Steel shot has had some influence on these speeds. Because of the lighter weight per pellet for any given size the manufactures ramped up velocity to compensate. You can now buy steel loads in excess of 1700fps.
Combine this and Americans love for anything magnum along with a good marketing hook. We now have expensive super speed magnum doves loads.
What happened to the good old days when you waited for the ammo sales the last two weeks of August when dove loads would go on sale for under $2.00 a box. I guess I'm showing my age. I bought a lot of the under $2.00 stuff at Target back in the day.
