Solid Copper Shot

[eng30312]

Does anyone know why non-toxic shot shells aren’t offered with solid copper shot? Seems to me that if it’s good enough to be a (kinda) substitute for rifle bullets, why not for shot? I realize that an ounce or two of copper would be relatively expensive, but more than bismuth or Hevi-Shot which run $2 - $5 a piece? I have no problem running steel through my 870, but my O/U Beretta… no way, no how.

 

[Shoobee]

Because you can get solid steel shot, and this is also nontoxic.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shoo..._l=SBC;cat104792580;cat104691780;cat104567580

 

[eng30312]

First and foremost, is the issue of steel ruining barrels (or at least score the bore).

Also, steel is only 69.2% as dense as lead whereas copper is 78.8% as dense as lead. So, that's 9.6% improvement. Considering the amount of money people in this field pay for for just a few percent improvement (if that) an almost a ten percent improvement seems pretty significant.

 

[Salmoneye]

You have heard of that new invention to keep steel shot from touching your barrel, eh?

I think they call it a "Plastic Shot Cup"...

It was in all the papers...

In the 70's...

(I won't even go into the cost of Copper Vs. Steel or TINT)

BTW

Only half joking...Shot-cups have come a long way from the 70's, and no one should be running steel through anything tighter than Mod in an older barrel regardless...

 

[Virginian]

Have you priced copper lately? Also, copper is harder to work with than sintered iron (steel). I read an article some time ago that addressed the issues that had been raised when considering copper as an alternative, and one big one was that it was rather iffy if they would have approved it as a non toxic material. They make medical devices out of just about every kind of steel, and tungsten coated steel, but no copper, I do know that.
And the danger from steel loads these days is not scoring the barrel but bulging the choke area with the older tight fixed chokes. I don't shoot steel since tungsten, but when i did I had a couple of SxSs that I had tubes fitted to and had the tightest part of the choke beyond the barrel and had zero issues.

 

[eng30312]

I have an 18" cylinder bore barrel for my 870 that I fired a box of Remington Express Steel loads through plinking shortly after I got it. These shells were purchased in 2002, and there were score lines visible in the bore after they were fired. I will be the first to admit that these "score lines" are purely cosmetic as they are no deeper than machining marks. Either way, given the beautiful mirror bore of my Beretta barrel, I simply can't bring my self to mark it up with steel.

 

[eng30312]

$3.72 per pound, which is 23.25 cents per oz.

 

[303tom]

Copper is $3.00 a lb. & steel is 30 cents a lb..................I use daisy BB`s to reload.

 

[eng30312]

The point wouldn't be to compete with steel in terms of price, but with the other more expensive non-toxic alternatives.

 

[Virginian]

I have looked down many a barrel, and have yet to see score marks since a pre 1940 SxS in the early '80s. If you look at the fired plastic wads from steel shells, you can see that the pellets did not penetrate the wads. This was sometimes not true with the early ones, and I mean like early '80s. A good cleaning should remove the marks.
At some ranges now days, non toxic shot is required, and most people shoot steel because of cost, same as most waterfowlers. I haven't see a Beretta, K gun, Perazzi, or Browning yet that was harmed.
Whatever the reasons, it appears no one is interested in pursuing the manufacture of copper pellets. If the price of alloys keeps going up chasing oil maybe they will.