Federal Prairie Storm FS Steel

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Deweybagger

New member
I've been wanting to try these but couldn't find them in 12 ga last year, picked up 4 boxes last week when I seen them.

Has anyone used these?

They are 3" 1 1/8 oz of 4's @ 1600 fps
50/50 blend of fs pellets and standard steel.

As I've posted before I normally use Black Cloud Close Range 3" 1 1/4 oz of 4's @ 1450 fps 100% FS pellets for my steel work but I'm a sucker for trying different things, most of the time I go back to my old favorites.

Any knowledge, thoughts or experience with these???
 
I think if you like the Black Cloud you've been using on Pheasant, you'll love Prairie Storm. 50/50 FS/Rd steel. The Flighcontrol Wad drops of closer so the pattern opens up more than Black Cloud.
 
hlj3 said:
I think if you like the Black Cloud you've been using on Pheasant, you'll love Prairie Storm. 50/50 FS/Rd steel. The Flighcontrol Wad drops of closer so the pattern opens up more than Black Cloud.
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I think the wad on the close range drops off sooner than what the Prairie Storm wad will, but that would be a happy medium between regular Black Cloud and the Close Range Black cloud.

Shooting at geese in chopped corn fields with the birds 10'-15' off the deck were finding wads 70+yards away from where we're sitting with 3 1/2" regular Black Cloud. Think that's hanging on to long?? or I might have some BB loads that the wads arent opening up right. Not sure either way they fall if your on target!

2 weeks and I'll be testing the Prairie Storm FS steel on some public land roosters!
 
Uncle Buck said:
Expensive overkill but lots of guy's like them.
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Was starting to wonder if I wrote this in German or no one heard of them!

Uncle Buck, what makes them overkill? 1 1/8 oz of 4's is pretty light considering I see golden phesants at 1 5/8 oz and winchester new offering in 1 1/2 oz.

I do get they are expensive!

I've shot the prairie storm lead and they do wreck a few birds, do they perform similar because the steel load has a higher velocity and similar pellet count per load based on steel being lighter then lead?
 
I've shot PS in both lead and very little steel. While the concept of the "long-range" wad sounds intriguing, it's more to do with marketing than actual field use. My results with the PS lead were OK, but make sure you use nothing tighter than an I/C choke. Last Dec, I had to switch from I/C to skeet, due to birds getting hit with too many pellets. However, I did break the mold, due to shooting birds at my normal close distance, as opposed to "long-range" as they are supposedly intended.
 
Deweybagger said:
I think the wad on the close range drops off sooner than what the Prairie Storm wad will, but that would be a happy medium between regular Black Cloud and the Close Range Black cloud.

Shooting at geese in chopped corn fields with the birds 10'-15' off the deck were finding wads 70+yards away from where we're sitting with 3 1/2" regular Black Cloud. Think that's hanging on to long?? or I might have some BB loads that the wads arent opening up right. Not sure either way they fall if your on target!

2 weeks and I'll be testing the Prairie Storm FS steel on some public land roosters!
Click to expand...

Because you are finding the wads there does not mean they are staying with the shot string that long.
I actually watched this fall as my son shot a long goose and saw the wad flying as well, but it was nowhere in line with the bird .
Last year I was checking some Kent factory loads against my hand loads using the same brand of wad and found the majority of them at the high house when shooting on low 7 .
However, I know for a fact that the shot string gets away from that wad less that
20 feet from the barrel .
DHT
 
I'm stumped by some of these responses.

If a wad is designed to carry shot to farther distances and tighter patterns with the peddles that don't open like a conventional wad, doesn't seem like all marketing BS.

If you take a normal cheap steel load, black cloud, prairie storm fs steel, black cloud close range and shoot them all through a mod choke at 25 yards there is a big difference in pattern size and density....wouldn't that have everything to do with how the wad is designed to perform?

Seem like product development to optimize effectiveness at different ranges.

I've only shot 11 roosters with these, but everyone has been 1 shot and dead in the air.

Based on actual use, I wouldn't be afraid to only have this shot shell in my vest the rest of the season.

If you must use nontoxic give them a shot, I'd be surprised if anyone would be disappointed.
 
Well, the reason I said what I said about the marketing thing, is that the wads had to be designed differently because the shot is made differently, and with a conventional wad the patterns would be atrocious if the wad didn't hold with the shot longer.
Just how far are you shooting your birds Dewey?
Up here in Alberta I am continually told I need to shoot bigger ammo and many of my friends do, but I have never had an issue taking a possesion limit of birds
With conventional fibre wads and black powder out of my vintage guns or plastic wads and smokeless stuff put of my 28's or 16.:confused:

DHT
 
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A $14 box of shells will kill a pheasant as good as the $20+ box and I think that's where the comments come from.

When shooting a modern gun that can handle 3 inch steel loads especially a 12 gauge a lot of different ammo will get the job done.
 
davidtodd said:
Well, the reason I said what I said about the marketing thing, is that the wads had to be designed differently because the shot is made differently, and with a conventional wad the patterns would be atrocious if the wad didn't hold with the shot longer.
Just how far are you shooting your birds Dewey?
Up here in Alberta I am continually told I need to shoot bigger ammo and many of my friends do, but I have never had an issue taking a possesion limit of birds
With conventional fibre wads and black powder out of my vintage guns or plastic wads and smokeless stuff put of my 18's or 16.:confused:

DHT
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Most my shots are 25-30 yards, last year some of my shots were a little longer being I'd let my son shoot first....he's now a lot better shot, left is mine/right is his and straight away is who's quicker:D

So my point exactly, wads are designed to perform or optimize the patterns and performance at given ranges that are typical to a given prey.

Guys shooting over a ranging flusher might really like these as a person shooting over a pointer might really like the Close range.

I know a guy who hunts everything with a 20 or 28, he's an excellent shot but he spends more time tracking/looking for wounded birds.

I'm out there to kill, and do it efficiently. We don't have many birds and when we flush them I want my dogs to have the reward of the retrieve (they taste pretty damn good too!)

I want every advantage be it big or small, heck last year at the very end of season I shot birds with 3 1/2" 1.5 oz of 4's and never killed one to dead.....
But the birds were seasoned and not hanging around, I was putting limits in my bag while friends were going home empty handed, while ripping on me for being loaded for bear.

I've shot muzzle loading shot guns at the trap range, pretty cool stuff. Are you able to shoot steel with them? I've never loaded one, just pulled the trigger.
 
When we are shooting waterfowl we use Nice Shot, or Bismuth non toxic shot for our ammo.
Most of our shots are about that range as well, be it for pheasants or sharptails.
We use pointers but a friend of mine uses a pair of goldens and he shoots either a 28 or black powder cartridge guns .:)
DHT
 
wisturkeyhunter said:
A $14 box of shells will kill a pheasant as good as the $20+ box and I think that's where the comments come from.

When shooting a modern gun that can handle 3 inch steel loads especially a 12 gauge a lot of different ammo will get the job done.
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I agree, but why would you hunt with a expensive beretta when a cheap 870 express will kill pheasants?

When you add up the money spent on a hunting season $6.00 isn't very much.

I think of when I was a kid and trying to shoot down geese with my dads old 1100 2 3/4", I couldn't kill one to save my soul, 2 boxes a weekend, different shot sizes....
Fast forward 2 years, saved enough money for my first 10ga with chokes, id go through 6-7 shells a weekend on geese with a limit every time they were within 60 yards.

Why just get by if there is something that performs? If its not in the budget I get that too, but until you try them first hand you wouldn't see that cheap loads Won't outperform good quality loads.
 
I don't always buy the cheapest ammo available and I shoot a beretta auto with over priced briley parts added so I get what you are saying. I killed them just as well with my 870.

I also get where guys are coming from when they say the new stuff is just slick marketing.

Buy what works for you and gives you confidence and rock on.
 
davidtodd said:
My dearly departed father once stated when I asked him about a new cartridge , that it was " something designed by someone to sell to somebody who thought they needed it"!!:D
He was an industry rep BTW !:cool:
DHT
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Your father was not only wise, but honest. :D
 
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gizzmo's

think you are marketer's dream. david kinda got it right, nearly anything will drop a pheasant out to a reasonable range and dead is dead, what you can't measure is the shooting ability, ie: just where the bird fits into a pattern, any pattern. david and I both shoot black powder, I mostly use a 28 ga., sometimes my 410. shooting at reasonable ranges I
find almost no difference in how the birds die, but then ya have ta hit em'. I am sure that there are some out there that think the only gun to do the job is a 10 ga. also. mostly though it is about having fun, kid yourself if you want, but go forth and just do it.

cheers
 
Stuck in a rut

I think all of us are right to some extent....

But! With no disrespect, what I see is a bunch of guys that think they have the answers to everything because they've been there done that. With out ever trying something new, I can kill them with a BB gun....

Somehow we got a little sideways here, might be me!

I was wondering if anyone has shot these, I have now....
Sounds like most who've replied haven't, key pad jockeys stuck in the past.

I'll continue to shot them up, seriously give something new a try! You never know. Maybe my shooting is bad enough to need this stuff!

And NO, I don't work for Federal.
 
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