NobelSport Steel Waterfowl 12ga 3in 2 Shot 1-1/8 oz – Proven 25 Round Box

Description

NobelSport Steel Waterfowl 12ga 3in 2 shot is a high velocity steel load built around speed rather than payload weight. The 3 inch magnum hull carries 1 1/8 ounces of number 2 steel at 1500 fps, which is a lighter charge than NobelSport puts in their standard waterfowl shells and a faster one. The result is a shell that shoots flatter and recoils less than a heavy 1 1/4 ounce load. Twenty five rounds to the box, loaded in Italy.

• Speed Instead of Payload Weight
• NobelSport Steel Waterfowl 12ga 3in 2 Shot Specifications
• Honest Notes on High Velocity Steel

Speed Instead of Payload Weight

There are two ways to give steel shot enough energy on target. You can load more pellets, or you can drive fewer pellets faster. This shell takes the second route. At 1500 fps a number 2 steel pellet retains meaningfully more energy at forty yards than the same pellet at 1350 fps, and the shorter lead required on a crossing bird is a genuine practical advantage for hunters who struggle with swing through timing.

Number 2 steel is the general purpose waterfowl size. It is heavy enough for big ducks and close geese, and it still gives a workable pattern count in a 1 1/8 ounce charge. If you shoot mostly teal and wood ducks over decoys, a smaller size will pattern denser. If you are shooting geese at the edge of range, BB or larger is the better tool. Number 2 covers the broad middle.

The lighter charge is also why this high velocity steel waterfowl load is easier to shoot than the heavier shells that dominate the market. Recoil is a function of payload and velocity together, and dropping an eighth of an ounce takes noticeable sting out of a long morning in a blind, particularly from a pump gun.

NobelSport Steel Waterfowl 12ga 3in 2 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 rated 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 2
• Muzzle velocity: 1500 fps
• Shot material: steel, non toxic
• Quantity: 25 rounds per box
• UPC: 837913001868

Honest Notes on High Velocity Steel

Check your barrel before shooting steel. Older fixed choke shotguns, and many full choke barrels made before the 1980s, were never proofed for steel shot and can be damaged by it. If your gun predates modern steel proofing or you are unsure, ask a gunsmith. This is not a theoretical concern with a 1500 fps load.

Choke selection changes with velocity. Fast steel patterns tighter and blows patterns less than people expect, but pushing NobelSport Steel Waterfowl 12ga 3in 2 shot through a full choke often produces a pattern that is dense in the middle and unforgiving at the edges. Improved cylinder or modified is a sensible starting point for decoying birds, and the only way to be sure is to shoot paper.

Understand the tradeoff you are making. A lighter, faster charge holds less shot, so pattern density at long range is lower than a 1 1/4 or 1 3/8 ounce load. For birds working the decoys that does not matter. For pass shooting geese at fifty yards it does, and a heavier shell is the honest answer there.

Finally, availability. NobelSport shotshells are imported and supply can be uneven, with particular shot sizes disappearing for a season at a time. If a load patterns well in your gun, it is worth buying enough for the season rather than assuming it will be on the shelf in October.

We also stock the same shell in number 4 shot for smaller ducks, and a stacked 2 and 4 steel load if you want both sizes in one hull. NobelSport publishes its catalogue on the NobelSport Ammunition website.

NobelSport Steel Waterfowl 12ga 3in 2 shot suits duck hunters running 3 inch chambered autoloaders and pumps who want a faster, lighter recoiling steel load for birds working the spread. MAG5 Firearms is a family owned FFL in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Boxes ship where state and local law allows.