fps and in 20-gauge 3-inch packed with a 1-ounce blend of 21/2 and 4 at 1300 fps.
And as if Last Call is not enough there is now Last Call Double Shot, a custom blend of high-density 18 g/cc TSS paired with plated precision steel shot. This might be the perfect blend of affordability and performance, folks. First, you’ll note it’s packed 25 rounds per box, so you know it’s not as expensive as pure TSS. But the news gets better. In 12-gauge 3-inch Last Call Double Shot is loaded with 11/4 ounces of No. 7 TSS and BB steel flying at 1425 fps. Other choices include a 12-gauge 3-inch load with 11/4 ounces No. 8 TSS and No. 21/2 steel or a shell with No. 9 TSS and No. 21/2 steel, both flying at 1425 fps. A 20-gauge load is packed with an ounce of No. 9 TSS and No. 21/2 steel flying at 1350 fps.
Like I said I don’t really like white-tailed deer hunting these days. If everything is going well I might fire only one shot all day. Quite often it’s zero shots. And usually I’m talking to myself. Unless I’m texting on the phone … which might explain why I don’t see anything. Anyway, in a duck blind I don’t have to text anyone—all my companions are right there with me. Best of all, Winchester makes any duck hunt that much better when the shooting starts.
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