Ni Coated Pb Loads

[dawei]

Have any of you august members used Nickel (Ni)plated lead for turkey hunting? While I haven't used it turkey hunting I have used it extensively pheasant hunting. I've been hunting pheasant for well over 40+ years and the Fiocchi® Golden Pheasant™ was the absolute best Pb load for pheasant I have ever used. Unfortunately beginning this fall I must now use nontoxic loads for pheasant hunting. I've got a lot of Golden Pheasant NiPb ammo so I'm going to start patterning it for turkey. I have it in #5 & 6 in 20ga and #5 in 16ga.

(FWIW, in years past I tried Remington Ni plated steel  in 16ga and 20ga for duck hunting and it really sucked. I switched to Federal® steel and have stuck with it ever since.)

Is Ni plated Pb better than copper (Cu) plated Pb in your experience?

[Triplgobble]

I have several turkey hunting friends that swear by the Activ turkey loads which I think were nickel plated.

[mossy835]

I have used non lead shot from this company for three years now:

http://www.hevishot.com/

They have a new pheasant load out this year that is 25 rounds a box instead of the normal 10 for pheasant and I have not shot them yet. I have for two years shot the classic doubles #6 non lead with great results (meaning if I do my job they did theirs). Recoil is light and the loads patterned well in my old JC Higgins model 20 12 gauge with chokes that are antiques. I too used the Golden Pheasant loads and tried their turkey loads but they would not pattern in my turkey gun. Out here in WA coated lead in not allowed also in non lead areas. Steel shot almost requires a 3 or 3.5 inch shell and a lot of recoil to get any penetration while the HM does not have this issue from the birds I have shot. Good luck and I hope this helps you in your quest.

[dawei]

While I have not used Ni plated lead for turkeys, I do know a little bit about it. Fiocchi Golden Pheasant shells do have a good reputation for upland hunting, but their turkey loads do not share that reputation (largely because they use inferior wads and are not buffered). I'm sure they will do fine within their range limits. I look forward to your patterning results.

Both Ni and Cu are used to plate lead shot to improve patterns. They do so in two ways. They harden the shot slightly (Ni slightly more than Cu), but more significantly improve the lubricity (slickness) of the shot so that it can shift and move more efficiently through the forcing cone and choke constrictions. The quality of plated shot is only as good as the quality (both hardness and sphericity) of the underlying lead pellet. Over the years, there has been some poor quality Ni plated shot imported for use by reloaders. I would rather have good quality high antimony unplated lead than I would soft, low antimony Ni plated shot. The quality of shot that Fiocchi uses remains to be seen. I would also prefer to have buffered Cu plated load than an unbuffered Ni plated one.

The main drawbacks I think you will find with the Golden Pheasant loads are their relatively light shot charges (16 ga and 2.75" 20) and their lack of buffer. If you handload and want to rob the shot, you should be able to create some good buffered turkey loads. You might PM Slickyboyboo; I know he has a 3" 12 ga load of Ni plated 5.5s that performs very well.

Anyway, good luck with your endeavor, and keep us posted. That's a bummer that you have to shoot non-toxics at pheasants now.

Yes, I agree. In my Ithaca® 16ga I use Hevi•Shot® Classic Doubles®, I use Kent® Upland Steel in my 20ga. Come Oct 1st I'll see how they do.

[surehuntsalot]

I have several turkey hunting friends that swear by the Activ turkey loads which I think were nickel plated.

that was one of the best lead loads" EVER" in my guns

[R AJ]

David,
As suggested previously the Activ loads were nickel plated and I used them in a 870 Rem full choke . Of the #4,#5,and #6 loads I used a lot of #5s before switching to #6s. They patterned very well for me .After they were no longer available I switched to the Federal 3-2-6 loads.
BTW the Activ shells carried 21/4 oz. of shot in a 3" shell and about two and a half sticks of dynamite powder it felt like. Best lead shell I will probably ever shoot. I do not remember any deformed pellets but I do remember some deformed fillings in my teeth.

[mightyjoeyoung]

BTW the Activ shells carried 21/4 oz. of shot in a 3" shell and about two and a half sticks of dynamite powder it felt like. Best lead shell I will probably ever shoot. I do not remember any deformed pellets but I do remember some deformed fillings in my teeth.

  Feel yer pain!!  Chipped an eye tooth last spring on some 3.5" Mag Blends.  DAAAANG that hurt! 

[dawei]

I have never met a Turkey Gobbler I hated bad enough to shoot w/a 12ga 3½" magnum shell.