Gents,
You can test the hardness of the shot you use and if it's not hard enough, it is quite simple to harden lead shot. Chilled shot is generally 8 to 12 on the Brinnel scale, with a simple hardening procedure you can increase the hardness of your shot to 25 or 28 on the Brinnel Scale, or lower if you want. This procedure is explained in detail in most of the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbooks.
It stands to reason that the so called "nickel plated" shot is nothing more than nickel washed soft lead shot. The cost to actually plate the soft lead pellets would not be conducive to a good profit margin, but a hardness test would prove it.
Here's a new Brinnel hardness tester for sale....
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Portable-Brinell...=item417c1582f2
