What's New in Shotgun Shells for Waterfowl Hunting

-- by Rob Ramsdale --

New innovations in non-toxic shot has given rise to a vast improvement in the variety of shotgun shells available. Many of the older veteran duck hunters probably started out using simple 2 3/4" high-brass lead shells; most likely in 6 shot. These were the same shells they used for pheasant, ducks, squirrels or other game animals. There were several different major manufacturers of shells but still there was probably only a handful of choices for duck loads.

A lot has changed since then and with the outlawing of lead shot use on waterfowl, manufacturers have been scrambling to find replacements for the very effective lead shells of past years. A ban on lead shot began to be phased in during the 1986 waterfowl season and was complete by 1991. That means the manufacturers have had about 20 years to develop effective non-toxic shotgun shells and they are improving every year. The new "heavier than lead" non-toxic loads are even better than lead but the main drawback is cost since steel loads are still much cheaper to manufacture and therefore more popular with waterfowl hunters..

Here are links to most of the major shotshell companies --