Favorite steel shot for a 20?

S

spotdog14

New member
I'm in the process of buying ammo for this years hunt and since the place we usually hunt has now gone non-toxic I'm looking for recommendations on your favorite brand/shot/weight for a 20 gauge.

I've come to the conclusion that you cannot find decent 20 gauge steel ammo in anything other than 3 inch. Do you prefer the heavier slower shot or faster lighter?

Thanks!
 
I used some of the Estate 2 3/4" 4s last year and they worked fine on pointed birds. Even though the 3" loads are a bit slower I think they would do OK, especially if you can find the 3 shot.

http://www.estatecartridge.com/html/steel.htm

The Kent Fasteel looks good but I don't think the 1550 speed is needed. I'd usually go with more payload then speed if given a choice. That is part of the reason I like 3s or 4s in a 20ga.

Tim
 
I'd get some Bismuth for the 20. Big shout out to Haslett my first rooster came behind the house in Perry. We had a couple of coveys of quail too.
 
Depending on how much you shoot I'd say pay up and get some bismuth or tungsten shot but I've killed plenty of roosters wit Kent faststeel 3's. All the brand's work just fine though with 7/8 or 1oz of steel.:cheers:
 
PTM said:
Hevi-shot hevi pheasant in 5 shot
Click to expand...

Oh no! Not another hevi-shot pusher.:eek: lol Seriously though if you shoot as little as i do pheasant hunting the stuff is worth it.
 
Thanks for the recommendation. We usually shoot late season birds that are about 25/30 yards away. For that reason from what I've read #3's are the best bet.

I ended up getting a case of Federal Black Cloud 1 oz #2's because they were on sale plus a $50 rebate. I need to get another case for my dad and split them 50/50. I'm between the Remington HyperSonic Steel (7/8 oz #3, 1,600 fps) or the Winchester Blind Side (1 1/16 oz #2, 1,300 fps).
 
I tried several 20 ga 3 in steel loads in my Benelli M-2 ans my dickinson sxs 20 ga . The gun will tell you what it likes .

Here's what worked well # 3 3 " Winchester Drylok , # 3 Hevi-metal, PMC #3 , above loads 3" 1 oz loads

#5 2 3/4 7/8 oz kent upland steel a solid performer also .

I could not get kent 3 in fasteel to pattern good enough to feel confident with it .
 
20ga/steel

I've been using Fed "Speed-Shok". 2.75",#6.3/4oz shot at 1425MV. These pattern very good in my gun. Pass right thru dove. I'm sure they will work on quail also.
 
sport -- If you are talking pheasants, I normally shoot 1-ounce loads with No. 3 or 2 steel but I have shot some over pointing dogs with the 1-ounce load of No. 4 steel.

Roster did some research on pheasant steel loads and here is a link to some of that info. Basically, #2 steel did better than #4 or #6 steel at all distances and he speculated that #3 steel would be an effective load.

http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=67889

I would stay with spherical pellet steel loads, not mis-shapen pellet gimmick loads like BC or BS, and I'll include HS as a gimmick load, too.

Here are some pattern numbers from a 20-gauge Browning Citori with 28" Invector-plus barrels and Briley flush chokes to give you an idea of what you might find (patterns average of five, 30" post-shot scribed circle, yardage taped muzzle to target, and in-shell pellet count average of five).

20 GA 3" WINCHESTER DRYLOK STEEL LOAD
1 oz #3 steel (145 pellets) @ 1,330 fps
30 YARDS -- SK / 114 (78%)
40 YARDS -- IM / 106 (73%)

20 GA 3" REMINGTON NITRO-STEEL LOAD
1 oz #2 steel (118 pellets) @ 1,330 fps
30 YARDS -- SK / 101 (86%)
40 YARDS -- IM / 99 (84%)

If you can't put the pattern on the front end of the pheasant... little else matters!!!

Good luck.
 
I shot Expert 3 inch 4s in my 20 one year. 17/18 with one lost wounded bird

What I really liked was the majority of the breasts were intact.
 
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