Steel shot or not?

[Harty1384]

I am kinda new to duck hunting and was just wondering if spending the extra money on tungston or other nontoxic shells is worth it, or does steel work just the same?

Also what brands would you recomend?

Thanks

[gorrilla]

if you've got the money there's no doubt that tungsten and hevi shot out perform steel but in my opinion until it comes down a little I can't justify a gallon of gas for every bird... I can see the point for geese though. They are tough critters.

For either bird if you only take shots within effective range you can minimize crippling loss. I have switched to nothing but high velocity loads and strongly recommend something at or above 1500 fps.

[Harty1384]

Sounds good thanks.

[Ufatz]

On the other hand...how many shots does a guy actually get now days? If you really want an eye opener take some steel shot and some Bismuth or Hevi Shot out and do a couple patterns. If it is at all possible spend the extra few bucks for the good stuff and then make sure you have a decent shot at the birds to begin with. You will make more hits, more clean kills.

Personally, I have always thought steel shot was dump with a capital C. Still do.

[Bushwacker]

Ever since I was old enough to hunt, steel shot was mandatory. I have listened to my dad and his buddies complain about steel for years, but that was all that I knew. Last year I bought a box of Hevi-Shot and found out I am not that bad of shot after all. That stuff is amazing. I was making effective kills on the first shot almost everytime. A lot less cripples. I figured it out, if I spend $15.99 on a box of 25 3.5" steel, or $15.99 on a box of 10 3", it comes out about the same cost per bird shot. This year I bought a case of Hevi-Shot for ducks, and a case of Hevi-Shot for geese. So far so good on geese.

[jblabsnduck]

I will be the odd man out here, I have nothing bad to say about steel. It is all I use and I have NO problem killing birds with it. I have heard that the other stuff is good and all but I have no need to buy the stuff. We let the birds work right in to about 10-15 yards maybe 25 every now and then but still they fold right up with steel.

I am not bashing the hevi shot and others but I just have no need for it.

IMO it makes guys think they can take longer shots just like when the 3 1/2" guns and shells came out. Not the case most of the time. You have to be a good shot to begin with for those longer shots.

We like the birds in our face and steel shot kills them with no problem.

Just my opinion.

[Wayne Sieber]

jb - I am totally with you on this one - Steel has been very effective for me too. People just have to realize that long shots are not going to happen so don't even try it. Seriously, isn't the fun about waterfowling totally tricking the birds by being in the right place at the right time, with the right decoys and with the right blind/camo?? You put all that together, let the birds come right in and steel will do the job just fine.

[eskay]

Anybody try the new hevi-steel? I picked up a couple of boxes at Joe's the other day, but haven't really heard anything about it. $17.99/25 runs about the same price as high end steel.

[Guest]

Is it $17.99 for a box of 10 or 25 shells?

I use steel and a Pattern Master choke.

With the Pattern Master I hit em hard and kill em, or I miss em clean.

[hobbydog]

I am also with jb and feetdown. I grew up shooting lead and when we had to switch to steel it was pretty crappy. Steel has come a long way since then. 2 3/4 @ 1100 fps was the norm back then. Now 3'' 1500 fps is probably the norm and if you really want some pellet count you can go with 3 1/2". Buffering is much better as is powder and hull design. If you do any reading about shotgunning at all, especially CONSEP or been to a Tom Roster seminar you will know that very few hunters can make a 40 yard shot consistently....even 30 yards. Steel will kill very effectively out to 40 yards....the limitation is not the shot it is the hunter.

If I had to chose between the old paper 2 3/4 over the new 3" HV steel for ducks over decoys I would take the steel.

Of course I always laugh at the skybusters where 3 guys will empty 9 hulls at a flock 100' up with nary a feather pulled and then blame it on steel shot. Heck I have even seen the same thing at 30 yards....and it was coming from my boat.....I know better than to blame it on the shotshell though.

[riverrat56]

I'm not what you would call a great shot, but im not that bad either, early goose this year I bought a Nova 3 1/2 in, that does the job good enough for me. I don't take any longer shots than I used to, Goose hunting for me is all about in your face feet down landing birds, the shot is just something that happens, but the 3 1/2 gives the extra punch and payload of shot to knock geese dead the first shot. Kent Faststeel is what I'm shooting, it really doesn't pattern any worse then my lead shot turkey loads, maybe I'm just lucky with my gun/load, but I have no problems using steel shot, not that I'm old enough to remeber anything else ever being legal for waterfowl.

[Esoxmn]

Cost is the biggest factor for me so i shoot steel.

[wyldewal]

I picked up acouple of boxes of tungston last year at the end of season at Gander Mt. It was on clearance for about $2.50 a box. I will admit you get a little more carry with it but if it's not on sale I still wont buy it. It seems you still have to be able to hit them no matter what you use. I seem to have a problem with that once in a while. The steel works just as well for me and it's normally a lot cheaper.

[FOOT]

I've tried most all of the "new" loads that came after steel shot. They ARE better then steel but for the price I just can't justify buying them. Like the other post if you can pick some up on sale go ahead, you won't be sorry. But I'm not forking out the bucks they want without a sale.

Steel will kill em' just as dead. And they taste the same, wonderful !

[mechanictim]

I pried open my wallet this past month at cabelas and picked up some Hevi shot in 10 and 12 ga. to use as a swatter load for those occasional criples that start swimming away after the gun is empty. I don't think I have ever stopped a goose or duck on the water past 45 yards wit h steel no matter what size shot I tried. Hopefully this stuff lives up to the hype and when kept in a readily accesable pocket will put those birds in the blind.

[Hotspotter]

My opinion on steel vs. hevi comes mostly from a turkey hunting perspective.

I don't hunt ducks/geese enough to provide a knowledgeable opinion, but from what I see patterning the stuff, I cannot see a downside besides cost.

Arguments regarding range extending capabilities, well that's fine and good, but the facts are that it just plain:

-patterns better than steel, lead, or variations thereof

-hits harder with more foot/pounds of energy, at any range

-and thus, kills further out

Now this is not an endorsement for skybusting, quite the contrary. But from patterning the stuff against lead year after year, and HV steel a few times to satisfy my own curiousity, you could see why it does better further out.

If it gets people to shoot beyond ethical ranges, I don't know? But I've heard some people blaming hevi-shot and 3 1/2" shells for increased incidences of skybusting. To me, that's like blaming the hammer you just hit your thumb with.

Like I said, I hunt ducks/geese very little, so I don't shoot much. If you're out all the time, and are fairly successful, I could see where the stuff would get expensive. But for the average duck/goose hunter or weekend warrior, I think the benefits outweight the costs.

But then again I've always been one who stands in disbelief, when I talk to the guy at the sporting goods store bragging up his big trip to the Amazon for peacock bass while he's buying the cheapest line he can get his hands on. I guess if I'm spending the money on gas, dekes, blinds, clothing, licenses, and stamps, I might as well be using the best shotshells.

Just my opinion......remember this comes from a guy that shoots shotguns at birds that stand on ground.......and are not moving!

Joel

[Bushwacker]

Personally, I think Hevi-shot is a reason not to skybust. If you are sky busting at $2.00 a shell, hunting will get real expensive real fast. The way I see it is, there are so few opportunities for me to shoot ducks around my home that I want to make the most of my shots.

[Crusty old Swede]

The best thing to do to make steel shot work as good as lead (or newer non-toxics)is to buy one of those cheaper (about 40$) range finders. After you measure how far out you really are setting your decoys, it will become obvious why steel doesn't work that well. Then when you learn to set your decoys within effective range, steel starts working really good and you won't need the expensive ammo. Also as others have mentioned take your gun, shells, chokes and lots of paper and a pen, down to the range and see for yourself what combo works the best.

[BLACKJACK]

I feel that I should shoot the same speed shells all the time. I'm not going to switch back and forth between lead and steel and tungston. Realistically, if you go thru two boxes of shells in MN pheasant hunting, you've had a good year, I could afford the tungston, but I'm not going to do it for the reason I stated above. Lead is legal in SoDak for pheasants, but again I want to stay with the same shells so it doens't affect my aim and lead, plus you're usually hunting by low, wet areas, why spray that lead around, even if its legal? Now adays I shoot mainly 2 shot steel 2 3/4 inch, with maybe some 4 steel on opener of ducks. I've shot a LOT of pheasants with that two steel...

[lawdog]

I've been hesitant to join this thread as I thought it would turn into a bad skybusting brawl, but its been real civil. Steel shot kills when used properly as many have said. There is no denying that. But there really is also no denying that these other shots are better. I say if you want to use the better stuff and shoot at a decent acceptable range and not sky bust, then it will definitely kill better at the outer edges of that safe range, but steel will do just as good closer in. I also agree steel is deadly on roosters where the shooting is closer usually.

The one area where I really like the good stuff is on geese. These are much tougher than ducks, and I've piled some big honks up with Tungsten. Don't take that many shots at them with a one goose a day limit during the regular season, so I like to do it with a real good shell. For 99% of duck shooting though, I think the steel is good enough.

Short answer, there is no one right answer all the time for every shooter in every situation...

[honker23]

I think the faststeel has worked well for me. I have noticed better shooting and more killing shots since I've been using it. This has been with a 3in 20 ga. Maybe it's easier to get ahead of the bird now.

Would you rather get hit by an suv at 30 mph or a honda at 55 mph. I think speed is important. Just my thoughts!

[Eric Wettschreck]

As a youngster I shot lead at ducks. Then we had to switch to steel, and I'm tellin ya it took a little getting used to.

Now I'm older, and my shooting skills are a little better. However, I don't feel any more wealthy. For this reason I shoot steel. I use steel for every bird I hunt. This way I don't have to dig through everything and weed out the lead shells anymore.

As was stated, to each their own. I shoot steel because I'm a tight wad and don't want to spend the extra $$$ on a different load. Then again, I've never tried any other types of "Non-toxic" shot. Prolly a good thing I haven't so I don't start to like the shots that cost more cha-ching.

[gethanet]

All I shoot for ducks is steel. Most of my shots are over decoys. But last year I went to 3" #2s heavy shot for geese. With heavey you can use a smaller shot size with more knock down and a denser pattern. I ended up with 8 geese out of a box of 10 shells. That was without having to chase a single cripple or water swating at any with just broken wings. Witch is better for where I hunt. It is public land with outher hunters on it. It just seems with steel shot on geese sometimes you can hit them with a full pattern and as long as you don't break a wing or get em in the neck or head they just keep on going.

All I got to say for you guys that havn't used any before is that you will be surprized with that stuff. Just try a box of 2s or even 4s for decoying geese and you will like it. I was a non believer up until last year. Now I always have some 2s with for the bonus goose.

By the way I only shot alittle over a box at geese last year. But If you are shooting 5-10 boxes it would get spendy. But in my opinion It does take less shots per bird total.