Four Seasons On!

"I and most of our particular hunting group have now been using steel for the last four seasons. Over that time we have experimented with a vast range of the steel loads available in New Zealand. We would have to say that some steel has not been all that effective, while other loads we would class as down right hopeless!

"We're finally shooting with some great steel shotshells but there was one hang-up from lead shot days that that took us some convincing to move on from. It's the misconception that a superior steel load needs to be a heavy load. The secret to steel is speed and to achieve greater velocity the load needs to be lighter so the powder charge can move it faster. Steel performs differently to lead because of its hardness and its lighter mass. The hardness can be considered a bonus because the outer steel pellets do not become distorted like the softer lead pellets, therefore the 'flyers' experienced with lead, (pellets which fly out of the killing pattern) are virtually eliminated. The hunter therefore can afford to sacrifice a small number of pellets in order achieve the higher velocities capable with say an 1/8oz less shot. Meanwhile the lighter mass can be largely compensated for by shooting bigger sized pellets. The increased velocity of a quality 1 1/8oz 3" Magnum load of No. 2 shot for example can be retained long enough down-range for consistent clean kills.

"Another very important fact with steel shot ammo is that you get what you pay for. At Hunting & Fishing New Zealand it's an understatement to say that we are fussy when it comes to choosing the ammo we are going to sell - remember that we and our mates will be shooting with it too! The selection for 2007 includes the higher end premium brands already well respected in New Zealand like Remington and Federal. Our suggestion here is to buy a packet or two of high performance ammo for those leaner times of the day when you need to make every shot count - the birds are wary and out at greater ranges.

"For more general hunting we are pleased to offer bulk pricing on two leading international brands that are not available in ordinary New Zealand gun stores. B&P of Italy is pure quality and is sometimes referred to as the 'Beretta' of the shot shell world due to the high class components, and Italian attention to detail. B&P boasts many unique features not the least of which is the patented Gordon Hull which provides the basis for consistency and lower recoil.

"USA's Kent ammunition has a lot in common with the Hunting & Fishing New Zealand style of getting things done. It's a company founded in the 90's by a group of duck hunters forced into shooting steel loads which they felt were inferior and which threatened their enjoyment of the sport. Committed to improve the performance of steel and other non-toxic shotshell options, they firstly purchased the Activ Cartridge Company in Kearnyville, West Virginia. The popularity of Kent ammunition boomed and the success enabled Kent to expand into Europe by later acquiring the UK Game Bore company. The Kent 'Faststeel' load has been chosen to best suit NZ conditions - we believe it's the fastest out there and at our exclusive bulk purchase pricing, it's amazingly affordable. We have achieved our goal to offer Kent at prices similar or below what you'll pay for regular ammo elsewhere.

"Getting back to my hunting group, having established the brands we could trust, the next major decision was to decide on case length, shot payload, and shot size. For the past two seasons my hunting mates and I have gone exclusively to 3" Magnum shells loaded with 1 1/8 oz of shot in No 2. As mentioned earlier it took some convincing to change from the 1 1/4oz load that has always worked well with lead but when it comes to steel the speed is paramount and the 1 1/8oz 3" Magnum load performs best in this regard.

"The 3" Magnum shell enables heavy powder charges and the velocity of 1 1/8oz steel to reach 1550 fps (1560 with Kent) - that's over 100 feet per second faster than any premium 1 ¼ oz load. We are back to confidently shooting mallards at up to fifty meters on occasions, but generally take them at 30 – 40 meters.

With most guns these days being chambered for at least 3" shells the 1 1/8 oz load has the best mix of velocity, comfort and value.

Editors note:

The USA hunting industry has developed two great products which further help when it comes to tuning shotguns to perform better with steel. Firstly there are now specially designed choke tubes for steel shot - duck hunters can shorten the steel shot-stream and deliver more of a wall of shot for cleaner kills. Then to combat the heavy recoil experienced when shooting 3" Magnum or 3 1/2" Super Magnum loads, the Limbsaver (R3 type) recoil pads are specially imported by Hunting & Fishing New Zealand in three options. - Gun specific designs, 3 sizes of the 'grind to fit' model, and thirdly the popular 'slip-on's for when a temporary fix is required.