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From: sdc@scottsun.cs.umd.edu (Scott Carson)
Newsgroups: rec.hunting
Subject: Re: steel shot
Message-ID: <378@erb1.engr.wisc.edu>
Date: 16 Mar 91 12:15:50 GMT
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From: sdc@scottsun.cs.umd.edu (Scott Carson)


I find that steel shot is perfectly useful - like anything,
practice makes perfect.  I have hunted ducks and geese for
3 years with steel.

Steel shot is a little different from lead:  higher velocity
and *much* tighter pattern.  The tight pattern probably explains
why some people claim it is worthless.  I still use a full
choke gun, which on long shots (>30 yds) gives a pretty good effect:
I either miss completely or kill quickly.  On short shots,
I am occasionally unlucky enough to ruin the bird.
I would probably buy a modified choke (or a variable) if 
I was buying a new gun.

If you are hunting during waterfowl season in a place where there
are waterfowl, and if steel is required for waterfowl hunting,
then you must use steel for pheasant hunting too.  
I think that the spirit of the law says that you ought to use
steel in marshes even when waterfowl are out of season.
Just watch those close-in shots!

On a side note, I have never had much luck using the extra large
(BBB,T) shot sizes with steel.  My theory is that the pattern is too
thin.  I have found that #2 steel is perfectly deadly even for geese,
and I generally use #4 for ducks.

On another note, I have found that if your shells get wet
(a common waterfowling experience), then you'd better use them
up pretty quickly.  I have had the shot rust together, forming
a nasty ball and blowing the pattern.

A few years ago, the Interior department put out a video called
(I think) ``Hunting with Steel Shot.''  I found it at a public
library.  It provides a good tutorial on shooting with steel,
including a lot of footage of a government consultant
shooting geese consistently at > 60 yards (!).  The film also
includes tips from champion trap shooters.

Scott Carson
sdc@cs.umd.edu