What Size Shot Do You Have?

[hawk]

No.2 for geese

No.4 for ducks

No.6 for turkeys

No. 7 for grouse

 

[bpbrs]

00-#1-#4 BS
4-5-6-7.5-8-8.5-9

ususlly 30 to 40 bags of the smaller stuff on hand at anyone time..

 

[ffffg]

bismuth is available in only a very few sizes.. and the size varies per jar.. it doesnt seem that the shot size is right on except in the shells i used to buy.. you can draw your own conclusions from that, me being insane is definitly a viable conclusion.. bismuth comes in 7 1/2, 6, 5, 4, 2, bb, . in the last flier i got from balistic products [url] www.ballisticproducts.com[/url] ,,... 84.95 dollars 7 lbs) shipping is extra.. or call
[url] http://precisionreloading.com/index.html[/url]

it really leads (?) up the barrel, thus reducing patch/ball accuracy.. its hard to get out. i use steel wool, and the kleenbore lead away cloth.. the cloth will also remove steel, it never stoppped turning black the last time i used it. my groups at 50 yards got about 40 percent smaller.. hard to tell for sure,as with bp you really never know for absolute certain what is going on.. number 5 is worthless on ducks for some reason, number 4 will whack them good.. ive gottern one goose with number 2 and one with bb.. id use bb in 12 gauge, but thats for a body shot, cold weather.. reduced velocity of bp is the problem coupled with the reduced density of bismuth, .. this makes the shot larger per weight, decreasing pennetration.. if your close as with dekoys number two would probably be fine up to 35 yards , but ive never had great success with either.. number one would be about right, but they dont make it ... with a smoothie i just never have the right shot in when a goose comes in.. while your spending your fortune at balistic products get some multimetal buffer, used in a paper shotcup it really helps patterns especially in cold weather at 35-40 yards.. never use a shotcup that has any kind of cover over it except an over shot card so it tears open immediatly when it leaves the bore.. ..the nicest way to put this is that balistic products is quite agressive in thier sales tecniques, dont buy anything your sure you dont need.. . dave

 

[Itegorm]

The Pewter shot that I made up was in an effort to get around the nontoxic shot issue without springing for bismuth (and personally I think steel shot is next to worthless). It is a nontoxic smaterial for shot, at least as far as the lead issue is concerned. The biggest problem is that it isn't on the Federal list as a nontoxic shot so if you use it you are taking a chance at a ticket for that violation (at least with waterfowl). The couple of Conservation Officers I usually run into here in MI didn't have any problems with it but I don't know what they would say elsewear. As far as performance on birds, it does pretty well, flattens out nicely after impact, it's heavier than steel but not quite as heavy as lead. My favorite thing about it is that it was fairly cheap to make (lead free pewter is much cheaper by the pound than bismuth for casting) and it is soft enough that it doesn't seem to hurt the barrels at all.

 

[dlemaster]

PlumbeBleu
I agree with you that steel shot is worthless.
I had taken a few Wood ducks with a Browning Sweet Sixteen shotgun using steel and it was OK, then I took a trip out to South Dakota last October to hunt pheasants. The Federal land areas out ther require non-toxic shot so I too several boxes of 16 ga. #2 steel. What a disappointment!
After 3 days of hunting we lost so many birds that were solidly hit that I quit hunting, I felt it was unethical to keep shooting birds we couldn't find.
If I decide to use my new smoothbore for waterfowl I will be using Heavyshot.
Just my .2 cts

Regards, Dave

 

[weirdjack]

#5 shot for general use.
I cast my own .310 and .350 balls if I want buckshot loads.
Jack

 

[Itegorm]

I have heard and seen many bad experiences with steel shoot over the years. I refuse to use it on anything but ducks (geese get bismuth). I had a goose a couple of years back that I pulled up on and didn't quite keep my swing up so I ended up hitting him in the body rather than the head and neck as he was coming into a set of decoys, the shot litterly bounced off of him, I could hardly believe it. A second shot (shooting a cartridge gun that day, I know blasphamey) put him down. Fortunatley MI still lets us use lead for every thing except waterfowl. And just to keep this all on topic, I found a 25 pound bag of t size lead shot in an antique store the day before yesterday that I was able to pick up for the unbelievable sum of $4.00. Yippee!

 

[AZ-Robert]

#5 and #7.5

 

[The Baron]

On the topic of steel shot, I shoot many, many geese each year (hundreds, literally) and I think steel shot is quite adequate when put in the right place and within the effective range (about 40 yards, dependant upon load, pattern density and shot size). I won't argue that Hevi-Shot, Tungsten-Matrix, etc. is better, but steel definitely works when used within it's limitations and it won't break the budget when you shoot lots. Like all shot, patterning is very important to make sure you are not throwing a crippling pattern. Just MHO. :v

 

[paulvallandigham]

# 5,#7.5, and #8 shot. I use #8 for trap and target shooting( skeet, sporting clays), and for Dove, the #7.5 for targets on windy days, and the #5 for hunting pheasants, rabbits, chukkar, etc.

 

[hornetk4]

I've got 000 oo 2 4 5 6 7 1/2 8 10 and I bought a lot of it at a metal scrap yard otherwise it's about 30 bucks a bag whare I live . If I drive 40 or 50 miles I can get it for 22 bucks a bag but at scrap yard prices it's about 10 bucks a bag . also I have a question has anyone here shot fifled slugs from store bought shot gun shells in a bp shotgun ? I have some in 12 gage and would like to see how they shoot.

 

[musketman]

Thanks for all the info, this wraps up this survey...