doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Steel shot testing 2023

Tom Roster published a paper on steel shot lethality February 22, 2023. The lethality of modern steel is much improved. His paper is worth reading. It was posted on Outdoor Life.com.
Tom recommends various chokes for different birds/ranges.
Has anyone seen a table that gives choke constrictions for steel shot? I.e., what do the chokes measure?

Been reading and watching videos from the UK as they are shooting steel. Most recommend 3/8 and no more than modified.

New cartridges from Rottweil

https://rottweil-ammunition.com/en/...s-2020-rottweil-bi-load-rottweil-fe-load

I don't know why I wasted my time, but I read the outdoorlife.com article by Tom Roster.

This lunatic has spent something like 40 years trying to convince everyone that steel shot is the ballistic equal of lead, or perhaps even better. Nothing could be further from the truth. The density of steel shot is around 7.85 grams per cu. cm versus about 11.35 grams per cu. cm for lead shot.

Ammunition makers have made up for some of steel shot shortcomings by increasing velocity. But now Roster is actually saying that increased velocity isn't even needed for steel to equal lead shot effectiveness.

Using Roster's goofy logic, if steel shot is as good as lead, or even better, then aluminum shot should be better yet! And it wouldn't damage our barrels either!

Killing birds or breaking targets is highly dependent upon pattern density and kinetic energy. So the anti-lead agenda driven Roster desperately wants us to accept that a ballistically inferior shot that requires much larger size to remotely compare to lead, and which loses velocity and retained energy faster, is better all around.

That's just nuts. But why should we pay attention to the laws of physics in an insane world where Joe Biden gives the 2023 Woman of Courage Award to a biological male, and Liberals still think he respects women more than Trump?

This whole Steel versus Lead controversy as gone on for far too long.
Steel shot in my opinion is nowhere near as efficient in shotgunning as is Lead shot and never will be.
But let us get down to basic necessities , here in the UK we will be subjected to a total ban on using Lead by 2025!
Small bore guns and air rifles will possibly become obsolete due to ammunition becoming unavailable .
But more worrying for myself is that China seems to be the only supplier of Steel shot !
If they cannot cope and supply now we are in serious trouble Worldwide in 2026 or earlier.
Also in this environmentally conscious World obsessed with energy saving has anyone calculated the energy wastage used to produce steel /soft iron shot compared with moulding molten lead into shot?

Steel shot sucks, always has, always will. Sure, there’s been improvements over the years, but it’s still steel shot. Lead is superior ballistically in all facets when compared to steel, everybody knows that, including Roster. Dead centering a decoying bird with steel shot is no guarantee that it’s gonna be a dead bird with steel. How many times have you dead centered a 20 yard bird with a 1450 fps, 1 1/4 Oz of steel 3’s only to watch the bird try and swim for cover, or swim around and die 5 or 10 minutes later? Or cleaned a bird you know you dead centered at close range only to find 1 or 2 holes in the entire bird? I’ve never seen that with lead or bismuth. Patterning steel shows all kinds of inconsistent variations from one shell to the next even out of the same box. It’s frustrating. Unfortunately, it’s the only economical shell to use if you spend any significant time on the water.
I shoot quite a bit of steel during the course of a waterfowl season and it’s semi effective for me because I take birds within its effective range, but that seriously limits my opportunities (both in guns I can use and ranges I can take birds), and I still have to deal with wounded birds.

I agree with Keith. Rosters been spouting this jibberish for years, it’s like he’s being paid to do it.🤔

I think both Keith and LeFusil are right about steel and Roster. He has made himself an often sought out expert, for four decades on steel shot. Early steel shot was pathetic, inhumane in its lack of killing ability which caused game wasted by flying off to die unrecoverable in numbers never seen before. Well, over 40 years they have redeveloped steel about four time, altered wads, invented new powders and instead of sucking wind it not just sucks. For hunting purposes I’ll stick to Bismuth. If I can’t afford Bismuth I’ll just stay home. And Bismuth is a poor cousin to lead in performance. Tungsten is a better option but it cost too much to be anything other than a six dollar answer to a fifty cent problem.

Forty years ago Roster had a 10 ga. lead load that several of us tried. It had been published on a BP flier. Next year it was no longer listed. Too many bloopers; a buddy had a blooper at the moment of truth with a turkey. I think the turkey fell down laughing at the nickel plated shot dribbling out of the barrel's end. That was enough bad for the rest of us to use something else. Gil

Back when lead shot was banned here for waterfowl shooting I used steel and vowed never to use it again as it was just wounding birds. Two shots to bring it down and one to finish it off seemed to be the order of the day. Bismuth I found o.k. if the range was respected and found to be quite adequate for small duck like teal especially. I did get some Tungsten before the price went way up and found it to be very good; I still have some left. I more or less stopped duck and goose shooting. I intend to continue to use lead where legal until it is either banned or my existing stock dries up. Steel has said to have been much improved since the early days. One problem is that the steel cartridges sold here do not attain the velocity that the ones in the U.S. do, in order to conform to European Proof requirements, so are inferior to the ones with which you may be familiar. One major problem is I like to shoot vintage guns and muzzle loaders where steel is a 'no go' option. I do have a modern auto loader and over/under which are steel shot proof. My present option was to get a Baikal over/under, that are made as tough as old boots, and can be bought for very little. Mine was given to me by a Dealer who said he can't get rid of them. I intend to just fire any type of steel cartridge through that is 2 3/4" regardless of shot size. It is bored 1/2 and 3/4 choke and just see what happens. Nothing to loose. Steel shot may see a market for cheap Spanish and Italian boxlock non-ejectors that are virtually worthless here and Baikal over/unders. Use them then discard when worn out and get another. Lagopus.....

Lagopus,

That makes sense when you can go to auction and pick up a serviceable 12 bore (or two) for less than the cost of a 25 round box of Bismuth.