The year 2021 marks an anniversary of sorts. Prior to 1991, the late Frank Belrose conducted extensive research on the ingesting (eating) of lead shot by ducks. He found that we were losing a large number of ducks though lead poisoning, and his conclusions brought about the mandated use of nontoxic shot beginning with the 1991 duck season.

Back then I was outspoken about the lead shot ban as I felt that more ducks were being crippled by the far less effective steel shot than were being lost to lead ingestion. I still believe that I might have been right about this, and I’d like to know your thoughts. If you “missed” any shots last fall, maybe you didn’t miss. Perhaps your steel pellets didn’t hit hard enough.

Back when steel was our only nontoxic option, SDGF&P sent me to a steel shot seminar hosted by ballistic expert Tom Roster. Tom busted clay birds with steel shot as well as I‘ve ever seen anyone shoot, but clay birds aren’t as tough as ducks.

Other than lead being toxic, the primary difference between lead and steel is density. In layman’s terms, let’s imagine a baseball pitcher of Nolan Ryan’s ability throwing a baseball at us. If we were hit in the head by a baseball, it would probably kill us. If Ryan threw a nerf ball at us, it would harmlessly bounce off. The difference is weight or density. In foot pounds of energy at forty yards with No. 4 shot, steel measures 2.01 foot pounds. Lead measures 4.03 foot pounds. Lead hits twice as hard at forty yards. Steel shot means crippled ducks, and a denser nontoxic shot was needed.

Steel shot is still with us, and for many, it is the only affordable option. Today’s waterfowl hunter needs to know steel’s effective killing range, and in my opinion, the hunter must limit himself/herself to shots within a maximum of 30-35 yards with BB’s or #2’s. The steel is relatively inexpensive as this fall I paid ten bucks for a box of 25 steel shot loads.

A denser, more effective nontoxic shot was developed. John Brown, a Canadian, began experimenting with cast bismuth pellets. This led to the development of the Bismuth Cartridge Company. The bismuth rounds measured an improved 3.14 foot pounds of energy at forty yards. Although the Bismuth Cartridge Company died, Kent Cartridge of Canada picked up the bismuth shot business followed by Federal and Rio.

Kent Cartridge was not content with bismuth. They went on to develop their outstanding Tungsten-Matrix pellets. These produced 4.03 foot pounds of energy at forty yards, matching lead’s performance. But that wasn’t all. The softer than steel Tungsten-Matrix pellets could be fired in quality shotguns without damaging the barrel. You might remember that tungsten was the solution to Thomas Edison’s electric light bulb development.

Kent’s Tungsten-Matrix shot was followed by Environmetal’s Hevi-Shot, a smelted tungsten, iron, and nickel mixture that developed 4.75 foot pounds of energy at forty yards, harder hitting than either lead or Kent’s 4.03 foot pounds with its Tungsten-Matrix round. Could it get any better?

There is now a new pellet called Tungsten Super Shot (TSS) that far surpasses lead as it develops an amazing 9.45 foot pounds of energy at forty yards! That’s better than twice as effective as lead! There’s one big hitch. TSS comes in five or ten-round boxes, and it runs $9 to $10 per shell. Very pricey! Today’s technical figures came from “Shotguns – Your Best Shot” by John M. Taylor as found in the Jan.-Feb. 2021 issue of Sports Afield magazine.

None of the “better than steel” loads are inexpensive. Speaking of 12 gauge rounds, three-inch rounds of Bismuth by Rio sell for $26 for a box of 25 rounds. Environmetal’s Hevi-Shot in three-inch rounds sells for $44.49 per box of 25. Most of these are too rich for my blood, but if I duck hunt this coming fall, I might try the Bismuth by Rio ammo at a dollar a pop and be fussy about shot selection.

For upland hunting, primarily pheasants, grouse, and doves, we South Dakotans can still use lead shot on private lands as well as U.S Forest Service National Grasslands, SD School & Public Lands, and most SDGF&P managed lands such as Walk-In areas. However, nontoxic shot is required for all waterfowl hunting, all state game production areas, lake and fishing access areas, state park areas, U.S. Army COE land, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Wildlife Production areas managed by SDGF&P, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuges, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Waterfowl Production Areas (WPA). Lead shot may not be in one’s possession while on these lands.

Not just shotgun shells, but this whole non-toxic thing including bullets, is becoming an issue as it is thought that eagles and raptors in general might ingest a lead bullet left in a gut pile. I use copper slugs not because they are nontoxic but because of their awesome performance. I suspect that environmentalists have turned the nontoxic thing into a political correctness issue, but then I’m suspicious by nature.

See you next week.