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Bruce Potts in GunMart January 2024 has written an article reviewing the Winchester Super-X .410 steel loaded and testing them against lead loads of the same make.

The steel are 1,400 fps, 3/8 oz. steel 6, 10.4 grams and a pellet count of 120. The lead are 1,135 fps 11/16 oz 6 shot, 19.6 grams and a pellet count of 168.

He pattern tested them at 30 yards with 15” inner and 30” outer circles. With 1/4 choke the steel put 42 in the inner, and 68 in the outer, 110 out of a possible 120. 1/2 choke inner 60, 49 outer.

Overall he was impressed by the patterns thrown by the steel.

He goes on to mention the RRP in this country, £1,049 per thousand! That compares to £400 to £500 for British 3” lead, and just over £1,400 for Lyvale Express 16 grams (4 or 5 shot) bismuth (if you can find them).

Common sense indicates that when it comes to lethality it will be lead first, bismuth next and steel in third place.

If, as seems inevitable in this country, it becomes necessary to use non-toxic for live quarry shooting I suspect that to bring 20 pigeons to bag a .410 shooter may find he has used more steel cartridges than he would use bismuth, and that paradoxically bismuth proves cheaper.

Interesting, Parabola. In addition to lethality and cost concerns I would have grave doubts that a 1400 fps, 3/8 oz. load of steel would regulate in a S X S that regulated a much heavier lead load at much lesser velocity. Of course, I understand that these would be used mostly in modern made O/Us which may not be as prone to cross firing with light, fast loads like a S X S would.

My experience is that even comparing lead to lead loads, weight and velocity affects POI a great deal, with S X Ss. I personally had an experience where 7/8 oz. loads at 1250 fps crossfired from both barrels of my A H Fox 20 ga. SWE. When the load was switched to a 1 oz. load at 1145 fps the same barrels printed dead atop each other, and right on POA.