Steel shot in a T/C 12 gauge

[billy mims]

Has anyone tried steel shot or Hevi shot in your shotgun? Does it harm the barrel?

 

[Rebel]

I use steel in my Navy Arms double barrel, and my friend uses it in the T/C New Englander i sold him. As long as you have a cylinder bore barrel and use the special plastic steel shot cups, it works fine. Should be ok with an Imp. cyl or maybe even a mod choke tube in, but i would check with the manufacturer first too be sure.

 

[billy mims]

I hear you Rebel and after using them denim patches I'm gonna believe you. I don't know if i will try it but that Heve Shot sure hits hard.

 

[Rebel]

Glad the patches worked out for ya. Do you have a .690 mould already? I have a Lee .690 i want to trade for a Lee .600. I am getting a Jackie Brown Carolina smoothbore in .62 cal/.20 ga next week and need a mould for it.

 

[billy mims]

No. I haven't got into using the moulds yet. Something I may like though. How much do the moulds go for? Where do you get your lead? Does it take a certain kind or can you use those they use to balance wheels?

 

[Rebel]

The Lee moulds are around $17 from Midsouth Shooters Supply. I get my lead from scrap yards, but you can use wheelweights in a smoothbore.

 

[Toomuch_36]

No. I haven't got into using the moulds yet. Something I may like though. How much do the moulds go for? Where do you get your lead? Does it take a certain kind or can you use those they use to balance wheels?

Moulds can go from $20 to over $100 depending on whether you go for aluminun blocks or steel blocks, with or without fixed handles, new or used, single or multiple cavity. I personaly like single cavity steel moulds like Lyman or RCBS, others have their own preferences.
For lead, wheel weights may be okey for use in a smoothbore but for a rifled barrel you would be best off using pure soft lead. I like using soft lead in all my muzzleloaders, rifled or smooth.

Toomuch
...........
Shoot Flint

 

[pmwest]

I shoot a T/C New Englander with steel shot. I phoned T/C before I did this and was told that I should follow their load recommendations with regard to wads and volumes of shot. No plastic allowed, however this recommendation was for smaller size shot, 4 or smaller. I have done this for years and see no problems with the gun. Bore still looks good. Now as far as Hevi-Shot is concerned, I would not use it without proper bore protection. This means plastic shot cups specifically designed for Hevi-Shot.

 

[billy mims]

I have the plastic shot cups from Knight but i don't know if they are suitable for Hevi Shot. I tried shot cups with lead shot and they didn't improve my pattern. I don't think they hurt it either but i don't like using them. Had to remove choke tube to use them.

 

[Russianblood]

Hevi-Shot is extremely hard and will shred the inside of your barrel if used. The shot cups used for cartridge guns are very thick and non-slotted. I would avoid using it in a muzzleloader.

Bismuth is suppose to be a safe, non-lead alternative that can be used in a muzzleloader.

 

[Rebel]

You really need to use the special Heavy plastic shotcups designed for steel shot with steel and Heavy Shot to protect you guns bore. I know they can be hard to get past the choke tubes, but they are needed. That is why i like my cylinder bores, no problem getting them in.

 

[billy mims]

Winchester is making a non-lead alternative shot called Extended Range. They say it is heavier than lead but softer than steel and won't damage your barrel. I think I may check it out.
Thanks
Billy

 

[Rebel]

If it isn't $30 a lb it might be ok. Don't know why they have to make all the alternatives so expensive. And there is really no real reason to have to use them. Lead shot doesn't cause that many problems like the government would have people believe. Just another money making scheme.

 

[pmwest]

Try this for Hevi-Shot wads from Ballistic Products

TPS wads

The Knight wads are the same as Multi-Metal wads designed for lead, steel or bismuth, not Hevi-shot. Stick with the IC or Mod tubes with this loading. Should not have to remove the tube to load but might require a short starter.

 

[billy mims]

Rebel, I agree and I'm perfectly happy with lead but you never know when they will say you cain't use it. Its already that way alot of places and not just duck hunting.
Wildshot, Boy you guys have got the info. I don't know what i did before i found this forum. Yes i do i didn't do to well.
Thanks

 

[paulvallandigham]

This is not a money making Government Conspiracy, Rebel. Glen Sanderson published an incomplete data set he was working on while studying the mortality of waterfowl from lead. He over estimated the number of ducks that died from ingesting shot, and under estimated the number of ducks that died of lead poisoning from wounds received during hunting season. The EPA types got a hold of the data, and pushed through a Federal law requiring non-toxic shot be used in shooting Waterfowl. That gave us Steel shot regulations, and attempts ever since to come up with something better, that can be used in the older guns, including muzzle loaders. Glen eventually found that the mortality of ducks and gees from ingesting lead was so low that he could not conclude that it did add significantly to the mortality rate of the animals, as first believed.But, by that time, no one in Congress cared what the facts actually were. The Anti-hunting and anti-gun forces had their win, and they were not going to give it back. The facts be damned!

Hevi Shot, and this new shot by Winchester seem to the be the best promise. Bismuth shot is too fragile and fully 1/3 of the shot crumbles on firing due to the sudden push from the expanding gases. You lose all that shot from the down range pattern. Steel shot just does not retain energy over long distances, and is basically useless after 45 yds, no matter what size shot you use, or how much you send downrange. Hevishot( [polymer/iron) is slightly heavier than lead, and reacts to the traditional choke measurements for lead shot similarly. This new Winchester shot is expected to behave the same, but be better on the older steels used in waterfowl guns. We will see. The more shot is bought, the lower the price will be. Until a market exists for a product that allows the maufacturer to make enough product in quantity that his costs of manufacture come down, he has to charge for the small run work involved.

THAT, and only that, is why the price on new steel- alternative-shot tends to be so high. I remember when Bismuth shot first came out. Waited 2 years to see some of the stuff. The cost was terrible, but it has come down as more people have bought it. Hevi-shot is the same. I expect the same pricing will affect the new Winchester shot until volume sales bring the cost of production down.

 

[Rebel]

Yes i know about the injestion figures, i just don't like the government poking it's nose into everything i do. Guess i should have worded that post a bit different. It just irritates me that even after they get the RIGHT facts, they don't care or change the laws. Take care.

 

[Joel/Calgary]

Paul,

Can you point me to any publications (print or online) referring to the study's final mortality rates? All the ones I've seen so far are government publications or (apparently) government approved, and support the Great Die Off.

Does the 1/3 loss rate for Bi/Sn shot still hold? I'd heard that newer production was less brittle.

Thanks,
Joel

 

[smokeblower]

Use regular old BB's , I have used this load without a cup, plastic or other liner and so far no damage . Works well on ducks. No more than I duck hunt, it is the cheapest way to shoot steel.

 

[paulvallandigham]

That is amazing. The old " BB's" you are using are .177" in diameter, and are made of much harder steel than the steel BB's made for use in shotgun loads. The later are .18 " in diameter. If you shoot much with the old BB's, they will damage the gun barrel. At the very least, use the softer, and larger steel BB's made for shotgun shell, and please consider using a plastic wad so that your barrel is protected properly. Ballistics Products makes excellent wads for this purpose, and can also supply the correct steel BB's.