About Waterfowl Ballistics
Waterfowl Ballistics is an independent ballistic research project built from the field, not from marketing claims.
The project is led by Olivier TRECA, 55 years old, who has been hunting waterfowl for over 40 years across a wide range of real-world conditions. Beyond hunting experience, Olivier has spent decades studying pellet lethality, penetration mechanics, pattern behavior, and ethical shooting limits.
He manufactures his own non-toxic ammunition, including steel, BSS, HEVI-type alloys, and Tungsten Super Shot (TSS), allowing direct and repeatable comparison between materials under controlled conditions. He was among the first to introduce Tungsten Super Shot (TSS) to the French hunting community more than ten years ago, well before its wider adoption.
Complete independence from ammunition brands
Waterfowl Ballistics is not affiliated with any ammunition manufacturer, distributor, or commercial brand.
No cartridge brand funds, sponsors, influences, or validates the data published on this site.
No product placement, promotional agreement, or commercial partnership exists with ammunition companies.
All ballistic results are derived from material properties, pellet geometry, velocity, and pattern behavior, not from brand-specific claims. When commercial loads are referenced, they are used only as technical examples, not endorsements.
This independence ensures that conclusions remain:
- brand-agnostic
- repeatable
- and focused solely on ethical ballistic performance
Why this project exists
Waterfowl Ballistics was created to answer a simple question honestly:
At what distance does a given load remain reliably lethal — and where does it stop being ethical?
Every dataset published on this site is built around the same principles:
- measured penetration, not assumed energy
- real pattern density, not theoretical pellet counts
- species-specific anatomy and vital zone constraints
- probability of lethality, not isolated success cases
The goal is not to promote any material, brand, or extreme shooting distance, but to provide hunters with clear, measurable limits — allowing informed decisions that increase clean kills and reduce crippling.
Waterfowl Ballistics is designed for hunters who value discipline, consistency, and ethical responsibility as much as ballistic performance.