What Federal 12 gauge shells are these used for?

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Wyatt Burp

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I Know next to nothing about shotgun shells and have a bunch of 12 gauge Federals marked “STEEL”, “2” and “1 oz. 2 3/4 IN”. What are these for and are they adequate for defense? I have some OO Buck but have seen videos of guys testing bird shot for home defense and having positive things to say. Sometime shooting chunks of meat with pretty nasty results. Thanks in advance, everyone. I might have other shells to ask about later.
EDIT: these are probably pretty ancient shells that my dad had in his inventory for maybe thirty or more years. I’ve never had a misfire shooting various shotgun ammo of his and only ask because I have quite a few of these.

 
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Rule3 said:
A picture would help.

Just a WAG


12 gauge
#2 shot
1oz charge (doesn't sound right)
2-3/4 inch long


Not knowing I would not use them for anything other the range.


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I edited my post saying these might be pretty old which might make my description sound off. But that’s what’s said on the cases. I just looked closer and they are also marked “STEEL”. Does that bring them into the 1990s?
 
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#2 shot would be good for waterfowl but 1 oz. shot load sounds light for that use.
 
OFT II said:
#2 shot would be good for waterfowl but 1 oz. shot load sounds light for that use.
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I looked closer and they are faintly marked “STEEL”. Does that mean they’re at least from 1990ish? Or was steel an option earlier that I don’t know about? Rotten picture but here it is.

 
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Steel shot was being required in a lot of places since the late 1980s for waterfowl hunting. Since then steel shot, or non-toxic shot, has spread to other areas.
For a 2-3/4" shell 1 oz of #2 sounds typical. 1 oz of steel takes up more room than 1 oz of lead shot because the steel shot is lighter. What you have sounds like pretty typical steel shot load.
They'll work fine for defensive purposes.
 
Waterfowl load. Usual rule of thumb is if shot material isn’t marked on the shell, assume it’s lead.

I’d use it for HD if nothing else was available, sure.
 
Can check shot with a magnet. For waterfowl hunting, a larger steel shot size is used vs. lead shot to keep about the same weight per pellet. Smaller steel shot, due to its lighter weight vs. lead shot of the same diameter, does not penetrate feathers so well. The Federal ban on using steel shot for waterfowl hunting began with the 1987-88 season. Your shells are unlikely to be from much earlier than that, and probably later.
 
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You are correct steel shot waterfowl loads. I would not keep them for "home defense" loads I would get new shot shells designed for home defense. With shot shells that old, I would be concerned with a "squib"round. In a bad situation you don't want a wad stuck in the barrel it wouldn't end well. Someone will chime in stating they have shot 50 year old shot shells with no issues. I have too but, if the shells have not been stored correctly or have got wet your likelihood of a squib goes up.
 
Cut one open and look for the "prize":DCut it open and if will show the shot size and if lead or steel. Looks older than dirt to me.
Would not risk my life on them.
 
The State of Kalifornia & all Federal owned lands must be hunted with "Non-Toxic" shot, of which Steel is the most affordable. Everywhere, Waterfowl must be hunted with Non-Toxic shot. #2 Shot is pretty big, I use it on Geese. If they were stored in a dry place they would be very effective for medium range (40-60 yards) Self Defense. If your gun has screw in chokes, the choke tubes are marked if they should be used with steel shot. (NO STEEL APROVAL/NO STEEL SHOT!) On fixed choke shotguns, NOTHING TIGHTER THE MODIFIED should be used with steel shot!

Steel shot is lighter than lead shot so 3 things. 1) One Ounce of steel shot has more pellets than one ounce of the same size of lead shot. 2) to get the same energy as lead shot, steel shot hast to travel faster! (Most loadings are 20% or more faster) 3) Steel shot is harder than any lead alloy! So they do not deform and will hold any pattern better than lead.

As a small aside. To clean the 5 year coffee build up out of my stainless thermos, I cut open a steel duck load, and dumped the shot in with about 2 ounces of vinegar and a little dish soap. Swirled around for 4 or 5 minutes, and it looked like new! Rinse well, the vinegar is nasty in your morning java!

Ivan
 
I will never shoot a living creature again with steel shot. I have used a lot of them on ducks- enough to convince me I'll never do it again. I also tried to kill a beaver once with steel- a 3-1/2" 10 ga with 2oz #2 Steel at 15 feet. It took 5 hits.
Self defense? I'd use the gun as a club first.
 
Steel loads of small capacities are meant for higher velocities. Nobody mentioned how many drams of powder. Those would be great for early teal season. I've killed hundreds of legal ducks with steel loads, sometimes shooting them a second time on the way down.

Steel loads were also used to shoot skeet over marshlands. Non-toxic shot are invaluable. Lead toxicity in places where ducks have been hunted over the years has caused the food chain to suffer. Birds of prey suffer.

If the shells have 3 1/4 drams of powder or less, they were most likely used for skeet over marshland. The shells look like they have more powder, which would steer me to believe they were for waterfowl.

No, they don't weigh as much as lead. They don't penetrate as well as lead. They are slower. It was a necessary exchange for lead poisoning by the thousands. There are non-toxic shot loads that have more lead-like penetration and velocities, though they cost a bit more. I'll use steel and take closer shots, following up with kill shots when needed. Glad they made the change, if nothing but for the future of our waterfowl and birds of prey.
 
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Lead was outlawed........... and the lighter Steel pellet was put into service but, being lighter in weight , it needed to be bigger in size to work and also have higher speeds to get enough energy to penetrate 1-1.5" into a Duck, for clean kills.

The little 1 oz. load is used since it can reach 1550fps or more with a #5 -#2 steel pellet that can work from 40 yards out to 55 yards with practice.
Many hunters go to the 3" 12 Ga. for a higher payload and some even by the newer shotguns that have a 3.5" chamber to have the maximum payload working for them for Geese with BB to T size steel pellets.

Actually there is a lot to steel pellets, they are not the same and it all depends on their Density that they have per their makers. Here is a sample. (+/- )
Heavy Steel ...... 9.0
Bismuth ........... 9.7
Tungsten steel... 10.3
ITX ................. 10.7
Matrix .............. 10.8
LEAD ................ 11.3
E shot ............... 12
Nice .................. 13
TSS ................... 18 ($$$)

I like duck on the BBQ so I reload steel shells.

Steel pellets for SD...... ??
Might try to find data on this before using it.

Stay safe.
 
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Steel shot in a self defense gun would be ok. As I have said before for target loads in a house...shoot 'em in the face. If they can't see ya they can't hurt ya and any shot in the body or legs at short range is really gonna HURT!!. I shot an awful lot of steel. It was terrible for killing ducks. I was guiding waterfowl hunters on the Eastern Shore of Md (35 years) I got to the point that the only thing I used actual steel shot for was crippled birds. We had a pit on a pond that everyone just threw their steel loads in a plastic container we kept on a shelf...just for cripples. All our regulars pretty much shot Heavy Shot or Tungsten Matrix. We could sit 12 in that pit and would shoot up to 6 at a time. When I went to Heavy Shot after shooting regular steel my kill ratio went back up to lead shot era figures....and shell use count went way back down. People that tell you that this fast steel or that steel load is just as good as lead...never really shot lead. Especially buffered copper plated lead. The one thing you do have to consider though...some of the early steel shells were not sealed and the main shot charges could possibly rust together giving you almost a slug sized charge going out there. I have seen that happen with many early steel loads. Remington sold some duples loads with 2 different sized shot and the case was not sealed. and they were bad about rusted shot loads
 
Eastern Shore of Maryland! Hunted there around Easton as a young fella several times. Huge flocks of Canadas dropping out of the sky and walking on top of the pit. Wont ever forget.
 
Early style non toxic duck load. Didn't work on ducks very well. Not much of an energy transfer. I have a bunch, not sure what to do with it. Not very good for hunting, not very good for clays, hard on older shotgun barrels. I inherited it from my father, also!

OZ
 
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