Posted by MarketHunter on December 15, 2007, 5:27 pm, in reply to "Re: steel shot ???"
Yeah, it's even techically non-toxic in Mexico these days if you can believe it.
I was already duck shooting when steel came in. First it was just in 12 gauge guns so everybody started shooting 10 and 20 gauge. Then they started making steel shells for those so the price of any decent 16 gauge guns jumped up. Finally they brought out steel for those and that was the end.
Though, oddly enough, Illinois brought no-tox in on a county basis. And the county I did most of my hunting in was a lead zone until the final year that the Feds mandated for any lead waterfowling to happen. Plus I had a 16 gauge Lefever Nitro that I'd carry in steel shot zones. So I shot them good lead cartridges until the bitter end.
Plus in the first couple of total no-tox years they didn't write tickets for it in Illinois, it was just a warning. Then the lead tickets were only $50, which we could deal with.
Finally steel got good enough that I started using it. Shot it out of a few old beater guns then finally bought a Benelli I'm sad to say.
Once bismuth came out, the old guns came back out too and I've been using them steady every since. Though with the price of cartridges going so high, I think I see another 3 inch A-5 Browning in my future. I hate to go back to steel, but being a poor boy, that day is going to come.