Hold on a second. Back at the dawn of steel shot for waterfowl, it was only required in some areas, and then only in 12 gauge, in Virginia and North Carolina. It wasn't worth 2 cents. I got a 3" 20 gauge Remington 1100, and loaded up some nickel plated #3s and #5s and did some patterning, and I was quite pleased with the results, up to about 45 yards. I was never quite as enthused as Francis Sell, but it sure beat those early 12 gauge steel "blanks". I also acquired a 28" barreled little double of some Spanish manufacture that couldn't equal the Remington in patterning for waterfowl, but it turned out to be a real nice dove and quail gun. Oh, and I was able to get much better longer range performance with the 3" than with 2-3/4". I seem to remember that 1-3/16 oz was my eventual favorite load, and I think I got the receipe off an early can of Blue Dot. I still have that can somewhere. The stoutest loads I ever saw anywhere, I used them extensively. Every succeeding generation of load data stepped down the loadings.
