HOW TO SWITCH - SHOTGUN
WHY MAKE THE SWITCH?
Wounded Birds
It is estimated that between 10–20% of gamebirds are wounded and unretrieved and can have embedded lead pellets in their body.
Wounded birds become easier prey for eagles and other raptors. As a raptor consumes their prey, they can unintentionally eat the lead embedded in the wounded gamebird.
Grit Pickers
Many birds use grit to aid in digestion. Grit can be stones, sand, gravel, pebbles, and unfortunately, spent lead shot.
One study determined that 1,900–2,400 metric tons of lead shot is potentially deposited across North America annually from dove hunting alone (Haig et al. 2014).
Birds that ingest lead become weakened and are the first to get picked off by hawks, eagles, and owls.
Raptors can easily consume the entire lead-filled gamebird gizzard.
HOW TO SWITCH: THE BASICS
1. Know what your gun can and cannot shoot.
Is it a lead-only barrel?
Is your barrel rifled or smooth?
2. Pattern your shotgun.
3. Familiarize yourself with lead-free alternatives and the best applications for each.
Shotgun Patterning
No matter how skilled you are or how long you’ve been shooting, patterning your shotgun is as important as sighting in your rifle.
“Our downright insistence is that everyone pattern their shotguns. It’s true woodcraft, a win for you and a win for the birds, really. Not only do we encourage patterning to understand exactly what you and your shotgun are capable of at a chosen distance, it’s one of many intelligent ways to lower the staggering number of birds lost to crippling each year.”
Step-by-Step Guide to Patterning:
Step 1.
Cut paper or cardboard into roughly 48” x 48” targets.
In the middle of the target, draw a large dot to aim at.
This gives you enough room to see your pattern even if your point-of-aim is off a bit. If it’s off, it’s no big deal. It’s normal.
Step 2.
Start at 30 yards.
Shoot off-hand, NOT on a bench. Nobody shoots game off of a bench.
Shoot the target.
Shoot another target at 40 yards or whatever distance fits your style of hunting.
Step 3.
Draw a 30” circle around the densest part of the pattern and mark the hits with a marker. Now do the math (we promise you can do it)!
Divide the number of hits in the 30” circle by the total number of pellets in the shell (check with your manufacturer if it’s not listed on the box).
Move the decimal point two places to the right, and that’s your percentage of pellets in the “kill zone”.
This will change as you try your different chokes at different distances.
EXAMPLE
In this example, our shotgun shell comes standard with 300 pellets inside.
With 71 pellets hitting the target inside of the 30” circle, we calculate our pellet percentage in the kill zone to be 23.67%.
Shotgun Pellet Alternatives
Many hunters are skeptical about the effectiveness of lead-free shot for hunting and shooting purposes and compliance, when measured, is often poor. However, field trials comparing lead and steel shot have found no differences between the two in a number of measures, including the number of birds killed or wounded per shot (Pierce et al., 2014).
All shotguns can shoot lead-free alternatives to lead, but certain shotguns can only shoot certain alternatives, and it’s important to know which works with your firearm. Shotguns with a “lead-only” barrel CANNOT shoot steel-shot loads. They can, however, shoot bismuth and copper-plated bismuth. So, if your grandparent gifted you their vintage “lead-only” shotgun, you can still hunt lead-free! If you are ever unsure about the safety of lead-free ammunition in a particular shotgun, contact the manufacturer or a gunsmith. Keep reading to learn more about each lead-free alternative and any necessary adjustments to be made when switching.
Note: Keeping in the spirit of “leaving no trace behind,” we would be remiss without mentioning the amount of plastic left behind in our waterways and on our landscapes from spent shotgun wads. Today, there are even alternatives to that — with some companies developing fully biodegradable wads. For our re-loading friends out there, it’s worth checking out!
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STEEL
Steel is less dense than lead, so to use it most effectively you need to go up by at least two shot sizes. For example, if you would use a lead #5 for shooting ducks, you should use a steel #3. Current guidance when using standard steel shot is to shoot no tighter than half choke. Using tighter than half choke risks damaging the barrel. Modified and Improved Cylinder chokes are the most recommended choke constrictions when hunting upland game with lead-free ammunition.
Most shotgun shell manufacturers have a steel shotshell line.
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BISMUTH/COPPER-PLATED BISMUTH
Bismuth is as soft as lead, but 86% as dense, so it is advised that you increase your shot size by at least one. Due to its softness, bismuth tends to pattern much the same as lead and therefore no action is needed when choosing choke constrictions.
Manufacturers of bismuth shotshells include: Boss Shotshells, HEVI-Shot, Kent, Browning, Federal Premium, Fiocchi, and Rio.
ATTENTION: Many manufacturers now make copper-plated lead. These are NOT lead-free!
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TUNGSTEN
Tungsten is more dense than lead. Because of this, loads can be smaller than lead shot. Please check your state’s turkey hunting regulations for minimum and maximum shot size restrictions. Tungsten is often more expensive than lead, steel and bismuth ammunition. Tungsten is a great alternative for turkey, predator and pig hunters because these game animals often offer limited shooting opportunities, so the price a little easier to swallow compared to using tungsten for upland or waterfowl hunting.
Manufacturers of tungsten shotshells include: Boss Shotshells, HEVI-Shot, Kent, Federal Premium, Rio, Fiocchi, Apex Ammunition, Salt Creek Ammo.
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COPPER
The newest addition to the pellet option lineup is copper. Boss Shotshells offers CuProX™ with TurbuFlow™ — a copper pellet with a dimpled surface design for greater penetration, preserved energy, and overall consistency. With Bismuth becoming increasingly difficult to supply, copper is a more affordable alternative. According to Boss, CuProX shot is a corrosion-inhibited copper composition and is consistent with the material classification listed by the USFWS as nontoxic shot. The 'ultraviolet light' reference shown in the “field-testing device” column is informational in nature rather than a compositional requirement for the shot itself. Based on the USFWS listing for corrosion-inhibited copper, the composition of CuProX aligns with an approved nontoxic classification. Because this is new on the market, we do not have accurate size assessments yet. Check back later for more info.
Manufacturers of copper shotshells include: Boss Shotshells.
SLUGS
Generally, for slugs and shotguns, either the barrel needs rifling or the slug needs rifling. Sabot Slugs (pronounced “say-bo”) are best for rifled barrels, and there are plenty of lead-free copper sabot slug options. Although it’s possible, the options are limited with slugs for smoothbore barrels (where the slug should be rifled). Slugs for smoothbore barrels are called Full Bore Slugs, or Rifled Slugs. Rifled slugs can be broken down further into Brenneke and Foster slugs with the difference being that Brenneke has a finned tailpiece and Foster does not. Slugs are popularly used in pump action shotguns.
Benefits to Lead-Free Copper Sabot Slugs:
More aerodynamic and accurate
Flatter trajectory with better range
Better expansion and weight retention
HOW TO SWITCH: SLUGS
Many major manufacturers have copper, polymer-tipped sabot shotgun slugs on the market. These slugs easily outperform traditional lead rifled or foster slugs. Compared to lead sabot slugs, they are just as effective, but with better expansion and weight retention.
Remington Accutips are arguably the most popular lead (bonded) sabot slugs on the market. However, there are many premium copper sabot slugs options that are cheaper. There are also sabot slug specific rifles too (e.g. Savage 212/220). Compared to rifled-barrel shotguns, these rifles perform much better, with faster twist rates for greater accuracy and range.
Lead-free options are limited for rifled or foster slugs in smoothbore shotguns. However, there are some lead-free slugs where the manufacturer states that they work for both smoothbore and rifled barrels (see below). If you can change out the barrel of your shotgun, you could buy a compatible rifled barrel to use copper sabot slugs.
LEAD-FREE PROJECTILES
Sabot Slugs
Options for rifled barrels that can be found on store shelves.
Rifled/Foster Slugs
For smoothbore barrels. These are less common and are often found online.