Lead shot for reloading

[Kirk Mckinney]

Gentleman. Once again I would like to draw from the years of experience represented on this site. I am new to shotshell reloading and am loading lp 2 1/2 shells for my old 1929 Sxs. I shoot skeet to stay sharp and dove and quail during season. On the subject of lead shot. There are many different brands and types. From magnum to chilled. Nickel plated and various blends of lead and other alloys. Are any better that the other. I know a few pellets are going to spiral off in a different direction but all in all is there really a difference. Or should I just go with the cheapest I can find. Thanks for your opinion in advance. See you in the field

[John Campbell]

Kirk:
For skeet shooting, shoot whatever you can find and afford. For birds afield, it's a bit better to use "magnum" or hard shot. Otherwise, it's all mind games...

[Kirk Mckinney]

Thanks Kensal for the info. So I guess the harder shot stays more uniform and produces straighter flight. So that's what it means by magnum shot means Harder??? Is chilled shot hard or soft???

[John Campbell]

You're getting it. "Magnum" shot has more antimony content, hence it is harder. That keeps it more spherical. It also aids penetration on game. Chilled shot is plain "dropped" shot. Standard hardness. Which has broken zillions of targets and taken zillions of game birds as well. This is one reason why the mind games exist...

[Rick Losey]

chilled for skeet

harder shot for everything else

[Kirk Mckinney]

Thanks for the info Kensal and OH. Just curious is one brand better than the others or all the all about the same or are there any brands I want to steer clear of? Also does anyone know if harder magnum shot would lead the barrel less with fiber wads??

[Rick Losey]

Thanks for the info Kensal and OH. Just curious is one brand better than the others or all the all about the same or are there any brands I want to steer clear of? Also does anyone know if harder magnum shot would lead the barrel less with fiber wads??


i have not seen the antimony content listed on bags- Lawrence shot seems to be an old standard brand, but I would bet the content is similar between brands

as for the leading - good question - just a guess - ripping down a steel tube and 1200 FPS - i doubt the small percentage of antimony will make a significant difference in scrubbing

[Tom Pellegrini]

Thanks for the info Kensal and OH. Just curious is one brand better than the others or all the all about the same or are there any brands I want to steer clear of? Also does anyone know if harder magnum shot would lead the barrel less with fiber wads??

Kirk, For the last three years I have been ordering reclaimed shot from Rotometals.com. I upgrade my order to the washed and regraphited. I shoot sporting clays twice a week and would not want to live on the difference between the reclaimed and magnum shot. For bird hunting, yes the magnum is the best.

Tom

[Kirk Mckinney]

Tom thanks for the input on reclaimed shot. I saw it on a couple of sites and wondered about it. I'm all for being green. I may try some for clays. Seems the general rule is magnum for hunting Thanks again

[Pete Lester]

Pattern your gun at 40 yards in a 30" circle and see how the loads are performing. Chilled lead may work just fine even at long range. Most of the old doubles were choked for loads without a shot cup and may be shooting great using chilled shot.

Again until you pattern your gun and load you are just guessing if something is better or if something else is good enough.

[Kirk Mckinney]

J B. I did pattern my gun but At 30 yards our local range only has a 30 yard range we are allowed shotguns on. At that range with rst 1 oz plastic wad I got a 25in pattern. With 1oz holland and holland light fibers wads I got a 32in pattern. There were a few strays in both but that was about the dia. I'm not sure what those 2 manufacturers use for shot. Any ideal??? Is that a pretty good pattern ??