Reloading 12ga steel for upland game

[albiec22]

Hi everyone,

Well, I've decided to start reloading for steel shot, mostly because it's been difficult to stock up on the Kent Fasteel shells I typically use. I just bought the steel reloading manual from BPI, but I'd appreciate real-world feedback from the board on what loads (hull and wads) worked best for you and with which chokes. I have the factory Rem modified and IC, but will be getting the Carlson's CR Delta choke soon. I mostly hunt quail with #5 and #6 steel. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[Deleted member 16735]

the biggest question is what powder do you have, that's gonna matter the most because almost all the 1500 fps loads are using Alliant Steel which you can't buy anymore. I load for ducks so I load 2s and 3s and I've used probably 3 different wads and I don't really notice that much difference between them I think they are all fine.Carlson cremator choke, Cheddite hulls. I do have some data using longshot that gets to like 1400 though

 

[albiec22]

the biggest question is what powder do you have, that's gonna matter the most because almost all the 1500 fps loads are using Alliant Steel which you can't buy anymore. I load for ducks so I load 2s and 3s and I've used probably 3 different wads and I don't really notice that much difference between them I think they are all fine.Carlson cremator choke, Cheddite hulls. I do have some data using longshot that gets to like 1400 though

Hi MrMister, yeah, I noticed that a lot of powders are out of stock as well as ammo. I have Blue Dot and Universal. I can also get Longshot if I need to.

Thanks for replying!

 

[Deleted member 16735]

Hi MrMister, yeah, I noticed that a lot of powders are out of stock as well as ammo. I have Blue Dot and Universal. I can also get Longshot if I need to.

Thanks for replying!

I have a bunch of load data in a spreadsheet so I just looked at the fastest loads for blue dot, I didn't see anything for universal over 1400 fps, but a few for Blue Dot and a bunch for longshot in the 1400s. If it's just quail you may not need that much speed but it's just better to go faster with steel. Check out the second one down on here with the cheddite hull https://www.precisionreloading.com/docs/uploads/TUWGL12 Load Data - Website.pdf

Now you get to discover that the two companies, Precision and BPI have a lot of the same exact wads but with a completely different name. Precision calls it the TUWGL12 and BPI calls it the MG42. Also if you are ordering wads I like the super thin tyvek overshot cards, seem to get a better crimp with those and they are cheap.

 

[albiec22]

This is very helpful! I take it you haven't tried any of these loads? I was hoping someone had used these loads in the field and could report back. In any case, you've given me a good start and *I* will definitely report back!

 

[Deleted member 16735]

This is very helpful! I take it you haven't tried any of these loads? I was hoping someone had used these loads in the field and could report back. In any case, you've given me a good start and *I* will definitely report back!

I have a stash of Steel powder that im working through so I haven't tried other powders, but I don't honestly think it's gonna make too much difference what recipe you use as long as you get your projectiles moving fast. Like you can manipulate the wad a by cutting the slits shorter or longer to hold the load longer or shorter, and you can change your choke to do the same thing. Honestly I'm fairly lazy about testing so I'll chrono and then shoot a pattern and if it's decent at 30 yards it's good to go. I kill ducks so it seems to work. It's not nearly as finicky about components as precision rifle loading. If you can get your steel in a decent circle at the range you want it's good to go.

 

[BobGBA]

You probably know all this, so I'm posting this for others that may find it useful.

For the purposes of this example, I'm talking about hunting quail, chukar and pheasant using #6 steel.

When shooting steel, you should use a more open choke than you would use for lead.
This is because steel doesn't compress like lead does, so it patterns differently than lead.

If you are hunting with a dog and get close to the birds and would have used lead (when it was legal) and an IC choke, I would use a skeet choke for steel.
If the dog is bumping the birds (or if you don't have a dog) and you're bumping the birds, I'd probably use IC for steel. Maybe MOD, but I don't really like using MOD with steel, I just don't have much success with it.

Steel really runs out of gas much quicker than lead, so the effective range is much shorter, regardless of the choke.
I've found that you have to hit the birds much quicker (closer) with steel than with lead to kill them.

Here's a comparison of different shot types and their density.


If I'm buying factory steel shells, I won't buy anything slower than 1400 FPS.
A professional upland guide/dog handler I know does not recommend (a very common brand of steel) that is 1325 FPS, as it just doesn't work well on the birds.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[albiec22]

Hi Bob, it's always good to reinforce what I've learned, thanks for posting!

 

[Deleted member 16735]

The only time I've had a "problem" with speed and a larger shot size was 1500 fps #6 on a quail that popped up at 5 yards, that bird was completely blown apart lol