You have GOT to be kidding me...

[kt]

Yes, i do believe with non tox you do pay for what you get. as soon as you said you cut open a shotshell i started thinking xpert. we did the same thing when they first came out after a few canadas took bb's in the face at 20yds and didnt die on spot. some was round some looking like welders slag drippings. supposedly since then they upped the velocity and now it is super xpert or something. i look at it like this if some steel is 21 a box and some is 11 for the same shell. something is a miss. and another thing yes steel does kill just fine, you dont need two dollar bismuth/tung/hevi/matrix. i prefer federal premium. black cloud is nice, nothing wrong with the higher priced win supremes. oh and remington sportsman steel sucks just as bad as xperts. good luck killing. try email for winchester?

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Found some Remington "sportsman" steel waterfowl loads a few years back that had just fallen out of someone's pocket (I assume....the brass was still nice and shiny!) while I was pulling my boat over the dike. I took them home (IIRC, there were 3 or 4 shells) and cut 'em open.

I found pretty much the same thing that you found.....shot of various "sizes" (I hesitate to call them sizes, as not a one was round!), the pellets themselves had rust on them, and the powder was damp (remember, these were found on a dike with shiny brass).
The pellets looked like remnants swept off the floor. I don't know why people feel they are getting a 'bargain' by buying this crap, but I wonder how many of these rounds cripple, instead of kill, their intended targets as opposed to high priced (or higher quality) steel loads.
After several years of poor performance, I decided to reload my own steel shotshells, but he year prior to that I tried some Winchester Supreme steel shotshells.....a little more pricey, to be sure, but they did KILL the ducks I shot at instead of just crippling them.

[fabsroman]

Originally Posted by kt

Yes, i do believe with non tox you do pay for what you get. as soon as you said you cut open a shotshell i started thinking xpert. we did the same thing when they first came out after a few canadas took bb's in the face at 20yds and didnt die on spot. some was round some looking like welders slag drippings. supposedly since then they upped the velocity and now it is super xpert or something. i look at it like this if some steel is 21 a box and some is 11 for the same shell. something is a miss. and another thing yes steel does kill just fine, you dont need two dollar bismuth/tung/hevi/matrix. i prefer federal premium. black cloud is nice, nothing wrong with the higher priced win supremes. oh and remington sportsman steel sucks just as bad as xperts. good luck killing. try email for winchester?

I couldn't even kill cripples with the Remington Sportsman steel loads. That stuff is pure crap.

Yeah, steel works if you get the birds in really close. If not, good luck using steel.