really dont know what there adding with the steel but a magnet will still pickem up...hey and walmart hasem most of the time...i like the copper plated ones best but like you said the silver ones are what yu see most....ive never shot in really cold weather with a shotgun bet its hard staying warm out there..when i was young had a chance to live in alasks but passed my chance up..dont even remember why i didnot go... charlie

I just went down into the cave and did some research on this.

diameter and weights
BB .1735" 5.4 grains
#2 steel .180" 6.1 grains

The BB is only 4% less diameter with 88% the weight of a #2 steel pellet. Corrected for diameter, the density of the BB is about 92% of that of the steel. I'd say that's not too bad Charlie and should kill just fine within some reasonable limit. Haunt the garage sales or wherever and find some old copper BB's for comparison. I'd bet they're heavier. The silvery ones I have here sure feel light.

David, Tried SR7625, went back to the Phizer product; must be the light loads.

Put that goose head in the shot pattern. Everything dies with one in the computer.

calvin you got them goose loads figured out yet...wont be long you will get to use them...ive got to get me some turkey loads ready... charlie

them geese are gonna stay in the south till you boys get all the snow shoveled off the lakes....i feel for all.. dont get to down.. load up those parkers and go to the back door and fire a few of those special loads.. stretch your imagination and turn those pop cans into geese or ducks or what ever...will give you a boost i gurantee it.... charlie

Compared to the Giant Race of Canada Geese we shoot in Michigan the snows are easy to knock down at long range. They don't have the heavy feather, thick breast fat, meat and breast plate and size of the 10-13lbs of honkers we knock down up here.

With that said, I have had problems knocking down Canada geese late season with Sherman Bells 1 1/8oz SR7625 (30grains) load. Through my chronograph the load is in the 1200 f/s range at 80-90 degrees F and drops down to about 1000-1100 f/s at 30 degrees F. It works great for sporting clays in the summer but doesn't have the velocity that is needed for long range shots at much of anything. Good luck getting very many shots at snows inside of 50 yards. You need to get a load of #2 to BB non toxic up to about 1200 f/s to make good kills on geese. I have loaded up a 12ga load that smacks them good but haven't had a chance to work on a heavier, faster, reliable 10ga load. The 12ga load I have had good luck with is in the Hodgdon manual. Federal gold metal hull, 1 1/4oz #2 bismuth, 31 grains Longshot, Win.209 primer, WAA12 wad (not the best option because the shot goes up and over the wad...I had the wads laying around and needed to use them up) at about 1300 f/s and 8000 psi....flat out knocks big early season canada geese at 60 yards. Recoil is mild out of a #1 frame 30" bbls Parker (I don't know the weight of the gun). Out of a super black eagle on a 60 degree F day I got 1340 f/s . I would love to use a pile of these shells on snows. Maybe next year I will make it back out there. Taking a season off this spring.

Kurt

TNR, Kent Tungsten Matrix performs exceedingly well. Pressures are relatively low: 7500psi 2 1/2-inch 30 grams in 5 and 6; 6500 psi 2 1/2-inch 28 grams (one ounce) in 6,7 sizes.

Black Cloud #3 in 2 3/4", 1oz load have been very effective for me with geese and ducks over decoys.

That's the load I use in my 26" skeet bored VH for jump shooting from the canoe. It's the gun I use for most of my grouse and woodcock work with 7&1/2 AAs. Works well on a close rising bird.