I've done a fair bit of fowling with my 16 gauges and both TM and bismuth, and I don't think you can go wrong with either one. One thing I did find with my bismuth handloads was that on some of them full was just too tight of a constriction....got a lot of blown patterns.
Pretty expensive testing, but worth it in the long run, I suppose. One interesting phenomena that I did find with the TM was that on occasion the shot would clump up.....you would get 4-5 pellets in a tight cluster in one spot. When it did this on a duck, it looked like a .22 HP
exit wound!
I have found all makes of factory 16 gauge steel to be inferior to bismuth or TM; too slow for the density of the material, IMHO. Besides that, I'm a little worried about the thickness (or rather,
thinness) of the older steel barrels in my older 16 gauges.
Good luck, Popplecop, and make sure you take some photos for us come season!
