# steel shot ?



## oatsboy (Mar 29, 2005)

i will be shooting a 3 1-2 12 ga this year for goose , prior i was using 3 12 firering bb kent faststeel with great success.my plan was to purchase a case of kents ,the locale gun center had 1 1-4 [email protected] fps or 1 3-8 bb at1450 fps.so being the trusting fool iam asked the man whats the deal with the weight to speed differance and which would he suggest i use and he didnt comment on my choices but instead told me i needed to be shooting a much slower shell in bbb.i know the standerd ,what patterns best out of my gun response, but can someone help me make heads or tails out of it .
p.s. the only reason i switched is because my hunting partner now shoots a3 1-2 12 ga and has them crumpled on the ground by the time i ussualy am whisperig to keep his big white melon down.he can have the stsfaction of knowing he made me anti-up for the new gun but i will not stoop so low as to ask him what he was runnig through his last year.


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## southdakbearfan (Oct 11, 2004)

I don't know about anyone else, but with steel, I have found Speed Kills. You need the higher initial velocities due to the steel being lighter than lead, it looses it's momentum faster. That being said, I usually opt for the 1500 fps Federals, in the red box for 3 1/2 when I shoot factories. Kent had some issues in the past year, I had a case of them and about 3 out of every box were duds, I don't know if they got wet or what, but I will never buy them again. You can actually get higher velocities out a 3" than a 3 1/2" but you loose a little payload, and with the tighter patterns and shorter shot strings, The extra payload helps.

Anyway, I hope that helps.


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## Dave Owens (Nov 11, 2002)

Speed, Speed, Speed. Try this. Take a new pencil with an unsharpened end and jam it into your fore head. Next sharpen the pencil into a fine point, then jam it into your forehead. Then call 911. On the way to the ER you can ponder the result. Smaller pellets moving the same speed as a large pellet will penitrate deeper and will not as likely graze or bounce off. BB shot at 1500 will go all the way through the bird most of the time.


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## oatsboy (Mar 29, 2005)

o.k. so i let some old retired guy making six $ an hr.b.s. me into a state of confusion.
thanks for helping me get back on track,but D.O. when i perform my pencil frontal labotaome should i be using a#2 pencil ? lead or graphite?


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

For the pencil trick i would suggest using some other persons head. I can make some good candidates.
diane feinstein
chuck schumer
michael moore
rosie o'donnel
any of the Kennedy that are involved with politics
barbara boxer 
sarah brady
most any one involved with peta
certain people involved with the aarp
well just take your pick of anti gun people and demonstrate on them. There is no reason to hurt your self.

If any one is wondering why I did not use capital letters for their names the reason is they do not deserve them.


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

I assume you are talking about geese,since either one of those is to big for ducks.....not enough hits in the pattern.

You are correct about the gun....I have a Benelli and it doesn't like loads much over 1600 fps.So for my gun I would choose the 1 3/8 at 1450 fps.

Buy 1 box of each and pattern a few then buy the case of the one that patterns best.


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## muskat (Mar 5, 2002)

Speed does kill. However too much can cause your pattern to blow out. There are 2 factors that play into your ability to kill geese. 
1. Getting enough pellets to the bird (pattern)
2. Having enough energy left when the pellets get there to penetrate and kill the bird.

Surprisignly, both go hand in hand. The energy is based on mass and velocity, the higher each is, the higher your impact energy will be. However, at too high of velocities, your pattern will blow out. This is all dependant on your gun, quality of materials into the shell, etc.

There is a reason that Hevi-shot is so effective. It has a density MUCH greater than steel (and even lead), so it can be loaded at speeds that pattern much better. It retains its energy and its pattern density.


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

muskat said:


> There is a reason that Hevi-shot is so effective. It has a density MUCH greater than steel (and even lead), so it can be loaded at speeds that pattern much better. It retains its energy and its pattern density.


You're right but at $1 per shell....can't afford it.


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## muskat (Mar 5, 2002)

I agree Ken, I have a hard time justifying any of my purchases, let alone one dollar per shell. I was just using that as an example.


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## southdakbearfan (Oct 11, 2004)

Also, with the higher velocity loads, be sure when you check your patterns to try you IC choke. I have found with my Browning that with anything over 1550, I get better patterns with that than with modified.


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