[Dizos]

Hello

I'm still sorting my way through all the varieties of shot available for my 12ga. I think I have a basic grasp of the intended funtion of the different SIZES and QUANTITIES of shot but now I'm pondering the implications of the different MATERIALS (lead, steel, copper, jacketed...). Can anyone give me a run down?

-- Jeff

[Poodleshooter]

Nickle plated lead: Best lead available-used for live pigeon shoots where much $ is at stake. Very expensive. It's hard so it stays round, and is very slippery so it "eases" through chokes to create excellent patterns.
Copper Plated lead: Still pretty expensive ($14 for 10# or so), but almost as hard as nickle. Commonly used in heavy turkey shot loads, as, like nickle plated shot, it goes through tight chokes with less deformation and produces nice patterns, especially when buffered
"Magnum" lead-higher antimony content than "chilled" shot. Harder, tighter patterns, but usually not as nice as copper or nickle. Much cheaper though.
Steel-Extremely hard. Passes through chokes with almost no deformation, and tends to need lless choke to pattern fairly well. However, it is also comparatively light, and loses speed fast at extreme ranges when compared to lead or newer non-toxic shot. Most newer loads compensate by shooting at speeds up to 1700fps in reloads and 1550fps in factory ammo.
It's also hard on barrels unless good steel specific wads are used.
Bismuth-one of the first of the new non-toxic shot. It's more brittle than lead but by all reports it still performs well on game. It's expensive as all get out (Something like $80 per 25#) and is somewhere between lead and steel as far as density (85% as dense as lead?) It's also pretty hard, so it patterns fairly tightly.
Heavi-Shot- One of the newest of the breed. Price about on par with Bismuth, it's even denser than lead! Despite very odd pellet formation (pellets stuck together,etc) it is reputed to have excellent performance on game, patterns well, and performs well in guns that don't have hard enough barrels to shoot steel in.
There are a bunch of Tungsten, Tungsten-polymer, and Tungsten-Iron-Polymer loads out there as well, but I don't know much about them other than that their densities approach that of lead, and they're usually only loaded by one or two companies. They're also quite expensive.
Anyone with more info, feel free to correct me.....

[Dizos]

Thank you for the response. I'm amazed at the vast number of options there are.