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Plated Lead Shot ?

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Nessmuck56

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Can I use plated lead shot..copper / nickel in my 20 Bore Smooth Bore for a Turkey load ? Will plated lead harm the barrel ? Thanks
 
If you put it in, you can shoot it out. So, yes, technically you can use it. But, there is a reason why such shot is in plastic cups for a modern shotgun. It will damage your barrel.
 
Yep, according to what I found, 12L14 steel (used in Colerain, Rice, Getz, and Longhammock barrels) has a Brinell hardness of 163 or a Vickers hardness of 170, while copper has a Brinell hardness that starts at 235 and a Vickers hardness that starts at 343...considerably higher. Nickel is even harder.

LD
 
Loyalist Dave said:
Yep, according to what I found, 12L14 steel (used in Colerain, Rice, Getz, and Longhammock barrels) has a Brinell hardness of 163 or a Vickers hardness of 170, while copper has a Brinell hardness that starts at 235 and a Vickers hardness that starts at 343...considerably higher. Nickel is even harder.

LD


Huh? Copper is harder than steel? That's a first. You must be looking at non-compatable (i.e. There are different Brinell scales) hardness charts.
www.aertesting.com/uploads/3/3/5/8/3358290/bhn_of_various_materials.pdf

There is absolutely no harm in shooting copper plated shot "naked" in your bore. While it is true that pure nickel is closer to the hardness of soft steel, without chokes or forcing cones to constrict the shot column in a muzzle loader there is little risk of the thin wash of nickel scratching the bore. If you are worried about it stick with the copper, or hard lead shot.

Before you buy a large quantity though, pattern it first. You may not find any advantage that would justify the cost in your gun.
 
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Can you just make a shot cartridge out of several wraps of a thick greased paper.i would think an old shopping paper bag wrapped four thick then painted with lard or olive oil would stand one trip through the bore. :idunno:
I’ve never used nought but lead and don’t hunt waterfowl.
 
Iam thinking a copper plated lead shot would have a touch more knock down power on the Turkey ...out to 35 yards ...ovah the chilled lead.
 
Plated lead shot for our barrels is the same as unplated. It will do nothing at all harmful, but it is higher quality shot. The copper or nickel plating is there to help keep the lead shot as round as possible when it goes down the shotgun bore, and the plating does not make the shot act as if it was harder or make the shot more abrasive to the barrel. The plated shot is more expensive but it is likely to produce the best quality patterns.
 
I suspect Loyalist Dave was looking at the hardness of fully "work hardened" copper.

Annealed or plated copper is dead soft and has a
Brinell hardness of 80-85 BHN. That equates to a Vickers hardness of 89-94 which is much softer than mild steel.
I should also mention that the Brinell and Vickers hardness is for measuring the hardness of thick copper. Both measure the indentation of something (a ball or a pointed cone) into a bar of the material. The numbers don't apply to thin coatings like plating produce.

Speaking of plating, the nice looking "copper plated" shot isn't even plated.
They use a process known as "washing" that applies a thickness even thinner than any electrolytic plating does.

It gives the illusion of copper but it actually adds no strength or anything else except for some corrosion resistance.

A link to hardness chart: http://www.aertesting.com/uploads/3/3/5/8/3358290/bhn_of_various_materials.pdf
 
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