good stuff. pricey if i remember. use to be a 2 bags of lead for 1 bag nickle trade at my club.

 

That's all I load for all of my hunting shells. #5's & 7 1/2's.
Federal Gold Medal Hull
1 1/8th oz either # 5's or 7 1/2 Nickle Plated Magnum Shot
Federal 12 S 3 Wad
Win. 209 Primer
38.1 gr Longshot Powder
1585 fps

Good Luck,
Mark

 

Mark,

Why do you feel you need so much speed??

SM

 

Most of my pheasants and chuckars are shot with a .410. I load 1/2 oz of nickel plated #6. It penetrates much better than non plated lead and does not pull feathers like non plated lead. Most of the time, the shot gives complete pass throughs under 40 yds. Bill

 

Where do you buy nickel plated shots from?

 

Ballistic Products

 

I use also it and Copper plated both give the same performance as better penetration and less feather draw.

 

I haven't really seen a noticeable difference between lead and plated lead for upland game.

Others have said they note a remarkable difference.

I just haven't seen it.

 

I haven't hunted with anyone that uses it other than me and just wondering about the cost and effectiveness. From what I've seen so far, nearly all shots will penetrate all the way through, and almost no feathers dragged into the meat. I have found rarely, one NP pellet stuck either under skin on far side or up against a bone with little or no deformation. A few feathers on about every 3rd bird.

Also, I think I'm losing fewer birds as they seem to go down better, but I can't really prove that. Maybe others have had some experience and can share. Still trying to justify the cost, but it is very good looking shot!!

 

Do not buy nickel plated shot from Ballistic Products or from Cabelas (also BP shot). The very best nickel plated shot you can buy today is from Precision Reloading. They start with West Coast magnum shot and send it out for plating. The shot comes back round and the plating is thick. BP shot is soft and dented. That is what I used to use before I knew better.

 

Did not know this. I found research on it and lead isn't very high in antimony or is inconsistent. I use BPI np from Italy, it is very uniform and usually passes through birds I've taken. I've found very few deformed pellets when they are recovered, but, I think I'll give the NP from PR a try. Thanks for the info. and I'll post results with the new brand.

 

Just noticed I still have a flat of nickel-plated AA International Target loads (AA127NL). Can't find them anywhere anymore.

 

I can tell that Mark reads a lot of Ballistic Product's information. I do too. My personal experience shooting wild pheasants in North
Dakota is that Nickel plated shot can't be beat for knocking these roosters onto the ground DEAD. The #5 and #4 NP pellets really penetrate while breaking wing and leg bones along the way. I have never cleaned a bird, shot with NP shot that the shot had a clump of feathers attached to it.
These wild birds really get flinchy after the first week or two. They tend to flush farther away and a fast load really helps to put the odds back in your favor.

John

 

A couple of "watch out's" with plated shot.

As I am sure everyone will agree, not all lead shot is the same, subsequently not all plated shot is the same.

Much of what you buy as copper plated is really only copper washed, which doesn't do much but make the shot more expensive.

The plating does not make the shot harder. The hardness of the shot is dependent on the antimony percentage of the base lead, just like it is for hard vs. chilled shot.

If they started with chilled shot, you will have nickel or copper plating on soft lead shot.

It may be worthwhile to test the hardness of the shot with some contraption like Neil Winston uses, just to compare the shot side by side.

Really screaming fast loads with chilled shot may result in really bad patterns. Does it matter? Well, to the pheasant, it probably does.

Me?

If I make hunting loads, I'll just use number 4 or number 5 magnum lead shot. It kills them dead enough.

 

When I lived in the Midwest and hunted pheasants a lot, my favorite load was the Fiocchi Golden Pheasant--1 3/8 oz of nickel plated #4 shot at 1250 fps. They worked extremely well, but I can't say for sure how much the nickel plating had to do with it. I did buy some Lawrence copper plated for reloading and it was a waste of money. The copper was so thin you could rub it off without much effort.

 

The best for small gauges on all birds- deadly!

 

dklees, I also use the B&P 20b F2 Nickel plated ammo in #7 and #6. I like it, but it is only 3% Antimonial, where the WCM NP is 5-6%.

 

Winchester "Lubaloy" was the the last copper plated shot that was actually plated onto the shot by electrolosis (sp) and it did improve performance.

 

I plan on reloading some nickel plated #6 shot in .410 for hunting squirrels and rabbits, probably in 3", somewhere between 5/8ths (10/16ths) and 11/16ths of an ounce, maybe with a little buffer if I need to add a little volume to the 5/8ths load for a good crimp, and as fast as I can get it to go. It seems Precision Reloaders has some that uses 6% antimony shot as the base, then puts a good layer of electrolysis nickel on top of it.

I wonder why the ATA has ruled against any "plated" shot. Unfair advantage is all I can come up with...

 

ShooterR, in my experience you get much better and bore even patterns with the 2.5" shell.

If you start with good, hard shot to start with, Nickel plating does not improve patterns to any meaningful degree. The main advantage is penetration and lack of feather draw.

scoutmaster, you can still get that shot is some of Winchester's loaded shells. I always carry some Supreme loads in 20b that have 9/8oz #6 copper plated, buffered shot. That load is the cat's meow when the birds are getting up 40 yards out.

 

Before he retired, had a friend that worked in a local plating shop. He would do a couple of bags, any size, in return for a couple of ducks. I would sneak in a bag of 7 1/2s to save for games.

 

Just bought some NP 7-1/2s from Graf's. Shipping was $7. Precision Reloading wanted $50 for shipping the same weight. Couldn't understand the difference. Do not know how the products compare.

 

Winchester "Lubaloy" was the the last copper plated shot that was actually plated onto the shot by electrolosis (sp) and it did improve performance.

Back before they banned lead for Duck Hunting, I used a lot of Winchester *Lubaloy copper plated shot. It WAS impressive!

 

Speed Kills!
Shot gets from point A to Point B Faster.
More Knock down power.
I load all of my hunting loads at MAX speed.
Just the opposite of my target loads that I load at 1150.
Just my .02,
Mark

What he said.....