Remy Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 OK, duck season is over for this year. What is the general opinion of the effectiveness of Hevi-steel shotshells? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedavis Posted February 3, 2006 Share Posted February 3, 2006 I wasn't too impressed and gave up on them. I'll be the first to admit that it could have been my shooting, but the ducks just didn't seem to fall the way they would with heavy-shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock Hall Goose'n Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 You can't beat Hevi-Shot. It's better than lead. I have 5 years reloading experience with it and wont use anything else on live birds. I feel I owe it to the animal to use the best shot and to take good high percentage shots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwnr Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 I have to reiterate Rock Hall's comments concerning Hevi-Shot. I've been reloading it for 3 years and even with the price increase since the Remington/Environmetals divorce, I won't use anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudhen Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Hevi-Steel 4's worked fine for me on early season small ducks. Didn't use it on big ducks or later in the season. Sure Hevi-Shot is great, but I use 5-8 cases of shells per year, so it's a treat not for daily use. What do you pay per pound now? I don't reload, just curious. Will it still be your choice if it hits $30 per pound, $40? $50? Poor Winchester will be hard pressed to sell the XR at $3 per shell, but it sounds like that will be the price for everyone next fall if they run out of existing stock by then... Kent has announced they are disco'ing Matrix once their supply of shot runs out sometime this summer. Steel blends may have to be good enough for now... mudhen - CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remy Posted February 8, 2006 Author Share Posted February 8, 2006 mudhen, You say Kent is discontinuing Matrix shells----whats up with that, I have never used them. Was it because of poor performance, price, what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudhen Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Apparently the price of powdered tungsten has gone so far up that Kent thinks the Matrix will not sell at $3-$4 per shell. They have enough to make Matrix until the summer. I think it is a good move on their part, no one will pay $4 per shell for waterfowl loads, at least not many will... mudhen - CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwnr Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Mudhen, This may be more info than you were asking, but as long as I have space, here goes: Prior to January 2005, 10 lbs. was $101. Late in 2005, it increased to $129/10 lbs. Now I am hearing that $159/10 lbs. is on the table. At the $101 HS price, my 1 3/8 oz, 3" handload was $1.12/shell. At $129, it went to $1.36 per trigger pull. Now at $159, my single shell price is $1.62. I am only getting 2-3 firings per hull, so add $0.10 per shell when starting with new hulls. Sure, if I was shooting 5-8 cases, this would break my piggy too and I would have to go another route, but for the 6-8 boxes I shoot a year, I'm "all in" with hevi-shot. Will I shoot it at $500/10 lbs., I don't know, but I have to believe that it won't get there. Fine American ingenuity and greed will stop that in a competative offering. Besides, it gives my retired father something to do. I set him up with a MEC 9000G and he just sits down and cranks 'em out for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudhen Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 At 6-8 boxes a year, sounds like you can shoot whatever you want! Hevi-Steel is steel and bismuth and actually will be cheaper next season ($.56 per shell) at my gunshop, so that's the plan for now, plus some misc. steel. mudhen - CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwnr Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 I know no one that shoots as much as you do. Believe me, I'm envious. I'd be in the same position if I shot that many rounds/yr. I'm a bit bird and time limited here in NE Ohio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudhen Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 I'm bottom half for sure in this area. I know many die hards here that hunt waterfowl 80-120 days a year. Plus with no dog, cripples can be an adventure! I know several guys that shoot 500+ birds a year. What they do with them is beyond me, but I guess they have lots of friends that like duck! mudhen - CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Vix Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 My partner used the hevi steel 4's, while I did hevi shot 4's. The hevi shot outperformed it by a mile. Honestly, I didn't see much difference with the hevi steel than I did from when I / or he shot straight steel. Recoil with the 3" HSteel was considerably more than the 2 3/4 HShot. Along the lines of what you said Matt.... due to the volume of shells shot, I'll be going back to steel. It was a good year hevi shot wise, but it'll have to be a one year deal. BTW: What gun shop are you using these days?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orphanedcowboy Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 Mudhen, Where did you get your information about the TM, I cannot find any news about it being discontinued. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudhen Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 BTW: What gun shop are you using these days?? [/QB]Great Outdoors in Sacto for almost everything. mudhen - CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudhen Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 Originally posted by Orphanedcowboy: Mudhen, Where did you get your information about the TM, I cannot find any news about it being discontinued. Thanks There is no official statement yet. There rarely is until after the move has been made. It is just industry news right now. The story as I hear it relates to the cost of tungsten for 2006 shot production. In short, with all the new non-toxs having MSRP at around $3 per shell, and Kent TM not selling too well at $1.50 per shell, Kent is unsure if they should proceed if TM is also $3.00 per shell. The Kent rep will be in the area next week or the week after taking orders for fall 2006. My dealer will know then what they will be shipping this summer. No matter what, the heavy non-toxs from Remington and Winchester will be run $25-$35 for 2006. Only Environ Metal may be able to keep it closer to $20 per ten pack. My dealer says he will charge $19.99 - $21.99 for Hevi Shot in the fall of 2006. mudhen - CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orphanedcowboy Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 I patterned my SBE II and M2 with the TM #3 and #5 shot, and it was excellent, so I guess I need to order a couple of cases just to be sure, Thanks for the Info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudhen Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 My SBE II hated the fast TM 1.25 oz loads, liked the heavier slower TM loads. I'll shoot steel & HeviSteel in 2006 for the most part... mudhen - CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CuzTheyFly Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Originally posted by Remy: OK, duck season is over for this year. What is the general opinion of the effectiveness of Hevi-steel shotshells? We like Hevi-shot...It pounds game hard...I do not like the price of it though... My Dad shot 3 turkeys last spring with one Hevi-Shot Turk load... I heard Remington is not carrying it this year, the licsense goes back to the original company that created it....Environ....something... so it will be a bit cheaper... The reason it works so well, is that the shot pellets are not uniform pellets..they look like pieces of slag rock...frayed ends, different sizes, when the shell is fired, the pellets have better distance and penetration because they are different sizes and weights... Once out of the gun barrel, the pellets move so that the heavier shot pellets utilize thier different shapes to fly through the air faster and with more penetration.... That combined with the hevi-shot special metal materials, like nickle, make it a winner in the field... We have tried Bizmuth, tungsten,Kent, ect...nothing compared to Hevi-Shot.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock Hall Goose'n Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 As long as I can afford it I will use the Hevi-Shot no matter how expensive it gets. Currently I am using 2 oz. loads of 2's for geese and 2 oz loads of 6's for turkey. If the cost goes way up I will lighten the size of the shot charge a bit. For now I really like the distance I get from the 2 oz. loads. Hey mudhen, you might not need to shoot so many shots with Hevi-Shot. One usually does the trick. Unlike 2 or 3 with steel. Assuming you can ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudhen Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Thanks, been using some HeviShot for many years now so I am aware of it's lethality, been shooting steel going on 25 years. Hate it, but it works ok. I get out 50+ days most season, no dog (by choice), and I can really go through the shells some seasons. 8-10 cases in a good season. HeviShot at the 2006 price of $3 per shell could add almost $4000 to my single season shell bill. Ain't gonna happen friend... mudhen - CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdn Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 I had good luck with hevi-steel, a step up from steel in my experience. I agree with eveything good you say about hevi-shot, but the cost is too high for me. I liked hevi-steel on phesants in public shooting areas here in SD. Regg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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