OUTDOOR LIFE - Is Steel Shot Effective? Here’s What the Data Say After Decades of Testing

Steel shot is here to stay. Despite its tarnished (and undeserved) reputation and the popularity of other nontoxic pellets types, steel shot has emerged as the number-one selling nontoxic shot type worldwide. It has also become the least expensive of all pellet choices—and that includes lead shot. All of this has been aided by shotgun manufacturers who learned to make choke systems that can withstand the stresses of hard shot like steel and tungsten composite, rather than just soft shot like lead or bismuth. This has eliminated barrel damage concerns for most shotguns, old and new.

Still, there are folks who argue that steel shot doesn’t kill game birds effectively. I’ve got the field data that say otherwise.