Chukar steel shot

[quailman]

What shot size of steel would you recommend for chukar. Wally World has 6s and 5s for about $15 a box but the 7s are $6 a box. Any recommendations and is copper, tungsten or nickel plated even better for knock down power. Season open in a week in and half.


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[jbv]

Great question!

Size up or size down with steel?

 

[dustin ray]

shot #2 #3 or #4 waterfowl loads 3" or 31/2

 

[wingshooter-kj]

I'm wondwring the same thing. I'm thinking I'll shoot 3" #4 from my 20ga I mean a chukar is about the same size as a small teal righ?

 

[birdmanhunter123]

I've used this in the past four or five seasons and have had great success , close shots and far . The only thing I must do now is change to steel.

 

[Alpine hunter]

I think I will use the money from my California hunting license next year to buy lead shot to hunt Nevada.

 

[quailman]

Great question!

Size up or size down with steel?

I believe it's about 2 sizes down.


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[Fishgunner]

Ive only taken chukar with size #7. I usually opt for more pellets ... When I hunt farm chukar we are limited to 7.5 shot (lead or steel)... the 7.5 is great for taking them on the wing but you may be left with a crippled bird that can still run and hide. IMHO you don't want to miss the birds when you finally bust them otherwise you'll be chasing them up and down hill all day (especially with wild chukar)- use more pellets rather than less, save some money and buy the #7 shot- Ive never had a problem with it. Yes- chukar are only about the size of a fat teal duck so #3 or #4 shot will certainly work, but #7 is probably more appropriate. Tungsten and copper are expensive and not always in-stock.

 

[Mountain Man Dan]

Planted birds, #6 steel is fine. Wild, go with #5

 

[Boriss_M]

how about for the quail? what size steel shot would need to be used? Im assuming 6

 

[mojavejohn]

I'm going to try 4's this year. I hunted dove with steel and definitely noticed a difference in the knock down power. I crippled more birds than I ever have in the past. I didn't think on dove there'd be much of a difference, but I certainly did.

 

[Mountain Man Dan]

Steel shot only has 70% of the effective range as traditional lead rounds.

For quail use steel #6

 

[Limited Out]

The thing to remember is steel shot has 40% more pellets per oz. so pattern density is not the problem. You can shoot a size or two smaller numerically and still hit the bird with the same amount of pellets. The problem is with knockdown power, this was overcome by increasing velocity (FPS) in waterfowl loads. So the take-a-way is if you shoot steel try get the most/highest FPS. I have shot a bit of steel at Euros Doves since July, 1 2015 and comparing the performance to lead it is about 80-85% as effective. I think the range on steel starts to drop off way more quickly than with lead. The important issue is to have your shot really on and be aware of the range you are shooting at. I think the steel makes the shooting more challenging, but it is not that noticeable. Just my spin on the lead vs. steel thing.

 

[GSP4Runner]

So steel shot is now required for chukar? What if you are hunting chukar and quail in the same area?

 

[quailman]

Can't get caught with lead if you have any game that requires steel. Basically just shoot steel, because rabbits require steel too.


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