non toxic for pheasant...need load advice

[luke0927]

Going to South Dakota and i have always been able to shoot lead here in GA. I shoot a 12G auto what shell would you recommend? do i want to shoot steel, hevi shot or what? I will be on public land most of the time so thats why i need non toxic

thanks

[The Zephyr]

Luke,

I've used Hevi-shot on ducks and geese for the last 7 years. It definitely hits harder than steel and if I can remember, from a long time ago, better than lead. Where I was using #2 steel on ducks I've reverted to #4 and sometimes #6 on small birds like wood ducks and teal.
I think 2 3/4" high brass #6's should suffice. It'll give you enough pelllets in your pattern.

John L.

[luke0927]

Luke,

I've used Hevi-shot on ducks and geese for the last 7 years. It definitely hits harder than steel and if I can remember, from a long time ago, better than lead. Where I was using #2 steel on ducks I've reverted to #4 and sometimes #6 on small birds like wood ducks and teal.
I think 2 3/4" high brass #6's should suffice. It'll give you enough pelllets in your pattern.

John L.

So you can get the hevishot in the smaller loads....i was wondering if they made it for upland...i had always saw it in larger waterfowl loads.

[The Zephyr]

Luke,

I've also got some Bismuth #7 1/2's but they might have come from across the pond.

Nice woodcock round for those that are environmentally sensitive.

John L.

[PrairieGoat]

Luke,

I'm in the same boat....heading to SD and needed non-tox shot. You might want to take a look at Remington Wingmaster HD. It is softer than Hevishot (although harder than steel), and is more round. I think it has about the same density (a good bit heavier than lead). The best part is that it is WAY cheaper. I just picked up 5 boxes of 20g 3" 1-1/8oz #6 for $21.99/box. On top of this Remington has a $15/box rebate.....comes out to $6.99/box......what a deal!!! I think you can find similar savings in 12g loads.


Randy

[Greg Jennings]

Holy smokes! Tell me where you got the deal on the Wingmaster HD. It was $30 for a box of 10 at my local sporting goods store.

[PrairieGoat]

It was at the local Sportsman's Warehouse.....seems like they are more in this part of the country, don't know about OH. Unfortunately, they only had 3 boxes of the 20g here, but I called my Dad down in NM and he picked up a few more boxes for me.

[Chaingang]

Going to South Dakota and i have always been able to shoot lead here in GA. I shoot a 12G auto what shell would you recommend? do i want to shoot steel, hevi shot or what? I will be on public land most of the time so that's why i need non toxic

thanks

Luke, you may want to see if you can find some Hevi-steel http://www.hevishot.com/products_hevisteel.html.

I think it may be a good compromise between steel and hevi-shot both in performance and cost. If you can't, and don't want to pay the ridiculous price of $30-40 for a box of 10 shells, a good premium steel load will kill Phez exceptionally well at distances most Phez are taken. An old standby is an 1-1/8oz of #2's or 3's

[luke0927]

I started looking at the prices of non toxic shot......WOW that stuff is pricey! Im going to head out to basspro and see what they have....Also what about buying shells in SD im sure they have a lot of options out there...here in GA you don't see much in the way of pheasant load.

[Chaingang]

Yes you could wait till you get there. Stop at Cabela's in Mitchell right off Interstate 90. I am going to try some "Hevi-Steel" myself this year. I'm guessing it is half the cost of regular Hevi-shot, and comes in 25 rounds per box instead of 10.