What's with you people pushing the change to steel shot when it ain't necessary?? Why don't you just give the anti's a boost by voluntarily cutting our own throats.
Steel shot cripples birds. So no, unless mandated by where I'm hunting, such as in state wildlife management areas where steel is required.
Steel shot from 3" magnum works on varmints and ground squirrel, though recoil and cost are high. Steel would have to be substantially cheaper. Prefer game loads, though, and prefer lead for those. HOWEVER, one big safety issue with steel when shooting ground targets is steel badly ricochets from rocks. Lead is safer to use. I do not like to use steel shot in rocky terrain.
Steel is not compressible through the very tight chokes I use for coyotes or turkeys. So no.
Have not found steel shot trap loads locally. Would not care to use them in my trap barrel. Would not be an issue in my field barrel used for sporting clays, as long as it patterns OK and breaks the sturdier sporting clays targets.
I am absolutely opposed to mandating the use of steel shot because of junk science being used to support a predetermined political outcome.
Never thought about the ricochet issue with steel. Knowing as I do how brushy the southern California "glorified buzzard" area is, I wonder how many fires are going to be started by steel shot.
Steel is already available in bulk purchase for $35/25# and has been price steady for the past couple years... you all read some of the venomous statements on the other thread...
Not getting religious here, but I don't think the Good Lord would have created anything inherently poisonous to it creatures - we're the ones who have bastardized the elements into something they were not intended for. Animals are not ingesting lead in significant amounts and I agree with whole heartedly with Brian's statement about "junk science".
NSSF, NRA, WMI, SAAMI have all put forth "good science" on the subject of lead and its mobilization. The shooting sports industry continues to lobby for legislation that supports the continued use of traditional lead ammunition. There is joint work with the fishing industry - although they have also migrated to offer tungsten and other non-tox weight alternatives.
I shoot steel ONLY where and when I have to - my living nor my survival depends upon it when I shoot - however, if it came to the point where lead ammo was so oppressively more expensive or was legally outlawed - sure I would change and continue to shoot steel shot because I have experience - and in my opinion its better to shoot and enjoy than to not shoot...
And for my personal protection, I'll always have some lead in reserve!
However, I continue to fight for traditional ammunition every day...
The big financial institutions ( banks) bought huge warehouses with Obummers stimulus money. They started buying up huge quantities of mined lead and stored in these warehouses to drive up the price to China. Within the last year the banks have been stuck with large inventories of lead and other metals. Now that we are quickly becoming the new OPEC China has looke at there own resources for metals along with reaching out to other countries. In short the banks are trying to unload their inventory quietly as not to loose their cost before the bottom drops out. Bill
I dislike Obuma and everything he stands for as much as the next guy but do you have any proof of this mass lead buying scheme? Sounds a little out there. Of course nothing would shock me anymore.
I have a friend that buys lead in bulk from China. He is a bulk bullet caster.He swears (but won't sell me any) for $.77 a pound. How can that be??
This a 92, 6, 2 mixture for casting.
For as long as I can I will shoot what I choose to shoot, when choices are taken away I will shoot what I can get.... but I will shoot. I am not afraid so much of reduced options as far as shooting materials, what I really fear is a government going to hell making my right to shoot disappear.... Larry
But see that is not at all what you said or asked. You said:
"When steel shot target ammo and reloads become materially cheaper than comparable lead shot ammo and reloads, will you voluntarily go to steel?"
As well as:
"How much cheaper would steel shot target ammo have to be before you tried it?"
The simple answer is we don't want to change, try or switch to steel shot. You are shoving an issue that has not happened with the exception of a few select clubs. I like Joe Kuhn and Spitter as well but could give a rats behind why they chose to switch. It was not their only option. 99% of the clubs across the US shoot lead. Your reasoning is akin to asking when will people start using 5 round magazines as the others may be gone someday. How cheap do the magazines need to get. That line of thinking is just bend over and let the anti-gun crowd win. Are you one of those anti-gun idiots? I'll say you sure have me wondering about you and I'm far from alone in that thought. I also think you should look at the answers you have received so far and take that data and leave it alone. It looks overwhelming to me with even Joe Kuhn saying he doesn't want to shoot steel.
We don't need to give in, we need to fight hard to preserve our sport as is and that's with lead shot.
Sammie has never researched about the "ethics" of hunting or he/she would have never asked the question.
Forcing steel on the sporting and hunting world as well as the desire of liberals/socialist to ban lead, IS no different the Climate Change HOAX-STERS!
Well, I don't know how that is going to happen. Lead is about 95 cents a pound or, about about 5.94 cents per ounce. So, for a 1.125 ounce shell, the lead cost is 6.68 cents per shell. So, if steel was 50 cents per pound, a box of ammo would only go down by 85 cents?
Obviously, the cost of lead only drives a small potion of the cost of a box of shells. As such, making a financial argument lead vs steel is just noise.
I play the stock market constantly and came across the infromation at a analyst web sight where I read the subject. I stay away from the metals market. To volitial for me. It didn't interest me at the time. But you can bet its probably very true. Bill
Shotstop - 0.85/box is $8.50/flat. That probably isn't enough to get me to try them. But saving $15 a flat will probably get me to try them just to see how they perform. $20/flat or more and I will be trying them and hoping they are good enough.
Recycle shot users - Don't panic. If the club request or requires shooters to abstain from using steel shot at their club, I will honor their request.
Leads not going away ... Unless you're in a goof ball state.
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