NobelSport Steel Waterfowl 12ga 3in 4 Shot 1-1/8 oz – Reliable 25 Round Box

Description

NobelSport Steel Waterfowl 12ga 3in 4 shot is the decoy hunter version of this shell. Same 3 inch magnum hull, same 1 1/8 ounce charge and same 1500 fps, but loaded with number 4 steel instead of number 2. The smaller pellet gives you substantially more of them in the pattern, and inside forty yards that pellet count matters more than the extra energy a larger pellet carries.

• Why Number 4 Steel for Decoying Ducks
• NobelSport Steel Waterfowl 12ga 3in 4 Shot Specifications
• Honest Notes on High Velocity Steel

Why Number 4 Steel for Decoying Ducks

Steel shot rules of thumb say to go two sizes larger than the lead you would have used, which pushes a lot of hunters toward BB and number 2 for everything. That is sound advice for pass shooting and for geese, and it is genuinely poor advice for mallards decoying into a spread at twenty five yards, where the pattern gaps in a large pellet charge cost you more birds than a lack of energy ever will.

A 1 1/8 ounce charge of number 4 steel holds roughly half again as many pellets as the same weight in number 2. On a duck folding into the decoys, that density is what puts three or four pellets into the vitals instead of one. Combined with 1500 fps this high velocity steel waterfowl load keeps enough energy per pellet out to about forty yards, which is where most decoy shooting happens anyway.

The lighter payload is deliberate on NobelSport’s part. Dropping to 1 1/8 ounces from the more common 1 1/4 keeps recoil manageable across a long morning, and a hunter who is still shooting well at the end of the flight kills more birds than one who has developed a flinch by nine in the morning.

NobelSport Steel Waterfowl 12ga 3in 4 Shot Specifications

NobelSport is an Italian manufacturer and these shells are loaded in Italy. Steel shot is non toxic and legal for waterfowl throughout the United States. The 3 inch hull requires a 3 inch chamber and a barrel proofed for steel shot.

• Manufacturer: NobelSport, Italy
• Line: Steel Waterfowl High Velocity
• Gauge: 12 gauge
• Shell length: 3 inches
• Payload: 1 1/8 ounces of steel shot
• Shot size: number 4
• Muzzle velocity: 1500 fps
• Shot material: steel, non toxic
• Quantity: 25 rounds per box
• UPC: 837913001882

Honest Notes on High Velocity Steel

Barrel proofing comes first. Fixed choke guns built before steel shot became standard, and older full choke barrels in particular, can be damaged by steel because the pellets do not deform passing the constriction. If your shotgun is old or its history is unknown, have a gunsmith confirm it is rated for steel before you shoot NobelSport Steel Waterfowl 12ga 3in 4 shot through it.

Range discipline is the honest limit here. Number 4 steel loses energy faster than number 2, and beyond about forty yards it starts to wound rather than kill cleanly. If your setup regularly produces fifty yard shots at geese, this is the wrong shell and you should be shooting BB or larger. Matching the load to the shot you actually take is the whole job.

Pattern your gun. Steel patterns tighter than lead through the same choke, so improved cylinder or modified is usually right for decoying birds and full choke often produces a pattern that is too tight to be forgiving. One afternoon with paper at thirty and forty yards will tell you what your gun and choke are actually doing.

Supply is worth planning around. NobelSport shotshells are imported and specific shot sizes can vanish from distribution for a season at a time. If this load patterns well in your gun, buy enough in the summer for the whole season rather than hoping it is on the shelf in November.

For bigger ducks and close geese we stock the same shell in number 2 shot, and a stacked 2 and 4 steel load covers both in one hull. NobelSport publishes its catalogue on the NobelSport Ammunition website.

NobelSport Steel Waterfowl 12ga 3in 4 shot suits duck hunters shooting over decoys with 3 inch chambered autoloaders and pumps who want pattern density and manageable recoil. MAG5 Firearms is a family owned FFL in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Boxes ship where state and local law allows.