High cost of shot

[John Farrell, Charter Member #33]

You can invest in a set of screens to separate different size shot and they are not expensive. As Kensal Rise states, most of the shot is mined from trap and skeet fields so you can expect #7.5 to #9 shot in the offering. Depending on how long the shot has lain in the ground around the trap and skeet fields, there will be oxidation on the shot. Some sellers of reclaimed shot profess to having cleaned it, but I would be cautious of that claim. Ask if you can scoop a cup full and look at it in daylight. Then grab a small batch in your hand and scrunch it together and see if any dust is left in your hand when you return the shot to the cup, bag or drum. If there is dust, you can make up your mind how clean it is. Don't breathe in the dust.

As to the shootability of the shot, I make my own shot and publicly refer to it as "mostly round" because that is what it is. People at the club that have used it break good scores and get a lagniappe to boot. They can avoid taking any blame for missing a target by loudly proclaiming that the MRS has cost them another championship trophy and a ton of prize money. So far, I have cost one person a new Bentley and another moans daily about what he would have done with the new Purdey he was going to order. C'est la vie.