Lead Shot or Steel Shot.

sikastag

Which do you use?

Maybe you could post your selection and reasons (ie) personal preference, barrel damage, affects on wildlife etc......

I dont intend to start a debate of any shape or form, just wondering which you use and why.

Thanks,

Sikastag

deerhunter1

sikastag wrote: »

Which do you use?

Maybe you could post your selection and reasons (ie) personal preference, barrel damage, affects on wildlife etc......

I dont intend to start a debate of any shape or form, just wondering which you use and why.

Thanks,

Sikastag

Ya right:D

Xplor.er

i only use steel shot for shooting a few clays around our bog. they are usually cheaper than lead and the ones we use have bio degradable wads.
i have heard a few people say that steel tends to richochet alot when shooting into trees.
when using steel wwe are advised to use a more open choke so range is limited

Dusty87

deerhunter1 wrote: »

Ya right:D

i give it an hour before it goes from effectively killing quarry to how much lead is in everyone's pencils :D

sikastag

deerhunter1 wrote: »

Ya right:D

Would it be worth editing it to just results? (If that can be done)

It should be anonymous, first time ive created poll........

Leave out the whys etc so as to avoid any messing?

Or could people just vote and post reasons if they wish but not comment on others reasons?

cavan shooter

I use lead because I can
and I believe in supporting Irish jobs:D:D

Double Barrel

I enjoy shooting old and older guns and they are fed a steady diet of lead.
No hard stuff for my guns.

Plus one for what CS wrote.

thekevin4540

lead

Dusty87

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

http://www.basc.org.uk//en/departments/game-and-gamekeeping/game-shooting/lead-and-nonlead-shot.cfm
Hopefully something similar will happen in éire..........

oh here we go... He asked for reasons not a lesson on animal welfare

crackcrack30

sikastag wrote: »

Which do you use?

Maybe you could post your selection and reasons (ie) personal preference, barrel damage, affects on wildlife etc......

I dont intend to start a debate of any shape or form, just wondering which you use and why.

Thanks,

Sikastag

"affects on wildlife ect."

hrcbob

I use lead only.. Not proofed for steel.. Anyway is steel not a bit of a rare breed here???

Tackleberrywho

There is a happy medium, Lead shot covered in copper, Winchester and Remington offer it


http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/shotshells/turkey-loads/nitro-turkey-buffered-loads.aspx

sikastag

Cheers to all who voted, I think lead might just be that little bit more popular........... :rolleyes: Use lead meself. Always have done. Id be a little bit wary of sending steel down the barrels of 'my lovely gun'! I'll try and do some reading on it, if I ever get the chance...........

Tackleberrywho

sikastag wrote: »

Cheers to all who voted, I think lead might just be that little bit more popular........... :rolleyes: Use lead meself. Always have done. Id be a little bit wary of sending steel down the barrels of 'my lovely gun'! I'll try and do some reading on it, if I ever get the chance...........

The Copper coated rounds are great for dropping long range Duck

expensive though.:eek:

I personally use them if i intend eating the birds (Personally try keep my body lead free )

FISMA

I hate steel shot, however, it is a necessary evil at some times.

I use both steel and lead depending on what I am shooting.

Over water, especially the relation's, I just feel better shooting the steel shot. Even if it only helps me sleep better at night, I always shoot steel over water.

Also,for birds that I am going to eat, I use steel. I never have bit down on a pellet. However, if I happen to swallow one, I would prefer it to be steel.

Voted for steel, but wanted to select both.

sikastag

FISMA wrote: »

Voted for steel, but wanted to select both.

Sorry, bit of an oversight on my behalf, only thought of it after and I cant change poll i think.

johngalway

Reading a thread elsewhere, one lad was shooting pigeons for a raptor centre. Bought some steel shot and knocked feathers from birds that his usual lead carts would have killed cleanly.

Some issues raised in that thread were that shot size for steel needed to be increased by at least two sizes, so if you're using lead size 6, you'd be needing steel size 4. lead is denser than steel, and carries more energy than steel.

That the steel carts in the UK were too slow. Steel traveling at faster speeds was better. Homeloaders there seemed to confirm that. But, there's extra kick for the extra speed.

Reduced range seemed to be an issue, but that's likely a combination of the previous two issues, reduced speed, and reduced density/wrong shot size.

Also mentioned was the difference between a lead shot string, and a steel shot string which happens to be longer than the former.

johnner1

i didnt think anybody that kept Raptors would go anywhere near birds shot with a shotgun, be it with lead or steel because of the risk of injestion.
Birds killed by rifle is a much safer bet;)

meathstevie

I'll stay away from steel shot for hunting as long as legally possible for the two following reasons; it's hard as hell which is no good for energy transfer and the range is relatively limited compared to lead.

I was out shooting geese with the old man over the summer using nr 4 36gr steel shot and pricked a few birds I'm nearly certain I would have had dropping with 32gr 6's in leadshot.

Alchemist2

nobody using bismuth then??

Tackleberrywho

Alchemist2 wrote: »

nobody using bismuth then??

Is that not Radioactive?

The Big Fella

It has a stable atomic make up so its not radioactive.:pac:

meathstevie

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

Is that not Radioactive?

It'll chinasyndrome your wallet alright, that stuff is mad expensive compared to lead or steel.

Tackleberrywho

The Big Fella wrote: »

It has a stable atomic make up so its not radioactive.:pac:

is a chemical element that has atomic number 83 and has been given the chemical symbol Bi. Bismuth, a trivalent poor metal, resembles arsenic and antimony. Elemental bismuth may occur naturally uncombined, although its sulfide and oxide form important commercial ores. The free element is 86% as dense as lead, and brittle, with a silvery white color, and often a pink tinge owing to the surface oxide. Bismuth metal has been known from ancient times, although until the 18th century it was often confused with lead and tin, which each have some of the metal's physical properties. The name possibly comes from German words meaning "white mass."
Bismuth is the most naturally diamagnetic of all metals, and only mercury has a lower thermal conductivity.
Bismuth has classically been considered to be the heaviest naturally-occurring stable element. Recently, however, it has been found to be very slightly radioactive: its only naturally occurring isotope bismuth-209 decays via alpha decay into thallium-205 with a half-life of more than a billion times the estimated age of the universe

Vegeta

From the same Wiki article Tack:

Owing to its extraordinarily long half-life, for all presently known medical and industrial applications bismuth can be treated as if it is stable and non-radioactive

So while it is technically radioactive it means feck all

Tackleberrywho

Vegeta wrote: »

From the same Wiki article Tack:



So while it is technically radioactive it means feck all

Never heard of it in shells before.
I still think lead covered in copper is good. €34 a box of 25 was the dearest I saw them in Athlone.

Vegeta

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

Never heard of it in shells before.
I still think lead covered in copper is good. €34 a box of 25 was the dearest I saw them in Athlone.

I have heard of steel, bismuth and tungsten matrix. Have fired a few of each bar steel I think.

Holy sh1t that is a mental price for those cartridges. That's 3 times the price of a box of 32-36gram lead equivalent. I could afford to shoot half a box maybe, I'd be home before 8am at that price. Never realised they were that expensive.

Tackleberrywho

Vegeta wrote: »

I have heard of steel, bismuth and tungsten matrix. Have fired a few of each bar steel I think.

Holy sh1t that is a mental price for those cartridges. That's 3 times the price of a box of 32-36gram lead equivalent. I could afford to shoot half a box maybe, I'd be home before 8am at that price. Never realised they were that expensive.

Well if you only shoot Game it's not that dear.
€1.40 a Phessie or Duck

Now shooting Pidgies or Maggers and scail crows :eek:

Vegeta

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

Well if you only shoot Game it's not that dear.
€1.40 a Phessie or Duck

I do and that is stupidly expensive. There are days duck shooting where you'd empty the belt twice and on rare occasion go beyond that. Not at 34 euro a box though. Cant believe the price of them, do they come with a but plug at least to prepare you for the buggery.

Heaven forbid students, the unemployed or anyone on a reasonable budget supporting a family would want a day duck shooting at that price. I'd be changing the semi auto for a single barrel anyway

The Big Fella

The Sporting gun magazine has a good article on non toxic cartridges this month.

Alchemist2

bismuth shells round 30 quid a box...throw better patterns than lead and greater range too.. but not to be spent on crows etc

Tackleberrywho

Alchemist2 wrote: »

bismuth shells round 30 quid a box...throw better patterns than lead and greater range too.. but not to be spent on crows etc

Yep, ~ the same price as copper coated lead.

Very pricey indeed, prob will become the norm in the future though on wetland

Vegeta

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

Yep, ~ the same price as copper coated lead.

Very pricey indeed, prob will become the norm in the future though on wetland

Doubt it, steel is cheaper so if we are forced from non-toxic shot I imagine it will be steel that becomes the norm.

I will have one box of tungsten matrix or bismuth carts though for when I hear the geese coming. They take some knocking at times.

Tackleberrywho

Vegeta wrote: »

Doubt it, steel is cheaper so if we are forced from non-toxic shot I imagine it will be steel that becomes the norm.

I will have one box of tungsten matrix or bismuth carts though for when I hear the geese coming. They take some knocking at times.

Sorry Vegeta

I meant Lead in it's current form will prob be phased out over the years.

Double Barrel

A lot of ink has being used and quite a bit of physics has been thrown around on this subject - so there is plenty of reading material available for the interested.

Use a gun proofed for steel.

Steel shot patterns well.

Use steel shot sizes at least 2 and preferably 3 times larger than lead shot.

Use open chokes, not more than 1/2 choke, .020 restriction. Improved Mod, .015 and Improved Cylinder .010 are optimal.

Centre the bird in the shot pattern.

Steel needs significant velocity - 1,550fps.
Conversely, lead and heavier-than-lead shot does not require hyper velocity - 1,150 -1,200fps.

With a gravimetric density of 7.86 grams per cubic centimetre (gms/cc), steel is the lightest of the non-tox, followed by bismuth, at 9.60 gms/cc; Tungsten-Iron, at 10.30; Tungsten Matrix, at 10.60; lead, at 11.10; and Hevi Shot weights 12 g/cc.

Tungsten-Matrix (Polymer), Tungsten-Iron are not commercially loaded at this time to my knowledge. But I have not being looking.

Hevi-Shot is expensive but it is deadly effective, composed of tungsten, nickel and iron, it is the heaviest of the commercially loaded non-toxics, giving it exceptional long range reach. Owing to its extreme hardness, Hevi-Shot should be used only in guns designed to handle steel shot.

http://www.duckhuntingchat.com/shotgun-shell-ballistics.php

Tackleberrywho

Double Barrel wrote: »

A lot of ink has being used and quite a bit of physics has been thrown around on this subject - so there is plenty of reading material available for the interested.

Use a gun proofed for steel.

Steel shot patterns well.

Use steel shot sizes at least 2 and preferably 3 times larger than lead shot.

Use open chokes, not more than 1/2 choke, .020 restriction. Improved Mod, .015 and Improved Cylinder .010 are optimal.

Centre the bird in the shot pattern.

Steel needs significant velocity - 1,550fps.
Conversely, lead and heavier-than-lead shot does not require hyper velocity - 1,150 -1,200fps.

With a gravimetric density of 7.86 grams per cubic centimetre (gms/cc), steel is the lightest of the non-tox, followed by bismuth, at 9.60 gms/cc; Tungsten-Iron, at 10.30; Tungsten Matrix, at 10.60; lead, at 11.10; and Hevi Shot weights 12 g/cc.

Tungsten-Matrix (Polymer), Tungsten-Iron are not commercially loaded at this time to my knowledge. But I have not being looking.

Hevi-Shot is expensive but it is deadly effective, composed of tungsten, nickel and iron, it is the heaviest of the commercially loaded non-toxics, giving it exceptional long range reach. Owing to its extreme hardness, Hevi-Shot should be used only in guns designed to handle steel shot.

http://www.duckhuntingchat.com/shotgun-shell-ballistics.php

I paid even more for Hevi shot €30 for 10 :eek::eek::eek:
Celtic Tiger come back all is forgiven :o