coxhw
Member
Looking for info on loading non-lead shot. What would be the best for ducks over deks and geese. I've loaded plenty of lead but this steel or what ever has got me miffed. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
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Steel Shot
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NuJudge
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Get ready to weigh every shot and powder charge
I've loaded a lot of Steel shot for use on ducks. Everything is much more critical. It's a lot harder on shotguns, so use it in guns that will not depreciate much. Once upon a time, factory Steel shot loads only did 1350 fps, and one could do a lot better with reloads. Now factory Steel shot loads do about 1450 fps, and one can still do a bit better.
The best wads I am aware of is the Sam-1 wad from Reloading Specialties:
http://www.reloadingspecialties.com/
As the website mentions, you can get velocities up to 1850 fps using their wads, Federal Gold Medal 2.75" cases, and 800X powder. You can get 1800 fps with Alliant "Steel" powder, and a bit more Steel shot. They provide lots of data with their wads, but I have only tried the two powders in the cases they recommended as best. No other case has anything like the capacity of the Federal Gold Medal. Ballistics with all other cases is a lot slower.
The difference on a duck between Steel shot with a Muzzle velocity of 1350 fps and 1850 fps is quite noticeable, but it does not extend shooting distance that much.
If you really want to extend shooting distance, go with something like "Hevi-Shot", an Iron-Nickle-Tungsten mixture, or one of the other more-dense-than-Lead pellets. I've not handloaded any of them, but I've killed ducks with it further than I ever did with Lead. I also killed 7 geese with #4 and #6 Hevi-shot last year when they came into the duck decoys. All were not just wounded, they came down Dead.
I've loaded a lot of Steel shot for use on ducks. Everything is much more critical. It's a lot harder on shotguns, so use it in guns that will not depreciate much. Once upon a time, factory Steel shot loads only did 1350 fps, and one could do a lot better with reloads. Now factory Steel shot loads do about 1450 fps, and one can still do a bit better.
The best wads I am aware of is the Sam-1 wad from Reloading Specialties:
http://www.reloadingspecialties.com/
As the website mentions, you can get velocities up to 1850 fps using their wads, Federal Gold Medal 2.75" cases, and 800X powder. You can get 1800 fps with Alliant "Steel" powder, and a bit more Steel shot. They provide lots of data with their wads, but I have only tried the two powders in the cases they recommended as best. No other case has anything like the capacity of the Federal Gold Medal. Ballistics with all other cases is a lot slower.
The difference on a duck between Steel shot with a Muzzle velocity of 1350 fps and 1850 fps is quite noticeable, but it does not extend shooting distance that much.
If you really want to extend shooting distance, go with something like "Hevi-Shot", an Iron-Nickle-Tungsten mixture, or one of the other more-dense-than-Lead pellets. I've not handloaded any of them, but I've killed ducks with it further than I ever did with Lead. I also killed 7 geese with #4 and #6 Hevi-shot last year when they came into the duck decoys. All were not just wounded, they came down Dead.
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