Maybe I need more sleep, but I had this thought...

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Lexthedestroyer

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I was cleaning my semi auto 20gauge in anticipation for some grouse hunting next week, and going over my choke tubes I noticed the one (I've got a pretty frankenstein'd set) was marked "lead skeet, steel modified". Has anyone ever loaded up steel as the second (and or third) round as a way to get the double barrel benefit of different patterns at range? Now, I have admittedly never shot steel before, and from what I've read, it tends to have less than impressive terminal performance, but it made me go "hmmm".
 
Nope. If I don't have to use steel, I won't. They don't carry energy as good as lead or other heavy alloys. My motto is to use whatever choke is best for the longest shots I'll expect to be taking, but I always have one or two extra chokes in case I feel the need to switch (although I never seem to switch, 90% of the time I'm running either a skeet or mod choke.)

My buddy uses steel almost all the time though. He figures that way he doesn't have to worry about stumbling into a duck and not having what he needs. #2 steel out of a cylinder bore 12ga is pretty darn effective for roadside birds you just happen upon...
 
lead is alot better for most shotgunning. If you want to find an old adjustable choke shotgun which you can adjust up and down as you need!
 
I had kinda figured there was a good reason that I had never heard of this before, and from what I've been able to glean from the interwebs, steel is usually a last resort type thing. I may buy a box of steel shells after hunting season and try a little science experiment. If nothing else, it'll help stave off the cabin fever...
 
I shoot steel most of the time, with modern loads I don't really feel handicapped. Steel 6's seem to kill just as well for ruffed and spruce grouse as lead 7.5's from my guns at least in my 20 and 12. Not that I prefer steel to lead, just used to waterfowl hunt almost exclusively so I have a lot steel on hand to use. I've never really bothered to compare and see if the steel patterns would possibly increase range. I typically have either a improved cyl or modified choke and don't find either lacking.
 
Steel generally gives a tighter pattern in more open chokes. Tighter chokes actually open the pattern up more with steel shot
I played around alot one summer and came to the conclusion that smaller steel shot is only good for raking crippled divers on the water. They bounce and hit the head if the head slips thru the core pattern

When i use steel i shoot BB shot thru an open choke and can make clean kills to 40 yards. For pass shooting i use tighter chokes and bismuth
The best method is of course to try yourself. Worse case scenario you blast off alot of shells and have the joy of learning nothing.
 
brybenn said:
Steel generally gives a tighter pattern in more open chokes. Tighter chokes actually open the pattern up more with steel shot
I played around alot one summer and came to the conclusion that smaller steel shot is only good for raking crippled divers on the water. They bounce and hit the head if the head slips thru the core pattern

When i use steel i shoot BB shot thru an open choke and can make clean kills to 40 yards. For pass shooting i use tighter chokes and bismuth
The best method is of course to try yourself. Worse case scenario you blast off alot of shells and have the joy of learning nothing.
Click to expand...

I had a lot of fun in my younger years learning nothing, so I'll give it a try...
 
Always fun to get out and shoot. Just remember watch what you shoot at. Steel shot comes back. Even off clay targets. Ive had to dig a few pellets out while shooting trap at a buddies farm
 
Waterfowl was on the menu one weekend not upland but conditions were great for an early morning with heavy frost so a buddy and I decided to forgo the duck shooting on the second morning and hit some logging roads for grouse. I hadn’t brought any upland loads but had some old (before the days of hyper speed loads) winchester 1 oz#4 steel loads in my truck so I used them. I put my SK and IC chokes in my 101 and shot grouse with them that morning. To be honest they felt a bit overpowered for grouse. They aren’t exactly tough or hard to kill.
 
I use lead for grouse, usually 7.5 target shells because they are cheap, and a IC choke as usually they are not a far shot. I suppose a 2 3/4" steel shell with 7 shot would work good to. I use 3" BB shells on ducks and geese usually with a Mod choke. You hit a duck with BB shot and it is down, geese are little tougher, my shots are usually very close and they go down hard, but sometimes I have a wounded one.
 
A third shot with more pellets (heavier load) should be more effective than steel, I would guess. Only you can test it in your gun, though.
 
Steel pellets at long range are short on energy. While starting faster, they lose speed faster.
If you want more remaining energy, larger lead pellet size or denser shot is your ticket.
Of course, you could alternately just limit shooting to reasonable range.
 
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