Steel shot and home defense

IMO: No.

Steel shot is lighter for any given diameter then lead shot.
So it takes larger steel shot to equal lead shot penetration on game.

The same would apply regarding your question.

Some of the other non-lead shot types are denser then lead, and could be a viable alternative.

Bismuth, or Tungsten, or Hevi-Shot Dead Coyote, etc. would be better then lead, and far better then steel.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Hevi-Shot-Dead-Coyote-Ammunition/706224.uts

Now, let's not get started on the 'birdshot is for birds' argument.

As a former KS Hunter Safety Instructor, I'm here ta tell ya a 1 1/4 oz #6 Pheasant load in the belly and you are DRT when you are 10 miles from help.

At living room distance, a 12 ga will put a rat hole in you, no matter what shot size you are using.

rc

If lead ever gets banned, I'll ignore the ban.

I think it would be fine in most instances though I do wonder about ricochet often. I only use steel for geese and never really seen anything to suggest it bounces badly.

Its my understanding that steel shot is softer than many other steels but I wouldn't want to shoot a steel plate with it at close range.

Anybody have experience with steel shot and ricochet?

EDIT: Steel BBB is still some serious stuff fyi. I'm too young to have hunted waterfowl with lead but have shot other game with steel and lead. Lead kills much better, even on doves.

HB

The BB steel shots are pretty deadly on close range. NO doubt about it...

I think rcmodel nailed it. Not much you can add to that. I will say that steel T-Shot has some pretty impressive penetration on geese. Pass throughs are very common at ranges in excess of 40 yards.

The only potential benefit steel has over lead is also its biggest setback...that it is lighter and wouldn't carry energy very well through a wall or other objects. If a person lives in an apartment or very dense population of garden homes then penetration through the neighbors place could be a concern. Even at that though, lead mushrooms and sheds weight as it impacts objects expending it's energy whereas steel pretty much drills a hole and keeps going. In an apartment type setup I think I would use #4 or #6 steel, for all other applications it's lead T shot

USAF_Vet said:

Does steel shot perform better at point blank than it's lead counterpart? Would steel make a lightweight shot more viable as an HD load?

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No and No.

Steel is still lighter than lead. Its sole virtue is that it's non-toxic to waterfowl, which is irrelevant to HD.

I'll also add there is a drastic difference in terminal effect of small shot at point blank range (contact/near contact shot to belly) vs. 12ft across the room. Across the room, the pellets are all on there own and will create a shallow wound not likely to reach the vital organs.

Anyone who "swears by" birdshot for HD doesn't understand terminal ballistics IMO and hasn't had to count on it to stop an attacker determined to end them. For the attacker who is going to run no what firearm is employed (the smart ones), it is all moot.

I believe in using the largest projectiles possible in a shotgun. I'd start with 00 buck at the top of my list. If I were to ever run out of 00 Buck, I'd go though my shotgun ammo and pick the next largest size left in my inventory and work down.

I'd choose steel BBB's, BB's or #2's over lead #8 any day. But I'd not pick any as my 1st choice.

Steel T shot will shoot right through a goose inside 40 yards and leave an exit wound. Geese are big, tough birds. That's why I use a 10 gauge with steel T on 'em. But, I'd rather be able to go back to 3" 12 gauge lead BB if I had my druthers.

Gonna be hard to ignore a ban if the ammo is no longer made. Ban lead because it's environmentally unfriendly. Then ban steel because it's 'armor piercing'. Makes sense to the Obamanites.

Size for size...............home defense.................. at a given range..... the target is put down! Even the bang sounds the same...

At living room distance, a 12 ga will put a rat hole in you, no matter what shot size you are using.

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Pretty much sums it up! I'm partial to #4 myself.

At living room distance, a 12 ga will put a rat hole in you, no matter what shot size you are using

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I disagree, and offer a description of a high school classmate's face that tried to end it with a 12 ga. load of 7.5 lead shot.

The intended result was unsuccessful, and his appearance reminds me of The Walking Dead.....and this from a range of maybe 4"....

Light weight shot performs poorly, whether due to size or material, when compared to heavier. Why would you not choose the best ?

Bismuth, or Tungsten, or Hevi-Shot Dead Coyote, etc. would be better then lead, and far better then steel.

^^ This ^^

In a pinch you use what you have or can get ... I don't own any steel shot loads because I don't hunt where it is required, but given my druthers I use hard lead alloy plated 00. If someone would make a full velocity HeviShot load of #1 buck (in FliteControl wads, while I'm wishing) I would sure like to try that.

At living room distance, a 12 ga will put a rat hole in you, no matter what shot size you are using.

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If bird shot is all you have, then make the best of it. Yes, it has worked, but I think it foolish to plan on using it when buckshot is available with no down sides.

A 14 year old girl in the Dakotas ended two bad guy's lives when they broke in with her Daddy's 870 and two trap loads. When the newspeople asked her what she was thinking she replied "Shouldn't be too hard. A LOT bigger than a clay pigeon." I loved it.

A 14 year old girl in the Dakotas ended two bad guy's lives when they broke in with her Daddy's 870 and two trap loads. When the newspeople asked her what she was thinking she replied "Shouldn't be too hard. A LOT bigger than a clay pigeon." I loved it.

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Bwaaaaaa, ha, ha, ha! Classic!

I see no reason to worry. I am sure I can find some kind of shotgun ammo that would do the job. Plus if lead were banned there would be a market for buckshot made out of other metals.

Self defense, whether it's in the home or elsewhere, is more about knowing how to fight than the ammo choice.
At the distances being considered here, just about any weapon would probably do.
Steel shot should not let you down any more than any other.
If the first one doesn't do the job, keep shooting and aim better.

Did you ever shoot something hard with your BB gun as a kid? The steel BB's ricochet like crazy, and sting pretty good when launched from a Red Ryder at 350fps. Imagine a couple hundred of them shot at 1300fps ricocheting off of everything inside the house...

rule303 said:

Did you ever shoot something hard with your BB gun as a kid? The steel BB's ricochet like crazy, and sting pretty good when launched from a Red Ryder at 350fps. Imagine a couple hundred of them shot at 1300fps ricocheting off of everything inside the house...

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^^^
This, in HD, the 'secondary' and 'collateral damage' is NOT something you can just shrug about, after all, how would you feel if you, yes, defended your family, but put your wife, or childs eye out with a ricochet? What the famous line that Ralphie get told???