Winchester Blind Side

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Saskatchestan

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Anybody ever tried this stuff? I bought a box of it to try out tomorrow. Interesting idea I suppose but its a bit pricey about 5-6 bucks more a box then normal ammo I shoot. Supposed to be more lethal and not punch feathers into the meat as much as regular steel shot. I've hit big old canada's with conventional shot twice seen feathers pop off and they just fly away. Never had that problem with lead but of course can't use that stuff anymore. I suppose if I was a better shot and hit them in the head it wouldn't matter. :D
 
I have shot 2 shots of 3.5 inch blindside. The recoil hurts bad. save your money and by experts or challengers or score
 
I used a box last year, some of the hits were good, some did nothing different. Not worth the extra hype, kent fast steel for me. Only thing noticeable was using hevi metal but at $33 a box i bought one more this year in different larger size then the #4 i used last year
 
I used up 5 boxes on ducks in Manitoba last fall. Over decoys it was deadly (but what isn't) Longer shots it was just average. Found lots of the square pellets in the meat when processing. NOT recommended.

Darryl
 
I tried a couple boxes last year and was disappointed. I see Winchester has upped the velocity to 1400 fps this year. Maybe that will make it a little more effective. I won't be rushing out to buy anymore.
 
I don't know if higher velocities will do anything for pattern density, and I doubt if the dice shaped pellets will fly as true as round. I'd expect longer shot strings, and larger, less dense patterns, but the proof is in the shooting and I haven't patterned any of these. Buy a box, pattern them, if they produce a decent 40 yard pattern, try em out. Frankly, I think it shows great initiative by Winchester's marketing people.
 
Well about two weeks ago we thought it would be a good test to see what brand ammo (12ga 3" BB) patterned best prior to geese season. We ran two 870's one with a full choke the other a mod. and a Moss 500 with a full.

Moss 500 liked Blackcloud the best - test were done at 25 and 45 yards

870's both like Kent the best - again test were at 25 and 45 yards

Other ammo put through the test were Blindside, Remington hypersonic, Hevi steel. My buddy did have some 3.5" shells (unsure of brand) that he tried and the pattern was no better then a 3", he tried at 55yard shot and we saw that 40-45 yards was our max. We do have some extended range chokes coming in and will re-pattern at that time.
 
I bought a box for hd kid to try .
He didn't use it this weekend and has such great kills with Kent it will be pretty hard to convince him to drop some into his O/U!
Cat
 
I used them this weekend and really didn't notice any difference. Guys were thumbing big Canada's with $14 a box stuff. Appears to just be hype. I think you'd be better off to buy two boxes of cheap BB or #2 and shoot at some clays.
 
It amazes me all the stories of the ones that got away in a cloud of feathers but never saw that happen with lead shot? I started waterfowling long before non-toxic shot came into play and I recall as many cripples back then as now. The best way to ensure a good clean kill is and always will be, learn to judge range and practice, practice, practice. One day on the skeet range with two boxes of ammo before season or throwing a box of clays in a gravel pit with your buddies for an afternoon does not teach you to shoot. Getting out on a weekly basis shooting hundreds of rounds over the course of the summer is what will teach you proper shooting fundamentals and pattern placement. Then the ducks and geese, large or small will fall to steel shot too. Just my .02 worth.
 
Years ago there was the big thing about shot needing to be perfectly round.
people have said that some of the lead and steel they find in shot is not uniform so it's no good.
NOW, they come out with two different sizes of shot, flat sided shot, shot with flax under the crimp, and it's ALL supposed to be better.

My dad was an industry REP, and his favourite expression for some of this stuff was
" Somebody designing something to sell to someone who thinks they need it"
As The spank says, hit them in the head/neck area and they will go down.

I was shooting some Bismuth and Nice Shot last weekend in my favourite vintage gun, size was Number2 and 4 with 95 grains of FFG Goex.
Slow load compared to even smokeless lead loads of the day, but the geese were coming down when hit properly!
Cat
 
the spank said:
It amazes me all the stories of the ones that got away in a cloud of feathers but never saw that happen with lead shot? I started waterfowling long before non-toxic shot came into play and I recall as many cripples back then as now. The best way to ensure a good clean kill is and always will be, learn to judge range and practice, practice, practice. One day on the skeet range with two boxes of ammo before season or throwing a box of clays in a gravel pit with your buddies for an afternoon does not teach you to shoot. Getting out on a weekly basis shooting hundreds of rounds over the course of the summer is what will teach you proper shooting fundamentals and pattern placement. Then the ducks and geese, large or small will fall to steel shot too. Just my .02 worth.
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Well said!!!
 
the spank said:
It amazes me all the stories of the ones that got away in a cloud of feathers but never saw that happen with lead shot? I started waterfowling long before non-toxic shot came into play and I recall as many cripples back then as now. The best way to ensure a good clean kill is and always will be, learn to judge range and practice, practice, practice. One day on the skeet range with two boxes of ammo before season or throwing a box of clays in a gravel pit with your buddies for an afternoon does not teach you to shoot. Getting out on a weekly basis shooting hundreds of rounds over the course of the summer is what will teach you proper shooting fundamentals and pattern placement. Then the ducks and geese, large or small will fall to steel shot too. Just my .02 worth.
Click to expand...

I'll concede that I likely don't hunt migratory birds as often and maybe haven't for as many seasons as you do / did. Additionally being one of those guys that throws clays with my buds a few times per year I may not possess your proficiency with a shotgun.

So Admittedly I possibly lack comparative skill and experience, at least to a degree ........ and please don't misunderstand I agree wholeheartedly that the more accomplished / skilled / experienced / practiced etc. the wing shooter is -- the better hunter they will be. Sure wing shooting skill doesn't mean someone is ethical, or calls better than anyone else, or knows where to set up (especially in some areas of the country that aren't lousy with birds) etc etc .... but all things being equal , 2 guys siting in a blind , the better (more experienced and practiced) shooter will take more birds with less shots. The gap will widen between the 2 even more if it isn't only decoying birds but also some pass shooting and pond jumping.

You and I may both get our "limit" on opening morning ...... but I'll likely need more shells to do it. That was true both in the non-toxic shot days gone by, and now. In the past 30 something years I've shared a blind with some exceptional shooters and some not so exceptional shooters.

I can say rather emphatically that I remember for years using my Father's old Mossberg 500 plain Barrel full choke armed with blue Imperial 2 3/4" #6 or #4 that I would pick up for $5-$10 per box (closer to 5 lol) ------ I also distinctly remember when Steel Shot was first mandated. Early on there was absolutely no question in my mind that steel shot was considerably less effective .... and that observation was broadly held amongst anyone I hunted with or spoke to after the season. I suspect lots of that had to do with a number of factors. There were a lot of fixed choked shotguns out there that couldn't shoot the steel shot very well, the price of shot shells skyrocketed (3" mastercraft #2 were uber expensive relative to even what premium lead shot had been) , The Steel shot was not as fast as it is today etc etc. As guys slowly changed out their Shotguns to the 3 1/2 inch cannons and the Steel shot got progressively more effective certainly the complaints / observations reduced . For myself I'd have to say that the number of cripples that I experienced initially jumped significantly --- and as the years have gone by it has gotten better to the point that today I really don't worry about or think about 1400 -1500 fps steel shot I've abandoned any 3 1/2" shell usage ...... but in my hands a 3" Kent fast Steel is AT BEST almost as good as 2 3/4" imperial shot shells.
 
Ottawacats said:
Well about two weeks ago we thought it would be a good test to see what brand ammo (12ga 3" BB) patterned best prior to geese season. We ran two 870's one with a full choke the other a mod. and a Moss 500 with a full.

Moss 500 liked Blackcloud the best - test were done at 25 and 45 yards

870's both like Kent the best - again test were at 25 and 45 yards

Other ammo put through the test were Blindside, Remington hypersonic, Hevi steel. My buddy did have some 3.5" shells (unsure of brand) that he tried and the pattern was no better then a 3", he tried at 55yard shot and we saw that 40-45 yards was our max. We do have some extended range chokes coming in and will re-pattern at that time.
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Ottawa Good to see that you were checking the pattern delivered by your shotguns. A couple things I am curious about. You mentioned that two of the three shotguns you tested had full chokes while the other had a modified choke. Most firearms manufacturers and ammo makers do not recommend any choke tighter than a modified choke with steel shot. I've seen some shotguns that deliver much better patterns with an improved cylinder choke and large steel shot (BB and larger). I would suggest giving a more open choke a try. You can pick up a factory Rem choke for about $15 in IC. Most aftermarket choke manufactures do not recommend steel shot in any of their extended range chokes. They are intended for dense patterns of smaller lead shot (like # 6 ) for shooting turkeys. You may want to give the choke manufacturer a call and check with him before you start buying a bunch of $50+ choke tubes.
 
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