Steel Shot

GW from Tenn

GW from Tenn

Member
I've recently came to realize that we may have to use steel shot this year on our hunting trip. What is best shell to use in 12 gauges? 2 3/4 or 3 inch? Shot size? I've never used steel shot on pheasants before. Any help would be appreciated.
 
Here's straight from the horses mouth. Length of shell doesn't matter. Get a decent shell and go with either #2 or #3 shot. Generally 1 1/4 ounce is a good payload for 12 gauge. I've heard great things about Kent and Fiocchi. I've shot some federal black cloud, but only because there was a good rebate on them. Steel also patterns a little tighter than lead or bismuth because it doesn't deform.
 
Totally agree on the shot length doesn't matter. I use 2.75" on lead or non toxic. If you read ballistics, a 2.75" will outperform a 3" when comparing shell to shell.

I'm more a smaller shot size man myself compared to Bob and his 2s and 3s. But that's personal preference. I used to use 2s and 3s and found myself struggling to hit birds. Switched to 5s and 6s and I do well. I'll even use 7.5s. The smaller steel sizes are tough to come by.

One of my favorite steel shells is Remington Hypersonic. I've had good luck with them.
 
3" #2. All season long. I've shot a lot of different shot sizes over the years and #2 steel performs well with the knockdown. 3" gives me a few more pellets. But I also do a lot of waterfowl hunting and like to keep everything the same. If I was strictly going to be hunting pheasants, I would probably scale down to #3.
 
The Black Cloud non-toxic is down right lethal. Expensive but very lethal. It will not only knock your bird down, it will turn your rooster into a shredded rooster. When you drive 2 days to get to SD to hunt, paying a little more for quality shells is pennies on the dollar. If I'm not using Black Cloud, I am using #6 lead 2.75 inch shells. So far I have only used a 12 ga for pheasants in SD. In SC I rarely use my 12 ga. Predominately use a 20 ga OU for my dove and woodcock.
 
# 3 Kent or Fiocchi works very well on pheasants! You wont be disappointed. They clip along at 1400 fps which is really nice. (1- 1/8 oz)
At the end of the day I prefer higher FPS vs heavier slower loads.
I've considered making it my everyday pheasant load...
 
I use nontoxic shot for all my hunting. I have done so for several years.

For pheasants, steel shot in sizes 4, 3, and 2 all work well.

That being said, I use bismuth shot for pheasant hunting now. I use it in sizes 6, 5, and 4. I think it is more effective than steel. Also, it is softer than steel, which makes it much easier on the teeth.

Backridge in Tennessee and Boss in Michigan both manufacture good bismuth shotshells.
 
Yeah I use bismuth now for non-tox areas, size 4 or 5. It works a treat. I doubt you'll be able to find any for this season. Boss is out for the year. Finding some steel 2s or 3s is your best bet. If your only going to take really close shots over a pointer then you could go with 4s.
 
bismuth is the best in that it works like lead which is really the best. However there is the cost, so steel in 3 works pretty good, not like lead but still good. If cost wasn't a factor I would use bismuth on everything.
 
If cost wasn't a factor I would use TSS on everything, But that's probably best discussed in another thread.
 
As was mentioned earlier, a big bonus for both lead and bismuth, they won't crack your teeth if you miss a pellet while cleaning a bird. TSS and steel could be a very spendy dentist visit.
 
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Bob Peters said:
As was mentioned earlier, a big bonus for both lead and tungsten, they won't crack your teeth if you miss a pellet while cleaning a bird. TSS and steel could be a very spendy dentist visit.
Click to expand...
Tungsten is TSS.
AKA Tungsten Super Shot.
 
From 1983 until 2018 I lived in NE ND where 98% of my hunting was waterfowl so I have a lot of experience with non-toxic shot. When I moved down to SW ND in 2018, 98% of my hunting became upland and as I avoid areas that require non-toxic shot, the vast majority of what I shoot now is lead.

Bismuth & tungsten are pretty much as good as a comparable lead load, but are also very costly per shell (and God alone knows what they will cost of you can find then now). That being said I always bought and kept 5 tungsten goose loads on a butt stock shell holder for those instances when unexpected geese come in and a guy needs to swap out the duck sized shot fast. If you are well heeled, by all means go with something like Hevi-Metal or Hevi-Bismuth.

Steel shot is lighter than lead so the rule of thumb is to go up two sizes from the lead load you would use in a given situation. So beingthe vast majority of the steel I shot for waterfowl and where it was required for roosters was size 2. My favorite all around steel load is Federal Black Cloud 3" with 2 shot. My favorite lead rooster load is Federal Prairie Storm 2-3/4" with 4 shot. I see that Federal is making a steel Prairie Storm load too, but I suspect it's the same load & wad as Black Cloud, just in a different box & hull color.
 
Hevi Metal pre-pandemic was about $1 per shell; now, not sure. True Hevi shot, which I had the good fortune of being gifted about 70 rounds 20 gauge 2 3/4” 6 shot about 20 years ago, is much more spendy…$3-4/shell? Anyway, I had a December pheasant hunt in 2001 where I knocked down 20 roosters with that aforementioned load, and retrieved 19 of them, mostly stone dead. Don’t recall the deal with the lost bird. 95% recovery on late dec roosters with a 20 gauge is pretty good, by my 28 years of experience of extensive pheasant hunting experience. Most lost birds are straight always, for me at least…tough to punch through the backbone…past 15-20 yards, IMO
 
I've used Winchester Blindside when I shoot a 12 gauge. I use the 3" load of 1 3/8 ounces of #2 shot and it works very well on the mid to late season mallards we shoot around here. On pheasants I don't have much confidence in STEEL (not Bismuth, Hevi-shot or Boss which seem to work ok) as it is too light, especially on going straight-away birds where there are a lot of feathers and fat to push through. I'll use Prairie Storm lead if I can, as long as it's legal.
 
5 stand said:
Tungsten is TSS.
AKA Tungsten Super Shot.
Click to expand...
Oops I meant lead and bismuth. Both are softer metals. Another bonus I just remembered bismuth has over TSS, you can shoot it through any gun and not worry about damage to the barrel. I don't have an older gun yet, but hope to someday get a classic american pump or an early model 1100.
 
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