As waterfowlers have become familiar with steel-shot loads, the arguing over it's effectiveness at killing waterfowl has subsided somewhat. Although steel pellets may not perform as well as lead at longer ranges and may be too hard for use with many of our older shotguns, their ability to kill ducks at reasonable ranges is not in question. However, the high price of steel shotshells is still a concern amongst waterfowlers. Cost-savings, more than any other factor, is the main reason many waterfowlers consider reloading.

Before I proceed with a discussion of non-toxic reloading, some relatively new non-toxic pellets should be mentioned. Pellets made from Bismuth, Molybdenum, Tungsten, and Tin are being loaded into waterfowl loads. These materials offer better ballistic properties than steel, and some of them allow us to use our old shotguns which are incapable of handling a shot as hard as steel. However, the cost of these pellets is extremely high, and only bismuth pellets are currently offered to reloaders. So most of the discussion will focus on steel reloading with some reference to bismuth.

I have talked with many people about reloading non-toxic ammunition. Both those who reloaded their own waterfowl loads with lead-shot and those new to shotshell reloading, have similar questions about loading steel shotshells. I thought a good starting point would be to cover some of those frequently asked questions about non-toxic reloading.

1) What are the benefits of reloading?

The first benefit is cost savings. In most locations, you can save money by reloading your own steel shotshells. In addition, you can shoot exactly what you want without being limited by what your local retailer has in stock. Have you ever seen the video "Duckmen of Louisiana" where Phil Robertson complained of having to use steel 2's in his 16-gauge because his retailer was out of 4's? That never happens to reloaders. You can load specialty loads to suit the way your gun shoots. Duplex loads, buffered loads, spreader loads, plated shot, and higher or lower velocity loads, are offered in many more choices than from factory loads. Lastly, reloading is an enjoyable hobby for many people, and it adds the satisfaction of killing a duck with ammo you have loaded yourself. This adds greatly to my waterfowling experience.

I would caution those of you thinking about reloading non-toxic ammo. If the benefits beyond cost-savings do not appeal to you, there is a good chance you will not be satisfied with reloading.

2) How safe and easy is it?

If you follow the reloading data exactly and load conscientiously to avoid mistakes, reloading non-toxic ammo is completely safe. Published data are tested by ballistic laboratories and are kept to safe pressures. For new reloaders, learning to reload any type of shotshell is not a difficult task, but requires attention to detail. For those of you familiar with loading lead-shot loads, non-toxic reloading is no more complicated. It still involves de-priming/resizing/re-priming the hull, adding powder, seating the wad, adding the shot, and crimping the shell. Some adjustments to your machine are necessary because steel is lighter and non-compressible. Most companies make a steel conversion kit which allows the bulkier steel pellets to flow more smoothly through your machine. Shot bars also must be changed. A bar drilled to drop 1 1/4 ounce of lead shot will drop a far lighter charge of steel.

3) Is reloaded ammo effective?

Absolutely! I have personally been killing waterfowl with reloaded steel-shot ammo for 9 seasons, and I know hunters with even more experience. Without getting into a long ballistic discussion, the best-selling factory steel-shot loads shoot pellets at 1275 feet per second (see the reference section of this page) and we can reload that same pellet to shoot at that velocity. Because powders designed specifically for use with steel-shot have not been released for sale to reloaders, we cannot duplicate the charge weight/ velocity combination of all available factory steel loads. However, 1 1/4 ounces of steel at 1275 fps will be just as effective from a reload as it will from a factory shotshell. Furthermore, some of the newer factory shotshells are loaded with lighter-than-maximum shot charges at higher velocities, just like the loads popular with reloaders. Whether reloads can be better than factory loads is a topic of debate, but they can certainly perform as well.

4) How much money can I save?

This is the important question for many of us, and the answer is "it depends." In my home town, prices on reloading components at local retail outlets would have me reloading for slightly MORE than I could buy factory loads! The key is finding a good supplier of non-toxic components, finding a supply of hulls, and buying powder and primers in bulk. Other factors are the local price of factory ammo and your willingness to buy in case lots. These things differ in different locations around the U.S.

Where I live, I can purchase cases of 2 3/4 inch 1 1/8 ounce loads for about $10/box and 3-inch 1 1/4 ounce loads for about 11.50/box (total cost), but the Wal-Mart price is $11.87/ box ($10.99 plus tax) and $13.47/ box respectively. Buying steel-shot and wads mail-order, powder in 5-lb cans, primers by the thousand, and assuming I already have the hull, I can reload similar loads (not as high velocity in 3-inch 1 1/4 ounce reloads) for $7.10 and $8.00 respectively. That amounts to savings of about 3-5 dollars per box, which from what I hear, is about average.

I can purchase cases of bimuth loads for $14.65 per 10 2 3/4 inch 1 1/4 ounce loads, and $16.65 for 10 3-inch 1 5/8 ounce loads. Using components from Ballistic Products, I loaded a 1 ½ ounce load of buffered bismuth in 3-inch hulls I already had for $12.85 per 10, and 1 1/4 ounce of buffered bismuth in 2 3/4 inch hulls I already had for $11.15 per 10. That amounts to a savings of about 3-4 dollars per box of 10.

5) Where can I get components?

Many sporting good retail outlets will stock steel reloading components, and prices can be good in some locations. However, my best sources have always been mail-order. Even after paying rather expensive shipping and handling charges, these sources have been some of the cheapest and most reliable for me:

Precision Reloading (800-223-0900) Ballistic Products (612-494-9237)

Graf and Sons Inc. (800-531-2666) Bucks Run (800-274-0403)

Large mail-order sporting goods dealers like Cabela's, Redhead, and Herter's also carry steel components. Lastly, don't overlook your local shooting range; they can often order components for you from large distributers at reduced prices.

For bismuth components, Ballistic Products and Precision Reloading are the only sources I know of at this time.

6) What are some sources for reloading recipes?

As aggravating as it sounds, to get reloading data from the 3 major suppliers of steel components (Ballistic Products, Precision Reloading, and Reloading Specialties), you must purchase either their wads or their particular Steel Reloading manuals. Graf and Son's and Bucks Run, from the sources of components above, sell Reloading Specialties components and reloading manual. Two recent publications, "Lymans 4th Edition Shotshell Handbook" and "Hodgdon Powder's Shotshell Data Manual" provide data using a variety of steel components from all the major manufacturers.

Ballistic Products, Precision Reloading, and Hodgdon Powder are the only sources of bismuth reloading data I am familiar with, but Tom Roster gives directions for substituting bismuth into his buffered lead reloading recipes in the 2nd edition of "Tom Roster's Buffered Lead Shotshell Reloading Manual".

7) What equipment do I need?

If you have decided to give non-toxic reloading a try, you will need the minimum of a reloading press, a powder scale, and a good instructional manual like the Lyman Handbook listed above. You will need to install a steel-shot conversion kit on your reloader if you want to reload steel. It can remain on the machine once installed because it does not hurt your reloaders ability to load lead-shot loads. You will need charge bars specific for the amount and type of shot you wish to reload and bushings for the amount of powder that the load you have chosen requires.

I strongly recommend a single-stage reloading press and a Universal charge bar. Large volume reloading is usually not a big issue with non-toxic reloading because most of us shoot less than 500 shells per season at waterfowl. Single-stage presses are easier to learn and simpler to deal with when things don't go smoothly. Furthermore, they allow you to do certain operations by hand, using the press for the other work. This is necessary if you want to load duplex loads, or very large shot sizes (BB and larger) which will not drop very well through most reloaders. A Universal charge bar allows you to adjust the volume of both powder and shot so that you can load any amount of any type of powder or any type of shot without changing any bars or bushings. This saves you a lot of work when you want to reload lead target loads, dove loads, pheasant loads, steel duck loads, and goose loads on the same machine. No matter what reloader or charge bars you choose, you MUST have a powder scale to make sure that the proper amount of powder and shot is being put into your shotshells.

Cost of getting set up is up to you. You can purchase a Lee Load All reloader and a powder scale for around $80, and the cost goes up from there. A solid-quality, long-lasting set-up of a MEC 600 Jr., Steel conversion kit, Universal Charge bar, a Hornady powder scale, and the 4th Edition Lyman Shotshell Handbook can be purchased from Precision Reloading for $172 plus shipping charges.

There you have some of the basic information to help you decide whether non-toxic reloading is a good idea for you or not. Like carving your own decoys or building your own boat blind, reloading your own waterfowl loads can add another dimension to your sport.