Testing themettle
The many questions arising from the move away from lead shot for game shooting look set to be with us for some time. It is also obvious that while some shooters have some knowledge of what is happening and have legitimate concerns, others seem less well informed. On a recent Facebook shooting group, a fellow mentioned how the steel shot would ruin his barrels as his shoot insists on fibre wads. I think most shotgun shooters have picked up enough to know that the key to the use of steel shot in shotguns is bore protection with steel pellets fully enclosed within a cup wad – of plastic or paper/fibre – hence steel pellets should never touch the guns’ bores.
It is fair to say these changes involve a steep learning curve for all concerned, including cartridge and component makers, gunmakers, shooting organisations and, to an extent, the CIP proof authorities too.
New territory
Make no mistake – we are entering new territory here. Yes, we have some experience both at home and from overseas, where lead has been banned for wetlands/waterfowl shooting for 20 years or more in some areas. Important to recognise is that the UK situation is unique
