Topic: lead shot?

[mikedamerell]

I am new to owning a shotgun and so have been reading up on it.  It appears that lead shot is the most efficient in transference of energy. 

I am wondering how to tell from the outside of the box what shells are lead and what are other.  I went and bought the cheapest big box I could find assuming that it would be lead, but it is not.  I have no idea how to tell if it is lead or not.

So, first, is the lead shot being best a myth?  Second, how can I tell what is inside the shell?  I have the whole dram, shot size, and load figured out and I guess I could do the math to figure the weight of the shot and tell that way but that is a lot of math.  I have found that almost all game loads are not lead shot.

Thank you for your time.
Mike 

[Jaggy13]

They passed a law a few years ago that water foul had to be shot with steel.
Usually it will say steel shot on the outside of the box. and it will be 3 times the price of lead.

If you bought cheap rounds that weren't lead what where they? Cause cheap and steel shot don't usually go together.

[Nealio]

If you go to Walmart and buy the "cheapest" shells they have (Federal Game or Target loads) they are lead.  We are talking something like $4.77/box.
Also if you see "Target" or "Upland Game" on the box, that usually means its lead.  Whereas anything to do with water fowl (as Jaggy said) will be steel.
There is tons of lead shotshells out there.  Estate, Federal, and Kent are what most of us shoot.

[egress81]

If its not lead shot it will say so on the box buy indicating what's inside... steel, buismuth, tungdsten. It will also say non toxic on it as well if it has anything other then lead.

ETA- there is also some copper plated lead shot as well

[mikedamerell]

thanks for the information.  I bought a value pack of target load because it was cheap.  The box only said the shot was hardened for better breakage.  I cut one open to see what hardened meant and it looks like steel shot.  So I will take what you all have said and go look for cheap shells that don't say that it is steel or hardened and such.

Thanks for the help.

Mike

[luvmy45]

You sure it's not lead? What brand/type did you buy?

Anything more than $6/box is more than I will pay, usually around $5/box or $50/case is where I want to be, and if you buy it by the case at Sportsmans you can get 5% off.

Watch for Cabela's coupons and buy a couple of cases and you can knock off $20 to $25 depending on what they have going at the time.

[junkie]

Mike
 I don't think steel comes in a value pack but I have not really been looking. It might be that a face to face at sportsmans or cabelas is in order to explain it all. Send me a PM and we might be able to work something out. We did meet at the range on day but yuo had to go pull your neighbor out of the mud.

[SinisterRob]

Did you try a magnet on the shot? I had friend do the same thing and agrue with me that it was steel, but I was able to cut it with my pocket knife.

[mikedamerell]

It is lead!  I am accustomed to the slightly oxidized look of most lead, that kind of grayish silver color.  I put a magnet to it and it did not pick up so I figured it was an alloy of some sort.  So I melted some down and it was lead with a tiny bit of something else, maybe some sort of very thin coating to keep it from oxidizing.  Thanks for all the info.

[ekuo]

Mike,
What are you shooting at?  For me, the load I pick depends on the "target"

Early season chuckars:  either #7 1/2 or #6, 1 1/4 oz, 2 3/4" high brass
Late season chuckars:  #5, 1 1/4 oz, 2 3/4" high brass
Pheasants:  #4, 1 1/4 oz, 2 3/4" high brass, or if shooting at the WMAs I use the same load as for ducks below.  
Duck:  #3, 1 1/4 oz, 3" high brass magnums
HD:  0000 buck for indoor use, or 00 buck for outdoor

All that fancy non-toxic bismuth or tungsten / heavy shot stuff works good, but the only time I shoot it is when somebody gives me a box since it costs too much.  Steel shot sucks IMO, and even though it knocks ducks down, sometimes it doesn't kill them cleanly.  So these days I use a heavier steel load for duck than I used to use back when they allowed lead.  

3-gun:  #7 1/2, 1 1/8 oz, 2 3/4" (Estate target loads), and I usually bring a box of the same #5's I use for late season chukars.  

[mikedamerell]

I have only taken it out shooting twice.  I used several types and distances of target.  I have real estate signs I hang paper on and put them out at various ranges.  I also took out a couple of 6'x10" logs with kickstands and my home made angle shooting crash test dummy (he is just a bunch of old tires sliced and stacked on cable to resemble the shape of a zombie).  So nothing fancy just wanted to see how these fancy smokeless guns do compared to the ones I am used to.  I am in awe of the function and ease of this shotgun but need to try out some different loads to find the ones I like.  I also NEED to buy a few more mags because the one it came with is fun but a 12 round or a drum would be way more fun! I think that I am in agreement with the lead shot fans.  Lead seems to pack a lot more punch at all ranges.

[ekuo]

In that case, buy the cheapest shells that you can get to run reliably in your gun.