For our first column I would like to define what I refer to as “balanced” steel loads for the 12 gauge. You will find that I will refer back to this term often in the upcoming articles for this column. This article is centered on the 12 gauge but the same basic principles can be applied to all gauges.
When I refer to a “balanced” load I am simply referring to a load that has the right combination of bore diameter, shot charge, speed and choke that produces optimum pattern. The one thing our past generation of shooters figured out long ago was that within any given bore size you can only shove so many pellets down the barrel before it has an adverse effect on pattern. One thing I would like to emphasize here is I am a long time believer in “pattern kills”. Regardless of how large the pellet is or how much it retains its energy downrange, if it doesn’t pattern, you are going to have limited success.
Today’s manufacturers have had a tendency to “overload” the 12 gauge’s shot charge, due in part to the philosophy “more is better”, which in the case of a shot shell’s load, is not always true. The same phenomenon is also happening with the speed of loads on the current market. You can get too much of a good thing. With the transition from lead to steel for waterfowl hunting, the entire industry had to rethink how we look at shotgun ammunition. Many have had a hard time on rethinking what loads are necessary to be efficient in the field. Much of this has to do with the many misconceptions that have appeared in print. Steel can be and is very effective in harvesting waterfowl as most of the loads on the market today have sufficient energy to kill at ranges farther than the average gunner can consistently hit. Steel patterns extremely well when compared to lead due to the lack of deformation of the steel pellets. One must take into account that because steel is lighter than lead, a 1 3/8 ounce steel load of #2 shot (172 pellets), has roughly the same pellet count as 2 ounces of #2 lead (174 pellets).
This is where I feel many run into trouble, as this is an extremely large amount of pellets to be forced down a 12 gauge barrel. This, coupled with trying to push it out the end of the barrel at supersonic speed, creates problems in terms of the patterning ability of any given 12 gauge shotgun barrel or chokes. Loads like this create longer shot strings and have a tendency to “cluster” pellets within the pattern.
Through years of testing loads, both lead and steel, I’ve found that loads of 1 1/8 to 1 5/8 ounces of lead shot produced the most consistent patterns with speeds running between 1200 to 1285 fps. This takes into account both 2 3/4” to 3” magnum loadings. Using this equation, steel shot loadings with the pellet count equivalent to their lead predecessors as well as increasing the speed to attain adequate energy of the pellet (ft.-lbs.), it would only make sense that 1 ounce to 1 1/4 ounce loadings at speeds of 1300 to 1450 fps would equate to a nice balance in steel loadings. Again, this takes into account both 2 3/4” and 3” magnum loads. he very best patterning loads in steel I’ve seen to date, both on paper and producing excellent field results, have been loads running at these speeds with these shot weights. This has been regardless of pellet size. This is what I like to refer to as a balanced load for the 12 gauge.
When you throw into the equation the use of a wad stripping choke tube system such as the Wad Wizard Supreme or SWAT tube, which will shorten your shot string (getting all of the pellets there at one time), and evenly distributing the pellets within the pattern (pattern performance), you’ll attain a nice combination of balance, pattern, and choke, which will improve your field performance with more kills, less shells. I would highly recommend you give some of the lighter shot loads a try along with the Wad Wizard Choke Tube System. I believe you’ll be very surprised at the results.
Dan Niles
Wad Wizard Pro Staff
