Interesting. In his steel shot lethality tests on pheasants, he thought that the overall wounding loss rate of 12+% was pretty good (I guess compared to waterfowl). Based on records I've kept of over 1500 wild pheasants shot and recovered (note: Roster's steel shot lethality test involved PRESERVE pheasants), I'd say that wounding loss rate is about 2 to 3 times higher than it should be.
The one conclusion he made from that study, with which I do agree, is that if you're hunting with a decent dog and you drop a pheasant inside of 30 yards, there's very little chance you'll lose him. Beyond 40 yards, your chances of losing cripples increase significantly. Distance increases aiming error, and the longer it takes your dog to get to a cripple, the greater the bird's chances of escaping.
But to my knowledge, there has never been a blind study done comparing the lethality of steel to lead on pheasants. Such studies were conducted on waterfowl.
Last edited by L. Brown; 06/04/15 04:54 PM.
