As We Move Toward Hunting Being a Rich Man's Game in the US

[gitano]

Because I have been contemplating loading a bunch of 16 ga and 28 ga ammo, I have been researching components and loads. I prefer paper hulls for 16 ga. (Not a serious "want", just a preference.) I have plenty of plastic hulls. Finally got some clear ones (plastic). I like those so I can see the components. A year or two after being loaded, I forget what I put in there sometimes. Especially when I'm developing loads.

Anyway... Shot is of course an important consideration, and like all us reloaders, I'm always looking to use the best components, and to extract the best performance from my handloads. To that end, I have been eye-balling the tungsten-based shots. The "global warming" "science" of the toxicity of lead aside, I have no real 'need' for tungsten shot. However, the primary reason I reject steel and "like" lead, is the density of lead. Steel and bismuth just can't "get there" in density, and therefore the ballistic coefficient of the pellet is lowered. (The higher the BC, the farther a pellet will carry its kinetic energy.) Pure tungsten, on the other hand, is almost twice the density of lead, BUT, pure tungsten has manufacturing issues and is in practice too brittle.

Of course, after 30+ years of gov't oppression based on nonsense "science", manufacturers have put together a tungsten alloy that not only "works" terminally, but is also denser than lead. I think there are now three different manufacturers of tungsten shot. One of them is ITX (http://tbammo.com/itx/), one is Hevi-Shot (http://www.ballisticproducts.com/Hevi-Shot/products/67/), and there's a new one on the block, Sphero Tungsten (http://www.ballisticproducts.com/Sph...ductinfo/HW07/).

ITX comes in two densities 10 and 13 grams per cc. Hevi-Shot has one density - 13 g/cc, and Sphero Tungsten 15 g/cc. (Pure lead density is 11.34 g/cc.)

Besides the fact that the denser shot will have a better ballistic coefficient (carry it's kinetic energy farther out), because of it's greater density, you can stuff more pellets of a given size in a give SPACE. Lemme 'splain.

One ounce of #6 LEAD shot has 225 pellets. (http://www.thehunterslife.com/forums...ad.php?t=12493)
One ounce of #6 Hevi-Shot has 225 pellets, BUT... TAKES UP LESS SPACE because the pellets are denser. Therefore, you have put more pellets in your shot cup.(The previous statement is not correct. See post number 5 below for the correction.) Of course, this extra weight means the velocity will be less (unless you change the wad and powder). BUT... more pellets means more pellets on the animal you are shooting. AND, they will probably have more energy when they get there. SO... tungsten alloy shot is "good" from a performance perspective. (An alternative is to go down a shot size with the tungsten alloy shot, and use a lighter load and make it go faster.)

However...

Here are the prices per pound for each, BEFORE shipping:
ITX-13 - $31.73
Hevi-Shot - $38.50
Sphero Tungsten - $36.99

Assuming a one-ounce charge of shot per round, (what I load in my 16 gauges), ignoring the cost of all other components, (hulls, primers, powder, and wads), AND SHIPPING, I would spend the following for SHOT ALONE for EACH round:
ITX-13 - $1.98
Hevi-Shot - $2.41
Sphero Tungsten - $2.31

Before shipping:
Primers cost me about 2 cents a piece
Hulls cost me about 11 cents a piece
Wads cost me about 4 cents a piece
Powder costs me about 7 cents per round
So total non-shot cost per round (excluding shipping) is about 24 cents. ONE TENTH THE COST OF THE SHOT!

Now, if I HANDLOAD my ammo, the CHEAPEST I can load tungsten alloy rounds is $2.42 per round. That's $60.50 PER BOX of 25 - FOR THE CHEAPEST. If I use Hevi-Shot shot, a box is going to cost me $66.25!

The @#$%^*&ing "ethicists" (ptooey) will argue that "Money is no object when it comes to ethical hunting. If you REALLY "care" about hunting, you will be willing to spend the money to ensure ethical killing." Implying of course, that if you don't agree with their point of view with regard to "ethics", (AND their bogus "science"), then you are not a "real" hunter. It's too easy for me to get wound up about this, so I'll let that krap go at this point. There's another point I want to make.

The anti-hunters AND the "ethical" sons-of-bachelors are WORKING TOGETHER to make hunting a rich man's 'sport'. An activity that only the well-heeled can AFFORD to participate in. In fact, they are so evil, that since common sense is the enemy of their propaganda lies, they have resorted to making LAWS that FORCE their will on those that KNOW their "science" is bogus. Ticks me off.

But...

My time, like the 'cowboy' before me, and the Indian before him, has passed. There is a new, more civilized, more domesticated, era before us. I understand that I am spitting into the wind. I only wish more of the "youngsters" could see the writing on the wall.

HERE'S THE BIG POINT: Unlike the cowboys and Indians, whose time was passed because of the reality of a changing world, these changes I note (a rich man's sport) are ONE HUNDRED PERCENT ARTIFICIALLY CREATED BY SONS OF BACHELORS THAT 1) Want to get MORE of your money, 2) want to "control" hunting into "nothingness" but some form of artificial afternoon 'sport', and 3) ultimately disarm all but the "approved" (RICH) for ownership of arms. Arms that are so emasculated that they are little more than toys.

So... I'm stickin' to lead I guess. I would dearly like to use the denser tungsten-based shot solely for its improved terminal performance, (the "ethicists" (ptooey) are right about that), AND for the fact that you can pack more pellets in a round if the density of the pellet is higher.

Paul